This I Believe

Soup is some kind of magical wonder-food sent from on high to heal all earthly wounds and soothe all tired souls. I attempted to go to yoga today, arrived late and was greeted with a locked door. Lesson learned. I got back on the subway and headed to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things for the rat men. I wandered around for probably 45 minutes in a congested haze before walking out with a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, some multigrain hot cereal, a box of vegetable broth, and a bag of baby spinach. I trudged home in the rain and came up with this pot of deliciousness.

Vegetarian Chicken Noodle Soup

3 celery ribs, sliced, greens and all

1 medium sweet onion, small dice (any yellow onion will do)

1 carrot, small dice

1 bag Trader Joe's "Organic Foursome," or a bag of mixed veggies with corn, carrots, peas, green beans, or other similar vegetables

3 cups baby spinach

3 cloves garlic, minced

thyme, rosemary, za'atar, oregano-- whatever herbs you like. I used about a teaspoon of za'atar and a teaspoon of dried thyme

1 package Trader Joe's Chickenless Strips (optional)

noodles (I used a nest of egg noodles from the Vietnamese grocery. any noodles you want will work)

3 bay leaves

1 box vegetable broth + 1/2 box water + 2 tbsp Better than Bouillon No-Chicken Base OR 2 boxes Imagine No-Chicken Broth and water as needed, to taste

Throw the carrot, onion, and celery into a big pot with a little olive oil or butter/margarine and sweat the veggies down over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add the minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook another 2 minutes.

Add the entire bag of frozen vegetables, season again, and add the herbs and bay leaves.

Pour in broth, water, and base, and bring to a boil. Add as much water as you want, to taste, and to the consistency you want. Make sure you add a little extra liquid to take the spinach and noodles into account!

Add the chickenless strips and noodles. Boil until noodles are cooked through.

Stir in spinach just before serving.

I added a little Bragg's to my bowl when the soup was done. This is so wonderfully warming, and it's got me feeling better already. Enjoy!