Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

I'm about to abandon my adult children in North Carolina and relocate to California. Sometimes a maudlin sentiMentality overtakes me, as if I am about to die and will never see them again, in this world. I feel compelled to leave behind something that will enrich their lives and make them feel as if I am still with them, even if I've only "passed over" to the other side of the continent. And so, to my daughters, and to you, dear reader, I bequeath my Vegetarian Soup Recipes.

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

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Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

I'm leaving at least two dozen vegetarian cookbooks. My daughters could easily use those or lend them to my son. They could certainly do an Internet search and find oodles of options for vegetable soups. But I rarely use published recipes. I invent my own soups, from whatever is available.

Some few key ingredients should be on hand in every vegetarian kitchen. For sauteeing vegetables, have extra virgin olive oil, and for seasoning, a bit of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and some unsalted Spike seasoning, or an assortMent of seasonings. I have found that a dash of Bragg Aminos and a tablespoon of Spike, thrown into a few cups of boiling water, makes an extra-delicious vegetable broth.

For a hasty, tasty soup, throw away the seasoning packets from RaMen soup. Use the Bragg/Spike combination in water. For nutritional value toss into the soup a variety of fresh or frozen vegetables-- whatever you have on hand. Broccoli is wonderful, and maybe a button or two of carrot, celery, a handful of frozen peas and corn, or maybe some string beans or asparagus. Spinach and mushrooms, sliced leeks or scallions (thoroughly soaked and washed) are all tasty additions to this 3-minute meal.

Stock up on dried beans, lentils and grains-- such as brown rice and whole-grain Pastas, and barley, some cans of tomatoes. By adding any vegetables (celery, carrots, onion, mushrooms, broccoli, or other favorites), many vegetarian soup recipes can be created.

Yesterday I created mushroom, barley, lentil soup. I sauteed mushroom slices until they were barely tender, and then I dumped in many cups of water, some whole-grain barley and some lentils. I squirted in Bragg Aminos and dumped in Spike until the broth tasted delicious. I added lentils, equal to the amount of barley. I continued to boil the soup for 55 minutes. Knowing the soup might be improved by a bit of potato and carrot, I cut one of each into 1/ inch dice and threw them into the pot near the end of the Cooking time.

For a bean soup, soak assorted beans overnight and boil them in the Bragg-and-Spike-seasoned water, until tender. Add desired vegetables.

For a vegetable soup, begin with cans of diced tomato. Add water, Bragg, Spike, ground pepper, brown rice or Pasta, and assorted veggies. Experiment with seasonings. Add sauteed onion or garlic sometimes. A dash of tobasco make it zippy!

And while your soup is Cooking, why not telephone your mother?

Vegetarian Soup Recipes - Great Healthy Soups

International Soup Ideas

Brrrrr. It's cold outside. At this time of year, everyone wants hot soup. Homemade, if possible. Today, instead of making your old favorite, why not go a step further and browse a selection of international soup ideas?

International Soup Ideas

International Soup Ideas

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International Soup Ideas

International Soup Ideas

Many countries are proud of their special soup. Here is a short list of international soup ideas that can easily be made in any American kitchen:

Asian
Japanese Miso Soup is not hard to make when there are miso soup packets to get you started. Just add tofu or another protein, such as cooked chicken, plus chopped scallions.

To give any broth a Chinese flavor, you can add one star anise and simmer for about 30 minutes. You can find star anise in the spices aisle of most supermarkets in metropolitan areas. You can add any thin noodles, such as vermicelli, or even try Chinese rice noodles. Let them cook in the broth. Then, add tofu or cooked chicken or Pork and perhaps broccoli. Presto! A Chinese-style soup.

Why not use instant raMen as a base for a delicious Asian-style soup? Add cooked shrimp, chopped fresh cilantro, and perhaps a vegetable such as carrots or mushroom. These add-ins augMent the flavor and the nutritional content and give you an easy international soup.

European
Many Europeans regularly prepare a pureed vegetable soup as a first course. They do not follow a recipe, but instead simmer the vegetables, such as carrots, till soft, then puree with broth, reheat and season with salt and pepper. It's a simple process and can be modified according to your tastes.

