Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• Bamboo shoots (1 can or 300 g fresh)
• pickled red peppers (1 medium glass= 300 g)
• 250 g Tofu
• about one dozen dried Shiitake (=Tongku-) mushrooms
• the same amount black Chinese fungus
• 3-4 spring onions
• 250 g beansprouts
• 100 g dried “glass noodles”
• dried red chillies, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, tomato paste
• 1 1/2 litres vegetable stock (or water plus cubes)
• starch

Directions:

Soak mushrooms and fungi in cold water for at least an hour
before preparation. (Hint: they tend to rise to the
surface, use a plate that is slightly smaller than the bowl
to keep them under water)

Heat vegetable stock with about one teaspoonful of ground,
dried red chillies in a LARGE pot. In a separate bowl, pour
boiling water over the glass noodles.

Cut mushrooms and fungi, bamboo shoots, red peppers, spring
onions and tofu into small pieces. Rinse the beansprouts.
Add everything to the vegetable stock including the soaking
water from the mushrooms and the vinegar from the red
peppers.

Dissolve about 3 tablespoons of starch in cold water, add
tomato paste, soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. Add this
mixture to the boiling soup and stir. Drain the glass
noodles and add them to the soup.

Taste the result. It may be necessary to add more soy sauce
and/or vinegar.

Serves: 10

Preparation time: 45 min

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large-ish clove garlic, minced
• olive oil
• 1-2 carrots, grated
• 1-2 small zucchini, grated
• 1-2 small yellow squash, grated
• 1 lg. can tomatoes (30 oz)
• 1 can kidney beans (we like light red; 15-oz can)
• cumin to taste (1+ tsp)
• chili powder to taste (1+ tsp)

Directions:

Saute the onion and garlic in 1-2 Tbs olive oil until onion is
translucent (we usually overcook, but this doesn’t seem to matter).
Add cumin and chili powder; stir to coat onions. Add grated veggies
and stir some more. Add the kidney beans and their liquid, and the
tomatoes and their liquid (I like to cut up the tomatoes if
they’re whole, but if you’re not too hungry to let the chili simmer
for a long time, they will fall apart of their own accord
eventually…) Simmer until the veggies are limp, about 30 minutes minimum.

This is really good served with polenta or vegan cornbread.

Serves: about 6

Preparation time: 1 hour?

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 3 tablespoon oil (canola, olive,etc.)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• 1 teaspoon . ground coriander
• 1 1/2 lb. carrots, cleaned & sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 5 cup vegetable broth
• salt and pepper

Directions:

In a 4 quart saucepan, heat oil and saute onion until
slightly wilted. Add peanuts, coriander, cilantro, red
pepper and carrots. saute 8 min. more. Add stock and bring
to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all vegetables are
tender (10 min. or so).

With a slotted spoon, fish out the cooked veggies and puree
them in a blender or food processor. A little liquid makes
this easier. Return to saucepan. Add salt and pepper. Mix
well and serve.

Comments:
Big chunks of carrots and more time simmering mean less
chopping. It all gets pureed anyway.

You can use peanut butter if you don’t have dry roasted
peanuts on hand.

In the summer, this isn’t bad as a chilled soup.

Boiling onions, celery and carrots makes a great veggie
stock. Or, just use bouillion cubes.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 30 min

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 can vegetarian refried beans
• 1 can vegetable juice
• chopped garlic to taste
• 1/4 cup elbow macaroni
• black pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine first three ingredients in a saucepan. Add macaroni. I prefer to cook it
first so it doesn’t absorb all the liquid. Heat thoroughly. Pepper to taste.
Also can add a little tabasco, or splash of olive oil.

Serves: 1-2

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Nutrition Information: low fat

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 can (15 oz/425 g) black beans
• 1 can (15 oz/425 g) corn or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 2 cups cooked rice (brown or white)
• 1 1/2 cups salsa
• 4 - 6 cups veggie stock
• additional optional Ingredients (use vegan versions): grated soy cheddar, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, cumin,
• garlic, hot sauce, tomatoes, etc.

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain beans.

2. Put with remaining ingredients in a large soup pot. Simmer until heated through.

3. Serve.

Note: this is just a bare outline of a really quick and easy
soup that cries out for personalization: Add any of the
ingredients from the options list as you see fit (if you’re
using raw veggies, saute them briefly in the pot before
adding all the other ingredients). Use pinto beans or kidney
beans instead of black beans. Omit the rice. You get the
idea. And the proportions are just an outline too–if you
use less stock, for instance, this “soup” will be very thick
and can be used as a dip for tortilla chips or as a filling
for burritos, etc.

Serves: about 4

Preparation time: 10 min. + cooking time