Comfort on the Couch: Mushrooms, Spinach, and Soba Noodles

So many of our childhood memories are tied to food.  Special dinners out, special food for special occasions.  Thatboy and I are currently in disagreement over whether it's appropriate for him and Thatbaby to bring a box of crackers to the couch and sit and eat the entire thing in one sitting.  It's a habit he picked up as a child when he used to do it with his dad.

I have my own special food memories from my parents.  Most center around things that we'd do when the other parent wasn't home.  Like when my mom would go out of town, my dad would make us fluffernutters and sloppy joes.  When my dad was out of town, we'd do breakfast for dinner, and eat popcorn in my parents' bed while watching movies.

Last Friday night, Thatboy wasn't going to be home until late, leaving Thatbaby and I alone for dinner. I wanted to do something to make dinner special for him, so I asked if he wanted to eat our dinners on the couch while watching a Halloween movie (Toy Story of Terror - 2nd time for me, first for him.  It's THE movie in our house this Halloween).  Thatbaby was SO excited for this special treat.  We were eating ON THE COUCH!  He sat so carefully, paper towels spread across his lap, balancing his little bowl of noodles.

This was the perfect meal for Thatbaby, combining two of his favorite things - noodles and soup.  He wasn't a fan of the mushrooms and spinach (although I was) but he loved eating all the noodles, and then drinking his soup from the bowl.   He also thought it was super fun when I used my chopsticks to help him eat the noodles.  He still can't quite work them on his own, but it's something we'll work on.

Mushrooms, Spinach, and Soba Noodles

2 Tbsp canola oil

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 scallions, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger

3 cups chicken broth

6 oz soba noodles

1 bunch of spinach, chopped

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1. Heat oil over medium heat.  Sauté mushrooms, scallions, garlic, and ginger for 5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken broth and 3 cups of water.  Bring to a boil.
3. Add soba and reduce heat.  Simmer 5 minutes.
4. Add spinach and cook for just a minute until the spinach wilts.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the soy sauce.