The Portuguese soup Caldo Verde is easy and a crowd-pleaser. One head of kale, 4 large potatoes, one onion, plus broth, and you're almost there. Some people add sliced sausage to this base of vegetables. This is a hearty soup!

Central American
Mexican Tortilla Soup is a great soup to start with for any meal, not just a Mexican meal! And it's so simple. Take a delicious chicken broth as your base. Add cooked chicken, chopped raw onion, and chopped fresh cilantro. At the table, add in some tortilla chips and grated cheese. Ole!

International Soup Ideas

A Japanese Lasagna Recipe Fit For The Emperor

With the growing popularity of such Japanese Foods, sushi, teppanyaki and sukiyaki, serving Japanese cuisine at home is now a cool thing to do and sure to impress your dinner guests.

A Japanese Lasagna Recipe Fit For The Emperor

A Japanese Lasagna Recipe Fit For The Emperor

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A Japanese Lasagna Recipe Fit For The Emperor

A Japanese Lasagna Recipe Fit For The Emperor

After World War II, Japanese Food had a hard road ahead of it to enter the mainstream western diet. My grandparents still hold bitter memories of the war era and probably would not try Japanese Food if they knew it's origins. While the youth of the West and Eastern nations are now more united through the internet and do not hold any grudges, Japanese Food can still be quite a culture shock for some. This Japanese-style lasagna recipe, while catering to the uniqueness of the Japanese palate, comes in a familiar form to Westerners and is a great way to introduce Japanese flavors to anuninitiated dinner guest.

To start with, let's take a look at the ingredients, some of which may be hard to find in your local grocery store, but any asian grocery store should be able to help you out:

Ingredients

6 sheets of dry lasagna noodles 1 half of a lotus root 2 slices of raw salmon 2 cans of meat sauce 2 tablespoons of oil 30 grams of butter (salted) 6 tablespoons of flour 300 ml of soy sauce (light) 1 tablespoon of miso paste 1 red onion 3 slices of cheese 1 packet of seaweed paper 1 handful of crispy tempura batter pieces 1 packet of ferMented soybeans salt and pepper to taste

Yes-ferMented soybeans! These are known as "natto" in Japanese and are one of the richest sources of protein in the world.The only caveat is that they can smell terrible to the unfamiliar diner. In Japan, it is common to find these in supermarkets or even convenience stores, sold 3 packets for under US $ 1. In overseas asian markets, the price may be up to 3 times that, but is a vital ingredient in making this lasagna recipe truly Japanese tasting.

Directions

Start preparations by peeling the lotus root if not already peeled, and soak it in some warm water. Cut the sliced salmon into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper and pan fry in oil. Remove the fried salmon from the pan and replace with the soaked lotus root. After simmering the lotus root for 5 mins, add the onion, sliced thinly, to the pan. In another frying pan, melt the butter and slowly combinethe flour, soy sauce, some more salt and pepper and reduce heat. Combine the contents of the first frying pan to the second and dissolves in the miso paste. In a pot, add the lasagna to boiling water with a little oil and salt. In a suitable dish lasagna, add the contents of the frying pan, then a layer of the cooked lasagna sheets, then a layer of meat sauce and repeat with alternating layers until your dish is full, save an inch at the top. On the final layer of Pasta, arrange the pieces of salmon as you would a fine Japanese garden and cover with the cheese. Bake in an oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 20minutes or until the cheese has melted, but before it is burnt. Remove from the oven and serve on a square black plate for best effect. Sprinkle the crispy tempurablink pieces on top after bringing to the table.

This dish is sure to be a success with both those who love Japanese food and guests who have never experienced Japanese flavors.

A Japanese Lasagna Recipe Fit For The Emperor

Learn to Make Japanese Miso Soup

If you have been eating at Japanese restaurants, you may have wondered how to duplicate the tasty and healthy Miso Soup you have enjoyed there. Here is the proper way to make it as I learned from a great Japanese cook.

Learn to Make Japanese Miso Soup

Learn to Make Japanese Miso Soup

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Learn to Make Japanese Miso Soup

Learn to Make Japanese Miso Soup

You can now have this delicious hot soup in your home any time you want. You will most likely find that it tastes as good or better than at your favorite restaurant.

