Miso Soup

Dulse seaweed, one strand and cut into small pieces.

Carrots, cut in jullienne strips

Potatoes and onions, diced in small chunks

Other vegetables as desired

Please seaweed and vegetables in 4-6 cups of water. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Mix 1-2 tbs of miso (light or dark) in ¼ cup of water until it is dissolved well. Mix well. Then add to soup and heat until desired temperature. Do not boil miso since it will kill healthy bacteria. Dulse is a purple seaweed with lots of iron, and miso has lots of minerals and healthy bacteria, so this is very good for someone who is sick.

A more simple soup to serve with Japanese dishes, is to make a stock with the seaweed only, and then to stir in light miso that has been mixed with water. Serve with chopped scallions, and a few pieces of small cubed tofu.

Minestrone

2-3 tbs olive oil/and or butter

1 onion finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic pressed through a garlic press

1-2 tsp of basil (this is a great spice to put in anything)

1 tsp oregano (always essential for Italian dishes)

3 tbs olive oil (another essential for Italian dishes)

pepper and salt to taste

1-2 celery stalks chopped finely

Saute spices  and onion slowly and gently in oil. (If you get the oil too hot the garlic will burn).When onion is translucent add additional following ingredients and simmer 1-2 hours.

1 large can of peeled tomatoes, put through blender. (Supposedly using tomatoes instead of tomato paste or tomato sauce, makes the sauce sweeter. Adding half a small can of tomatoe paste will make a thicker soup, though.)

1-2 carrots chopped and diced

2-3 potatoes peeled and cut in ¼ inch cubes

3/4 cup green beans chopped in small pieces

1 can of small white beans, drained

Cover liberally with water and simmer, until desired consistency. Serve with parmesan or grated cheese, foccacia and a salad. I have been told or read that traditional minestrone does not have meat or meat stock as in this recipe. The Vegetarian Epicure, by Anna Thomas, is one of the best vegetarian cookbooks I know, and she teaches you to make soups or sauces by sauteeing the onions, garlic and spices in the oil before adding tomato sauce or water.

Lentil Soup

3/4 cup lentils or split peas for dahl

1/4 cup of barley

1 large can of peeled tomatoes blended

1 onion diced finely

2-3 carrots chopped in small pieces

pepper, basil and salt to taste

Cover generously with water and simmer 1-2 hours. If you want to put an East Indian flavor to it, try this before you add all the ingredients. Heat 3 tbs of oil, and when hot drop in 1-2 tsp cumin seed or cumin power (if you can’t find the seed), 1 tsp of tumeric, a pinch of cayenne and a pinch of cinnamon. Let the spices sizzle a minute and then pour into the soup and mix in. Basically this is making a masala. In traditional Indian cooking, curry power isn’t used, but an individual makes a mixture like this. Serve with biscuits.When a legume like lentils or split peas is combined with a grain like rice, then the dish has the eight essential amino acids in a protein that humans need.

Chili or Posole

This is a fall and winter favorite

2 tbs safflower oil

1/2 tsp cayenne (more or less depending on how hot you want it)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 onion finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press

1 tsp cumin

1 ½  cup of pintos (pressured cooked for 40-50 minutes) or can of pintos drained  and rinshed

1 large can of peeled tomatoes blended

1 large can of hominy drained

1 can of diced green chiles drained

water to make thin consistency so that it can be cooked down

Saute spices, garlic and onion in oil. When onion is translucent, add remainder of ingredients and simmer until soup consistency (i.e. 30 minutes). Serve with grated cheese and tortillas.