Garlic Mushroom Miso Soup

Fresh, hot miso soup - yum!

The cold weather means that I eat a lot of warm soups for lunch and dinner, and on a recent night my stomach was also feeling a bit queasy (perhaps from the bagel I ate for brunch - ugh!). I still wanted something for my evening meal, however, and decided that a light soup would be just perfect.

I recently bought a container of Brown Rice Miso, and decided that a Miso Soup was just what the doctor ordered! As fresh shitake mushrooms can be pricey, especially when organic, look for dehydrated mushrooms. They're much less expensive, take only 10 minutes to rehydrate, and the leftover water makes a delicious broth base you can use in your soup instead of plain water! While I added garlic, seaweed and mushrooms, those things are all optional, as are green onions or tofu. Like many recipes I love, it's all about what you have on hand in the kitchen! The garlic will be strong, but it's also a great immune system strengthener - great for cold and flu season!

This is a super simple and quick recipe that can be made as a light meal, a hearty meal (with lots of additions), or as a side dish to a meal. Use the base recipe and make it your own!

Miso Soup (serves 2 as a meal, 4 as a side)
Base Broth Ingredients:
5C of Water (use water from the mushrooms if you re-hydrated some)
1/4C of Miso Paste (any variety)
1T Tamari

Optional Additions:
1T Toasted Sesame Oil
1/2 Block of Organic Tofu, cubed
3 Green Onions, sliced thin
3 Cloves of Garlic, pressed
1/2C Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
Anything else you desire!


Directions:
- Heat water (or mushroom broth) in a pot over low/medium heat. You want the water to get hot, but not boil. Boiling destroys the beneficial microorganisms and probiotics in the miso, which your body needs!
- Stir in the miso paste until it is well dispersed.
- Add the garlic, seaweed, and any other optional ingredients. Continue to stir occasionally, and do not allow the mixture to boil!
- Heat through, and serve immediately.

Oven Steamed Halibut & Stir-Fried Bok Choy

With all the bok choy our CSA has been sending us in our boxes recently, this meal has quickly become one of our favorite ways to enjoy it. Both recipes in this post, the Oven-Steamed Halibut and the Stir-Fried Bok Choy, are quick and easy to make. If you're eating grains, brown rice served on the side is a great way to soak up all the delicious sauce...it tastes so good, it's a shame to let the extra sauce go to waste!

Halibut - just out of the oven

Oven Steamed Halibut (serves 4)
Ingredients:
4 Scallions
2" Fresh Ginger, peeled and sliced thin
4 4oz Halibut Fillets (or other delicate, white fish such as sole, flounder)
2T Soy Sauce
2T Sherry/Rice Vinegar
1t Sesame Oil
1/2t Sugar

Directions:
- Put 1/3 of the scallions and ginger in a 9x13 glass baking dish.
- Place fish fillets on top, then scatter the remaining scallions and ginger on top.
- Mix the sauce in a bowl, and pour over the fish.
- Let marinate about 15 minutes.
- Seal with foil, bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. (You  might need more or less time depending on the thickness of your fish.)
- Fish is cooked when the color has turned white, and easily flakes with a fork.
- Plate pieces of fish and spoon sauce on top to serve.

Bok Choy - almost done

Stir-Fried Bok Choy
Ingredients:
2-4 bunches of Organic Bok Choy (depending on size)
2T High heat oil (such as sesame, safflower or peanut)
1T Soy Sauce
Optional: sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic, ginger, chili paste

Directions:
- Chop the ends off the bok choy, so that the leaves fall apart. Rinse all leaves well, as dirt can accumulate in there. Dry off the leaves as best you can, but some water is okay.
- The exact size is up to you, but separate the white part of the leaf from the green. As you chop, put the white and green parts into separate piles, as they require different cooking times. I like to do roughly bite-sized pieces, because then I can use chopsticks with my meal instead of needing a knife.
- If you're using any of the optional ingredients, slice those up now.
- In a fairly large saucepan, heat the oil over med-high heat. Once it is hot, add the white parts of the bok choy. (If you're using garlic/ginger/onions, add those first and heat til fragrant. Do not brown them!)
- Stir everything well, so that the oil is well distributed.
- Cover the pan, and cook for a couple minutes.
- When the white part of the bok choy is soft, add the green parts. If you're adding mushrooms, do that now.
- Continue to cook, uncovered, until green parts have wilted.
- When vegetables have cooked, turn down the heat and add soy sauce/chili paste to taste. Stir to coat.
- Serve immediately, and enjoy.