Warm soba salad

1 package buckwheat soba noodles
3 large carrots
1 bunch asparagus
1 medium yellow onion
2 cups chopped oyster mushrooms
Firm tofu, 1/2 package, small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbs soy sauce (or liquid aminos)
3 heaping Tbs white miso paste
1 tsp very finely minced ginger
a few shakes of chili-sesame oil (or plain sesame oil and a few red chili flakes or a shake of ground cayenne)
black pepper, to taste

Boil a medium-to-large pot of salted water. Cut the carrots into matchstick pieces and drop them in the water for 60-90 seconds, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Slice the asparagus into 1/4 inch pieces, drop them in the water for 60 seconds, and scoop them out as well. Then boil the soba noodles according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, slice the onion thinly and heat a little oil (or use cooking spray) in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms and stir frequently until the mixture has taken on a golden-brown color and the mushrooms have shrunk.

Put the noodles, asparagus, carrots, tofu and mushroom mixture into a large bowl.

In another small bowl (I actually just used the measuring cup I had the olive oil in), whisk the last 5 ingredients together. Taste for seasoning, then pour over the noodles and mix thoroughly.

There's no hurry-up involved, as this is a warm salad.

It ended up delicious. I might have left the tofu out, but Sweetie loves tofu. Obviously there's a lot of room for interpretation depending on how much you like certain flavors. You could certainly increase the ginger or sesame oil. You could also probably leave out the soy sauce, as the miso provided plenty of salt.