Week 51 -- Noodle-y Oodle-y Soup

After a morning spent making cookies for a work cookie exchange, I was feeling nostalgic and ready for a low effort lunch.  I've been thinking lately about how, as kids, we ate a lot of Oodles of Noodles.  This soup is a more grown-up version but still not much work.  I used bean thread noodles, which are gluten free, but you could use ramen noodles if you wanted.

I wanted little bits of parsley in the soup like in a packaged soup, but I was out, so I used kale that I dehydrated and ground to flakes last summer.

It looks different from childhood,
but it's a lot healthier with the same fun of noodles.

Noodle-y Oodle-y Soup

2 servings of dry noodles (bean thread or your choice)
water to cover
1/4 tsp each sage, celery seed, savory, and turmeric
dash of black pepper
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/3 block extra-firm tofu, cubed
1/2 carrot, grated
1 Tbsp dried greens (parsley or kale)
miso to taste

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain off some water to leave desired amount for broth.
2.  Add seasonings, carrots, tofu, and greens. 
3.  Add miso to taste.

Makes two servings.

Week 14 -- Caldo Verde

Once again, I have to admit that I have only tried this soup from my own cooking.  I have no idea if this tastes like real Caldo Verde or not.

The cookbook where I read about Caldo Verde originally says this is a Portuguese soup.  It may taste like this, and it might not.  One trick I read in the cookbook is to use tempeh crumbles in place of sausage. 

If you're a fan of Zuppa Toscana, this is similar.  When I make that soup, I add some cashew cream.  In this soup, the creaminess comes from blending the veggies, and the greens get a little softer.

I usually make tempeh sausage crumbles (as for use on pizza, for example) by putting all the seasonings right on the tempeh.  That could work here, but, to make it easier, I just through the sausage seasonings right into the soup.

I like to make this with chard or collard greens (I'm not a huge chard fan, but this is one place it works).  However, my local grocery store didn't have any good greens this week except for kale (the other choices were bok choi, which I think of as the lazy cousin of good greens as it really doesn't do much for you nutritionally speaking, and broccoli rabe, which I have never had cooked well, and I wasn't going to spend a fortune just to fail at it).  If your store is as poorly stocked as mine, don't worry.  Kale works just fine here.

How can you go wrong with onions, garlic, potatoes, and kale?

There's my crumbled tempeh, steaming itself.  If you aren't sure about tempeh, don't skip this step,
as it mellows the flavor quite a bit.

Time to blend!

Look at all those tempeh sausage crumbles -- it's hard not to eat them before they get to the pot.

There's a beautiful bowl of green soup (with some extra tempeh crumbles saved for garnish).

Caldo Verde

1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
4-5 small gold potatoes or 3 medium, chopped
4 cups water
1 Tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp each sage, savory, and thyme
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp miso paste
6 cups shredded greens
1 package tempeh
1 Tbsp lemon juice
sprinkle of paprika (optional)

1. In a soup pot or saucepan, saute the onion in some water.  When it's soft, add the garlic.
2. In a frying pan, crumble tempeh into a thin layer of water (about 1/2 cup).  Cover and let simmer about 10 minutes.
3. To the soup pot, add the potatoes and 4 cups water.  I like to add half the water now and half after blending, but it should work if you add it all now.  Also add the fennel, sage, savory, and thyme.  Let simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Uncover tempeh.  Add the lemon juice and cook until dry and a little crispy.  I sometimes add some paprika just for color.
4. Turn off the heat on the potato soup.  Add the miso paste.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Some chunks are fine.  You can also carefully puree using a regular blender, but beware of steam and hot liquids.
5. Add the shredded greens (and the rest of the water, if you divided it).  Turn on the heat just to let the additional water come up to soup temperature.  Do not boil.  The greens should get nice and soft.
6. Mix the tempeh crumbles into the soup.  If you're eating it right away, save a few crumbles to put on top.

Makes about 4 servings.

Week 6 -- Flu Fighter Soup

It's that time of year when everyone has the sniffles, or worse.  I don't get sick often (one benefit of an immune disorder that basically means my system is always in overdrive), but when I do get sick, I make sure everyone knows it.  You know the jokes about "man colds"?  I'm not a man, but otherwise I fit the description.  I am miserable and whiny, even though my "cold" is rarely worse than sniffles, a headache, and an occasional sneeze. 

This is my ultimate feel-good soup.  Even when I'm not sick, just feeling run down, this soup makes me feel better.  It is one of my favorite meals any time, not only in flu season.

Shiitake mushrooms are especially great for supporting the immune system.  Garlic, onions, and ginger are all well known for helping fight infections.  Kale, like all cruciferous veggies, is high in vitamins and antioxidants.  Miso and tempeh both contain probiotics to help get you back on track if you've been on antibiotics (so I've heard -- I can't remember the last time I needed antibiotics).

Enjoy this soup whether you're healthy or under the weather.  I think you'll like it either way.

Look at those shiitake mushrooms!  They're hard to find in my area, but they're worth a splurge.

I wish you could smell a photograph.  My kitchen always smells amazing when this is cooking.

Flu Fighter Soup

1 large red onion

3 cloves of garlic

4-5 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed

1-2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 package tempeh

6 cups kale, torn into pieces

2-3 Tbsp miso

About 4-6 cups water

1. Chop the garlic and set aside for about 30 minutes to get the most benefit.

2. Slice the onion.  In a large skillet, saute onions in a small amount of water until soft.

3.  Add sliced garlic to the onions.  To mince the ginger, cut it into slices against the grain first, then stack slices and mince.  Add to the skillet.

4. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips.  Add to the skillet.

5. Add about 2 cups of water to the pan.  Cut the tempeh into squares and add to the pan.

6.  Tear up the kale and add it to the skillet.  Stir it in and lower the heat.  The kale will soften and turn brighter green.

7. Mix the miso with some water.  Add it to the pan.  Add enough water to make a nice soup (cover about 3/4 of the veggies).  Heat just until the soup is all hot, but don't boil.

Note:  Tempeh is a cake made of fermented soybeans and grains.  I've heard it's an acquired taste, but I personally can't get enough of it.  Look for it near the tofu in your grocery store.  If you need to avoid gluten, watch the ingredients carefully as some varieties contain barley and other glutinous grains.  If you aren't up to trying it or you can't find it, substitute one can of your favorite kind of bean.