This is not your typical miso soup but I post it to demonstrate that you can make a quick miso-type soup with a mix of possible ingredients and it will not only be unique each time but delicious as well–and you may get to use some leftovers! So miso soup is usually a light soup made with broth (vegetable or meat) and miso, with some scallions, and maybe some tofu and seaweed. If you haven’t experimented with sea vegetables (most people have had nori seaweed as sushi), give it a try. They are a good source of trace minerals and iodine.

If you keep bone or meat broth on hand, you have the beginnings of a good soup. I had turkey bone broth from Thanksgiving that had so much gelatin in it that it would not come out of the jar when I turned it upside down. I keep Miso Master chickpea miso on hand for soups and salad dressings. I also happened to have some leftover butternut squash–just the right amount as too much would thicken and change the quality of the soup which is traditionally light, not hearty. Mushroom is another nice addition to miso soup–I used a portobello that needed to be eaten.

If you want to make a vegetable broth get 3 leeks, 2 stalks of celery, and 1 carrot. Wash well and chop in big pieces. Melt 2 Tbsp. of ghee in a soup pot and add the vegetables. Stir for a few minutes over medium heat. Add 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil and then immediately reduce heat to low so the mixture simmers. Simmer for 1-2 hours. Strain and use for soup.

As you can see I did not see a recipe and go buy ingredients–I saw a recipe on the back of a seaweed package and then altered it to use what was in my refrigerator. It may be hard to replicate but your choice of ingredients might produce something better!

Serves 4

3 cups of broth, vegetable or chicken or turkey
3 Tbsp. Emerald Cove Sun-dried Wakame seaweed (this brand comes chopped up into nice bite size pieces that can be measured by Tbsp)
1 cup cooked butternut squash or 1 cup cooked wild rice blend
1 portobello mushroom or 1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, chopped
1 cup water
3 Tbsp. Miso Master chickpea miso (or any other organic and unpasteurized miso)
Salt to taste

Soak the wakame in 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Heat broth in soup pot. Blend squash with 1 cup of water to puree. Add the puree or the rice to the soup pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the mushroom and seaweed. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove soup from heat. In a small bowl mix miso with some of the hot soup broth. Add this miso “cream” to the soup and stir well. Add salt to taste. Serve hot.