First you have to locate the right ingredients and that will require going to the right grocery store. You need to look up where the closest Oriental Grocery or Japanese Grocery is located.

When you visit this establishMent, go to the refrigerated section and purchase a small tub of Miso. There should be a selection of different types of Miso paste. If possible try to buy a light or medium colored variety for your first soup. It should cost about five Dollars and have about a half pound of Miso paste in it. This will keep you in Miso soup for a while and you will also find that Miso is great for other recipes in the future.

Find fresh Tofu in the refrigerated area also and buy a small tub. I usually buy the firm variety so that it does not crumble while in the soup. A nice thing about making Miso soup is that the enTire recipe is really up to your taste and each cook has there own variables of each ingredient.

You also need to find or ask for "Negi". If that sounds strange, don't worry, that means scallion or green onion in Japanese. Buy a small bunchof Negi. You also need some "Wakame". Wakame is the tasty green leaf vegetable that you may have noticed before in Miso soup. It is a special sea vegetable, seaweed, if you will. Wakame can either be bought dried in a small couple oz packet, alternately you can purchase a small plastic package of about a quarter pound of salted fresh Wakame. Now you should find a small package of fresh Shiitake mushrooms.

Finally buy some "Dashi", this can come in teabags that contain the Dashi. It is a very mild and tasty Fish stock flavoring. There usually is a big selection of types so you can ask someone at the grocery store which one they recomMend.

If you read my article on making Japanese style rice, you could also pick up the correct rice to make that you caneat with your soup.

So, to make Miso Soup, here is your list of ingredients to buy and a description of each:

Miso Soybean paste pastes--tea bags--Dashi soup stock in teabag form. --Wakame seaweed, either dried or salted fresh is okNegi-scallion-Shiitake-mushroomTofu soybean curd--this is an excellent source of protein, by the way.Resist the urge to buy anything else right now because it is time to go home and make your first real Misosoup!

When you are home, take out your Wakame and soak it in a bowl of water, you only need a teaspoon offlakes or if you have the salted variety take about a six inch strand. The quantities are to your taste. Completely wash out the salt in the fresh strand of Wakame and then put it in a fresh bowl of water to soak while you are Cooking. Sometimes it actually is better to soak salted Wakame for an hour or longer so that it is more tender. I usually keep a soaked Supply in my refrigerator and make more every few days. If you are short on time, cut the washed fresh salted Wakame into one inch pieces and boil it in the Dashi you are making as this works nicely to tenderize the Wakame.

Wash a few Shiitake mushrooms with water and discard the tough stems. Slice each mushroom into quarter inch strips. For the soup, the object is to boil a pot of water with a Dashi bag. Figures abouta quart for 2 people but this is really something you can do by eye. Take your Shiitake mushrooms and add them to the soup. Boil gently 5 or 10 minutes to cook the mushrooms. Bring down the heat to a gentle simmer and add a couple tablespoons of Miso paste as per your taste. Remember how it tasted at the restaurant, use this as your guide to deciding how much to add Miso . You will have to stir the Miso paste a bit to dissolve it. A good trick to help dissolve the Miso is to put it into a strainer and rub it through into the soup. Taste your soup and make adjustMents to the amount Miso as needed. Do not be concerned over ingredient amounts, just taste as you go and make your soup to your own taste.

OK, let the> Soup continue to simmer gently and if you are soaking Wakame, drain it and slice it into one inch pieces. Put the Wakame in the soup and let it cook about 5 minutes.

Take about half the tub of Tofu and cut it into cubes. I always think it is fun to cube Tofu! Put the Tofu cubes into the soup and let it heat up for a minute or two but do not boil, just let it heat the Tofu.

Next, find your "Negi, do you remember what that is? Clean one stalk and with a very sharp knife and cutting board, finely slice it crosswise circle and put the Negi (scallion) aside for later.

That's it! You are done!

Serve the soup into small bowls and put some of the fresh uncooked Negi on the top of the soup right before you eat it.

I am now going to teachyou one more useful Japanese word. If you remember it, you can definitely feel good saying it while you are eating something that is particularly wonderful.

Oishii!

You can pronounce it like this: Oyy Shee!

It means delicious!

Learn to Make Japanese Miso Soup