Soup's On!

 Chicken soup has always been a cure for the common cold. At this time of year I am making some sort of soup everyday. We all love soup and it's good medicine to keep the sniffles at bay. Soup can be a bit fancy, like my mulligatawny with crispy sweet potato on top or a super simple breakfast broth loaded with garlic.

We call this breakfast soup "Ponyo" soup, if you've seen that movie you know why! Good, no chemical natural meats are pricey. Instead of a big, fat, meaty sandwich you can garnish your meals with a little. I think it's a healthier way to eat meat and it stretches your food budget too. We like this soup with spicy tofu also. 

If I am rushing around and don't feel like dealing with cooking noodles and the kids are asking for soup for breakfast I'll go with a quick miso. Good old tried and true chicken soup is good, but I go for Asian soups not only for taste (which I prefer), but I can add so many healing herbs and spices to them. 

I have an especially heavy hand with fresh garlic and ginger.  Seaweed too! Sea vegetables are sooo good for you. Many people aren't getting enough iodine in their diets. Most of my soups start by boiling water with a piece of kombu or wakame in it. You can take it out, like with a bay leaf and all the nutritional benefits remain. If you like the taste, chop it up and put it back in your soup and get even healthier!

Vietnamese Pho is a fun soup for a company lunch. Everyone can add what they want to their own bowl of hot broth. It's perfect to make this on a snowed in day. Make a big pot of pho broth and eat all day long. Another benefit is that it makes the house smell great because of the star anise and ginger. 

This soup is on heavy my rotation right now, it's called Senegalese Peanut Soup. If you are interested in that recipe link I must say that I always lessen the peanut butter and up the garlic. (I add ginger too, which isn't called for.) 

 I am frequently asked to bring this soup to potlucks once people have tried it. It's the kind of thing that you keep craving long after you eat it.  It freezes well so I make a large pot and put some away for quick lunches. I usually have some bread dough stored up as well, so this yummy lunch was pulled out of the freezer as "fast food" when I needed it.