Vegan Ginger Peanut Noodles

Looking for a quick supper? Don't let the length of the recipe fool you. You can have dinner on the table, in less than 35 minutes, start to finish. It's rich in flavor. My kids adored it. I think I need to go buy more udon noodles, so I can make this dish again, asap.

Ginger Peanut Noodles
1 small onion
1 tbsp oil
1 pound button or cremini mushrooms
1 small zucchini
2/3 cup diced tomatoes*
1/3 cup canned coconut milk**
1/4 cup peanut butter***
3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp liquid sweetener****
1 tsp grated, fresh ginger*****
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
juice from half a lime (2-3 tsp or so)
salt and pepper to taste
1-12 ounce  package udon noddles udon noodles

Heat the oil (I used peanut oil) in a large saute pan, over medium heat. Cut the onion into a fine dice, and add to the pan. While the onion is sweating, clean the mushrooms, then halve and slice them. The onion should be translucent by now. Add the mushrooms to the pan, but don't stir. Wash the zucchini, quarter it lengthwise, then cut into thin (1/8-1/4 inch) slices. Add the zucchini and stir all the veggies together.

While you allow the veggies to cook down a bit, get a large pot of water on the stove, for cooking the noodles. When the veggies have released much of their moisture, but the liquid has not cooked off, add the tomatoes, coconut milk, peanut butter, tamari, sweetener, ginger, chili powder, and cumin, and stir everything together. Allow everything to simmer for a few minutes.

When the water comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt and the noodles. Cook for the time specified on the package. Drain the cooked noodles and add to the sauce, along with the lime juice. Toss everything together, and test for seasoning. Add salt, pepper, and additional lime juice, to taste.

Footnotes:
*If possible, use petite diced tomatoes. I like Red Gold. They allow the tomato flavor to disperse through the dish better.

**If you don't want the fat from the coconut milk, you could also use boxed, coconut milk beverage or almond milk. Just be sure it is the plain, unsweetened kind. You do not want vanilla in this dish!

***I prefer natural peanut butter for savory dishes. If you have regular peanut butter on hand, you can still use it, but you may want to cut back the liquid sweetener a bit. Crunchy or smooth peanut butter works fine.

**** Agave, honey, maple syrup, or even corn syrup will work.

*****I like to use a rasp to grate the ginger. You can use whatever tool you prefer, but be sure it is very finely grated.