Miso Soup

This is a simple soup that is tasty, even on those icky, sicky days when one does not have much appetite.

Soak for 2 hours or over night

6-inch piece kombu or
5 dried shitake mushrooms
6 cups cold water

Remove shitake and slice thin, discarding any tough parts which remain. Return shitake to broth and bring to a boil.

After simmering for a few minutes, remove kombu and reserve it for another use. (It may be reused to make soup stock or cooked with beans or vegetables.)

Add and cook for 5 to 10 minutes:
2 - 3 cloves of garlic, minced (some prefer to saute garlic for a few minutes, first)
1 carrot, sliced

Add and cook for 5 to 10 minutes more:

1 1/2 cups chopped greens (such as kale or mustard greens)

Add and simmer for 2 minutes:

1 pound tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Turn off heat. Dilute in a little of the broth, then add to soup:

1 cup white, barley, or brown rice miso Allow to steep briefly before serving.

Other vegetables like corn, zucchini, or yellow squash may be added along with the carrots.

Potato Leek Soup

March first was Saint David's feast day. Since our youngest is named David, we like to celebrate with a potato-leek soup. It makes a wonderful comfort food for these last few weeks of winter.

Somehow, the first of March slipped past us this year.

Now, however, we find ourselves at the beginning of Lent, with a fast day on Ash Wednesday. Since we have people in the family who cannot do a complete fast, we opted for the missed potato soup for our dinner.

Here is how I made our soup:

In an 8 quart stockpot, I melted

2 - 3 Tablespoons coconut oil

Then I cut into 1/4 inch slices and sauteed them until soft:

2 leeks

After about 5 minutes I stirred in:

1 Tbs. dried thyme (I prefer fresh thyme, but ours is not quite tall enough)

I turned the heat up a bit (just until it boils) as I added:

6 cups water
1 1/2 - 2 pounds potatoes (about 3 medium)

Turn heat down, once the water boils. TeCook until the potatoes are soft. Then liquify the soup. I like my little hand blender, or put it, in two batches, into my Vitamix.

Return to heat, and stir in:

1 Tbs. grated ginger, or 2 tsp. dried ginger
2 handfuls chopped sorrel or basil.

If you do not have these, organic baby spinach will work well.

Simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve with a teaspoon of miso stirred into each bowl. Note: do not cook the miso. It contains pro-biotics and enzymes which will be destroyed by cooking.



For a little extra punch, do a kindness to your liver and add:

1/2 tsp Young Living JuvaSpice.