Chinese Noodles in mushroom & pork gravy

 Chinese noodles in Soy Mushroom Sauce using Leftover Roast Pork

Chinese noodles in a mushroom gravy...
There is a kind of noodle dish where the noodles are neither immersed in broth nor stir-fried in a sizzling hot wok.  Instead, the cooked noodles are tossed in a deliciously rich, usually soy flavoured sauce, with each strand of noodle glistening with mouth watering gravy.

I find this style of noodle the most comforting mid-week, when in the dark of the evening you arrive home, the mechanical hum from the long train journey still ringing in your ears and the ideas from an earlier brainstorming session still buzzing in your head.    

Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms on toast

Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms on toast

Wild mushrooms on toast on Sunday mornings...

As winter approaches, and the days are shorter, there is little that thrives in the garden. The large beech tree out the front has long shed all its leaves, and the Japanese maples, normally bursting with life with their delicate red orange leaves, are now twiggy and bare.

With the low temperatures, the loose compost in the vegetable patch is looking compacted and frosty, but a hint of green peeking out from the dark soil catches my eye. It's the parsley we put in months ago which has now grown long spindly stems and leaves. It could almost be described as lush, almost.  Hardy herbs like thyme and rosemary soldier on braving the cold winds, although now they appear sparser and a few forlorn leaves have begun to yellow.

I’m always grateful to have any garden produce during the winter months.  But never more than now, for picking herbs from the garden is peaceful and the tranquillity seems at odds with the chaos of Christmas shopping that is inevitable.  I snip a few sprigs of thyme and stems of parsley and hurry back into the warmth of the kitchen, where fresh shiitake and oyster mushrooms are waiting.