Miso vegetable soup

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
A few vegetables * thinly sliced *
3 cups Spring water; or filtered water
3 Pieces wakame; (1 inch) soaked until tender (about 3 minutes) and diced
¼ teaspoon Barley miso; (1/4 to 1/2) per cup of broth or brown rice miso
Fresh scallions; thinly sliced for garnish

Directions

* like onion half moons, daikon matchsticks, carrot coins, finely shredded Chinese cabbage or head cabbage, diced winter squash, etc., you get the idea. Vary the veggies each day.

Miso is a fermented soybean paste used to flavor various dishes, but most widely used to season soups, like bullion. Miso's natural fermentation process creates a combination of enzymes that strengthen and nourish the intestinal tract. As a result, the blood that nourishes the balance of the body is stronger and cleaner. The quality of our blood creates the people we are, and the health we possess. The best quality misos are those aged over two or more summers. Basic miso soup encompasses the use of miso, of course, a small amount of sea vegetables to mineralize the blood and a variety of fresh vegetables. The balance of these ingredients creates a strengthening energy vital to life. The key to basic miso soup is that it be light and brothy, like consomme with vegetables. The flavor should be delicate, not too salty. Any soup or stew can be seasoned with miso, and the cooking times and styles will be adjusted accordingly. But this is a basic, daily miso broth, the kind traditionally cooked in the Orient for the first meal of the day (yup, breakfast). So keep it light and fresh-tasting, simple and delicious.

Bring water and wakame to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for about 3 minutes. Add some vegetables and simmer, covered, over low heat for 3-4 minutes, until just tender. Remove a small bit of hot broth, dissolve the miso and stir into the soup. Simmer, uncovered, without boiling for 3-4 minutes more. Serve garnished with fresh scallions.

NOTE: It is very important that you not boil the miso. The beneficial enzymes present need warmth to activate, but boiling them will destroy their benefits, leaving you only with the flavor. Also, remember that garnishing isn't arbitrary or done simply because it makes soup look beautiful, which, of course it does. Garnishing adds a final touch of fresh, light energy to a soup that has cooked over fire for several minutes. All soups need that kind of garnish, and they can include anything raw and fresh--scallions, parsley, sprouts, grated carrot, daikon or gingerroot, to name just a few options.

Recipe by: Christina Pirello, Cooking the Whole Foods Way Posted to EAT-LF Digest by "Ellen C." <ellen@...> on Jul 15, 1999, converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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