Vegan Thai noodles

Yum! After falling off the wagon vegan-wise (for one must eat Danish meatballs at a Danish Christmas lunch), I felt the need for something very comforting yet fresh-tasting.

Ta-da: Thai noodles!

Rice noodles, boiled

peanut oil

One onion, sliced

as much ginger root as you care to peel and dice

orange bell pepper, chopped in big pieces

grated carrots and broccoli (sold as "broccoli slaw" at Trader Joe's)

fresh cilantro

light coconut milk

juice of half a lime

a sprinkle of salt

spicy dried chilis (optional)

Cook the onion, ginger and bell pepper until they just start to get soft. Add about 2/3 of the can of coconut milk (add it all if you're not still reeling from all the fat in the butter you ate on Danish bread or if you're just really up for coconut) and the chilis. Simmer. Add as much broccoli slaw as you want, lime juice, and cilantro. Salt to taste.

Use the sauce to cover your rice noodles. Top with chopped peanuts if you have them. Eat with chopsticks if it feels right.

Serve with cleansing green tea for a real pick-me up!

Why so quiet?

Yes, it's been a while, but I blame my non-blogging behavior on my bad secret-keeping skills. This year I served on the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award committee, and while I was reading the oodles of books nominated, I didn't feel right blogging because I was afraid I'd let something slip about the award.

The awards are given in January, but I can breathe easier-- and blog!-- because the shortlist has been revealed. Phew-- now I can just direct you to our shortlist announcement and stop worrying.

I think I can also tell you that my write-ups were used for the committee comments for The Atlas of Love, Shell Games, and What We Are. I loved many other books on the list, but fellow committee members beat me to the recommendations on those. (There's also one I hated, but I'm trying to take a page out of Nancy Pearl's book and never put anything mean about a book in writing, so that title will stay my dirty little secret.)

Another reason I've been quiet on the blogging front is that book writing and agent-seeking have been on the front burner. Oh, and this little thing in retail we like to call The Christmas Season has also been taking some time.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope to make the blog worth bookmarking now that I'm over my secrecy anxieties.