Not Your "Cup of Noodles"

This soup is everything we ever wanted all in one beautiful bowl to help keep us warm during the long Chicago winters.  And unlike our previous post, this soul warming soup can be ready start to finish in 15 minutes; a simple way to end a hectic day or perfect as a packed lunch (just add hot water when you're ready!).  Also different from our last post, we are featuring a favorite food product, because lets face it, life these days is not always conducive to 100% homemade.  We want to show you that the use of the right food products with quality ingredients can fit into a healthy, whole foods based diet for foodies on the go, and at times even boost the nutritional benefit of your meals. 

For this recipe we are featuring South River's organic chickpea miso.  New to miso?  That's okay!  Briefly, it's a paste made from cooked beans (traditionally soy beans) mixed with salt and a cultured or fermented grain called a koji (typically made from rice or barley).  This mixture is fermented in wooden vats for weeks to years and should remain unpasteurized to  retain the most health benefits.  Unpasteurized miso is a fermented food (similar to yogurt) that contains probiotic microorganisms (also known as "good bacteria") that aid our digestive enzymes in their never ending task of digesting the food we eat.  We describe it's taste as strong, salty, sour and slightly sweet.  In the kitchen miso can be used as a multipurpose flavoring for soups, dressings, vegetable and grain dishes, sauces, spreads and more!  But remember, to avoid killing those all important good bacteria miso should not be boiled or overheated.  This is the reason why we poured hot water over the soup in this recipe instead of boiling the ingredients in one pot.   This wonderful product can be purchased from the company website where you can also find endless information about miso.  Though you might get lucky and find it or a comparable product (look for organic and unpasteurized) at your local health food store, we found ours at Whole Foods Market.  Also a note about our tofu which is organic and sprouted; we will discuss tofu more at another time but for now know that finding an organic product is important and sprouted is preferable for ease of digestion.    So who's ready for some soup....

Soul Warming Miso Soup
PREP TIME: 15 mins
TOTAL TIME: 15 mins
Servings: 1 hearty bowl

Ingredients
1/4 cup dry quinoa
1 cup raw kale
4 oz sprouted, organic, firm tofu
1 heaping Tbsp chickpea miso
1 scallion
1/2 lemon
A few sprigs of cilantro
A pinch of red pepper flakes (or a splash of your favorite hot sauce)

Rinse 1/4 cup dry quinoa under running water until water runs clear. Add 1/4 cup dry quinoa to a pan with 1/2 cup water. Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover pan and continue cooking for 12-15 mins or until the liquid has absorbed. While the quinoa is cooking, start preparing the kale. 

Wash and finely chop raw kale, removing all stems. Add kale to a sauté pan with a pinch of salt and dry cook over medium heat until kale wilts and becomes a deep beautiful shade of green. Remove from sauté pan and let sit while you gather the remaining ingredients.  Cube raw tofu into 1/2" blocks and set aside.  Finley slice the bottom (white portion) of the scallion.

Find the most beautiful bowl you own and a large "slurping spoon" and begin adding your ingredients - miso, quinoa, sauteed kale, cubed tofu, sliced scallion, cilantro, and red pepper flakes. Slowly pour ~10 oz of hot water (we used a tea kettle) over the ingredients, stirring well to make sure the miso is fully dissolved.  Garnish with squeezed juice from 1/2 lemon. 

We hope that this soup helps you make it through the rest of this cold winter, and if you live somewhere warm (jealous!) save this one for a rainy night.  Make a big bowl, turn on your favorite music, light a candle, and nestle into your couch with this delicious, soul warming, nutritious miso soup!

Stay warm,
Jess & Cecelia