I use Pepsodent toothpaste because Bob Hope told me to...

     Udon soup. I love it. Inga loves it. Cei is learning to love it (she prefers miso soup), and Zelda loves the noodles. It's a fantastically easy and (depending on the toppings you choose) really cheap. The frozen noodles are fine by us, the dry ones not so good. Apparently those are better for non-soup dishes. I've tried a couple times to make the noodles from scratch, and the first time the taste was good but the texture was wrong, the second time I used whole wheat flour, and you're going to have to trust me on this one and never ever make whole wheat udon. Ever. Don't even think about what it would be like, because it's worse than you are capable of believing without actually having tried it. Which you don't want to do. Ever.
Some day I'll try making udon noodles from scratch again, and with the lessons I've learned I think they might be passable. Anyway, here's how I sometimes make our udon soup. Thanks go to Justhungry, for an awesome basic guide to making udon, and the various authors of all the Meal-Master recipes I have on my kitchen recipe computer (a hacked compaq ia-1 aka MSN companion), lots of good topping combo ideas in there and some broth variations as well.

    First step in my udon soup is making the Dashi. Dashi is freakishly easy to make. They sell instant udon broth packets, and instant dashi packets and powders, but they usually are loaded with msg (which i don't have a problem with except for the taste), aren't as good as made from scratch broth, and are only minimally easier to make. very minimally.

     So, you get some Kombu, some Katsuobushi, and some Water (ha!). I don't really measure, I put as much water in a pot as I want broth. I toss into the cold water a 1-1.5" by 4" piece of dried Kombu and wait for it to just start boiling. Don't let it really boil because, and this is hearsay, it'll make the water thicken and get slimy from the seaweed. I've let it boil for a minute or two and have not noticed anything different.

Kombu in simmering water

Then I remove the Kombu and add a good pinch of katsuobushi.

Just tossed the katsuobushi in. not the most photogenic phase.

     Let it simmer until the flakes have all sank and are "dancing" under the water. Then you filter out all the katsuobushi, and return the dashi to the pot to make the udon broth.

hard to get a picture of the flakes dancing under the water, but you'll know it when you see it.

     So now you got your dashi. To make it into udon broth pour in a liberal amount of soy sauce. You're supposed to use light soy sauce, but I just use our regular stuff, as I prefer it darker. I go by colour, usually adding about 1/2 to 3/4 cup soy sauce to make it nice and medium dark. Then I add about 2-4tbs mirin, because I like it sweet as well. Finally, add 1tbs white sugar and a pinch of sea salt. There. Udon broth. Deeeelicious. Of course, the quantities are all personal preference here. Please do experiment.

    Now that you've got your udon broth on a low simmer it's time to prep the toppings. There are lots of traditional styles, though we don't feel bound to them in any way. The other day we had sliced pork chop, mushroom slices (sautéed with the fat trimmed from the pork chop until just browned on both sides, not soggy),  zucchini slices (also lightly sauteed), Wakame, and green onion. The black bits on top are Shichimi Togarashi. very good stuff.

    Tonight we had pork chop slices (marinated with soy sauce, mirin, shichimi togarashi, olive oil.), sautéed mushroom slices (sautéed with the pork fat again.), wakame, and green onions. Sprinkled with shichimi togarashi.

Before broth was added.

     I just toss the meat in the broth to cook for a bit. It comes out tender if not overdone, and adds a nice meaty base to the broth that really makes it tasty, if not completely traditional.

I also toss the frozen noodles in the broth the cook for a minute, then remove them with thongs and rinse them under cold water to firm up. Also not traditional. but I don't really are, it's fast and doesn't use another dish or pan. All that's left is to put noodles in bowl, add toppings, and add broth. SLURPnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomfuckiloveitnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom