Miso Vegetable Soup

It's so cold outside! I love it. This will warm you right up. 

Miso is pretty neat. Salad dressings, glazes, soups - oh my! And depending on its processing and fermentation methods, miso is alive with friendly bacteria that's medicinal for your belly and body. Fermentation guru, Sandor Katz sums it up well in an interview with NPR's Terry Gross:

Bacteria in our gut enable us to live. We could not survive without bacteria. They allow us to digest food, to assimilate the nutrients in our food; and they play a huge role, just beginning to be understood, in our immune functioning and in many other processes in our bodies. All life has evolved from bacteria and no other form of life has lived without bacteria. Our bacteria perform all sorts of essential functions for us, and because we are continually attacking them effectively with all of these chemicals in our lives, simply replenishing and diversifying these populations has a benefit for us.

So, if you're hankering for some instant, soothing soup, instead of reaching for a box-of-anything, try some miso. Just make sure to get an organic, non-GMO, gluten-free fresh paste. I prefer the red type since it is more nutrient dense than the yellow or white varieties.

INGREDIENTS
filtered water (4 cups)
fresh ginger (4 T) grated
garlic cloves (1-2 large) crushed
onion (1) very thinly sliced; I use my mandoline
carrots (1-2) sliced into coins
celery (1-2) sliced 
mushrooms (1/2 box)
miso paste (4 T)
vegetables got any veggies in your fridge you'd like to use? throw 'em in there! bok choy, broccoli, green onions, have fun!

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour your water into a pot, add grated ginger, bring to a boil. (The medicinal properties of ginger are released when it's boiled or dried, so you want to let that ginger boil while prepping your veggies.)
2. Prep all your veggies if you haven't already.
3. Throw everything in except for any super soft elements, like mushrooms. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are softened to preference.
4. Turn off heat. Add mushrooms. 
5. After a minute, stir in the miso. (Water that is too hot will break down the medicinal properties of miso.)

That's it! Enjoy! xo, J

Crispy Tofu & Peppery Shaved Celery

This is based on a dish from Mark Bittman's 101 Summer Salads. I've had this list magneted to our fridge for almost a year, but its recipes truly shine during the summer. I've tried about a dozen of these salads, and so far, they vary in greatness. But man, the tasty ones are so brilliant, it's worth some trial and error to sniff them out. The genius of these salads is their SIMPLICITY; their minimalist ingredients, instruction, and effort. Bittman gives you a great starting place and it's playtime from there. I had a lot of fun with this one. The celery is a refreshing crunchy contrast to the warm crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside tofu. It's filling, a standalone meal. You could throw in some orange juice and zest for the tofu glaze, serve over rice/quinoa or by itself.

INGREDIENTS
celery (1 stalk bunch) sliced a little thicker than paper thin; I use my mandolin for this, but can be done by hand or maybe with food processor attachment
organic (preferably sprouted) extra firm tofu (15.5 oz) pressed between paper towels with weight on top for at least 30 minutes to soak up the water (this allows the tofu to crisp up and absorb flavor better), then diced into small cubes
peanut or olive oil (1 T) or as much as you want; I always use as little oil as I can get away with
peanuts (1/3 cup) crushed
chili flakes (1/4 t)
freshly ground Szichuan or regular peppercorns
tamari or soy sauce
toasted sesame seeds
lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Beat some oil and tamari together. Spread the diced tofu out on a baking sheet then brush them with oil/tamari mixture. Pop in the oven and broil until golden crispy.
2. In the meantime, heat up oil in a small saucepan until slippery, then add red chili flakes to infuse the oil. After a minute or so, add the crushed peanuts and stir until golden and aromatic.
3. Toss shaved celery, sesame seeds, spicy peanuts, crispy tofu, fresh ground pepper, and tamari together, finish with squeezed lemon to taste.

Enjoy! xo, J

Vegetarian Phở

Whenever I was sick as a kid, the only thing I ever wanted to eat was chicken soup. I would either have a cube of bouillon with white rice and diced potatoes or my grandma would bring over matzo ball soup from Agoura's Famous Deli (she never cooked, but made sure we had plenty of bonbons, assorted Pepperidge Farm cookies, berries with sugar, and put together a mean croissant turkey sandwich). The matzo balls were soft ball size and always fell apart in the bowl. I distinctly remember their flavor. 

grandma, Jess & me

Yesterday when I was sick, I wanted my usual soup, but with a plant-based translation - so I gave homemade vegetarian phở a try. We had just visited the asian market (Mitsuwa) the day before, so we were stocked up. This is definitely a great comfort soup to include in your repertoire. It's traditionally a meat based dish, but I have always preferred the vegetarian variation. This is a slight adjustment on The Kitchn's recipe.


INGREDIENTS
onion (1) large, peeled and halved
ginger root (2" piece) fresh, peeled, halved lengthwise
cinnamon / Vietnamese cassia-cinnamon (3" stick)
star anise (1)
garlic cloves (2) thickly sliced lengthwise
coriander seeds (1 tsp)
unsalted vegetable stock (4 cups) homemade or a very clear, tasty variety
soy, bragg's or fish sauce (2 tsp)
carrots (4) peeled and coarsely chopped
rice noodles I used Miracle Noodles


GARNISH OPTIONS, any of the following to taste:
fried/baked tofu, bean curd skin
mushrooms, bean sprouts, bok choy, napa cabbage, broccoli
onion, scallions, hot peppers
mint, asian basil, cilantro
lime, chili sauce, soy sauce, bragg's, fish sauce


DIRECTIONS

1. Char onion and ginger directly under a broiler or over an open flame (holding with tongs) until slightly blackened, about 5 minutes on each side. This is key in creating the distinctly phở flavor.* Thickly slice the ginger.
2. In a large pot, dry roast cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and coriander over medium-low heat, stirring to prevent burning. When spices are aromatic, add vegetable stock, fish sauce, carrots, charred onion and ginger.
3. Bring broth to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. The soup is even more flavorful when served hours later. 
4. Cook noodles according to package instructions. Spoon into a bowl and pour strained broth over noodles.
5. Serve with garnishes on the side. The soup is incomplete without garnishes to taste.

*This charring is a french method - phở was developed in the early 1920s to accomodate both French and Vietnamese palettes during the French Indochina period.

Enjoy! And don't get sick this season if you can help it! You don't need to be under the weather to enjoy this soup. xo, J

Chinese Eggplant

You can omit the honey and use a soy sauce substitute to avoid any wheat or sugar if so desired.  If you don't care about such omissions and want the sauce even thicker, you can also throw in a tiny bit of cornstarch/water mix to thicken up the sauce. I serve this over some kind of brown rice.


Serves 2


INGREDIENTS 
chinese or japanese eggplants (4-5 mediums) cut into 1" slices
rice wine/vinegar (1 tablespoon)
garlic (6-8 cloves) roughly minced
fresh ginger (2 tablespoons) minced
chili sauce (2 tablespoons) 
soy sauce or substitute (4 tablespoons)
honey (dash) or preferred sweetener  
broth (2/3 cup)
scallions (3) minced
sesame oil (1 tablespoon)


DIRECTIONS

1. If you are using a rounder eggplant, cut it into 2″ cubes. You can cut long, skinny Japanese and Chinese eggplants into 1″ thick rounds.
2. Steam until tender, approximately 10 minutes, but not too soft – a knife should easily pierce it but not mush it in the process.  
3. Combine the broth, honey, soy sauce, chili sauce in a bowl.  Mix thoroughly.
4. Fry up the garlic and ginger in the sesame oil, throw the broth mix in, and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered, letting it thicken.
5. Add the eggplant and vinegar and stir gently from the bottom to coat with the sauce.
6. Slide onto a serving plate and garnish with scallion.