Winter Minestrone

This Winter Minestrone recipe is my favorite recipe from Sunset Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. It might be a bit hard to find as it's pretty old. You'll probably find it a used bookstore. Or, you can call me up and I'll let you borrow it! It's my all time favorite Minestrone soup recipe. I think it tastes better than Olive Garden's Minestrone soup.

Winter Minestrone
Serving: 6 to 8
Preparation Time: ~45 min.
Cooking Time: ~1 1/4 hours

Per Serving: 362 calories (37% from fat), 14g protein, 45g carbohydrates, 15 g total fat (0.9 g saturated fat), 21 mg cholesterol, 1,615 mg sodium.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dry basil
1/2 teaspoon each dry rosemary, dry oregano, and dry thyme
1/4 cup pearl barley, rinsed and drained
2 medium-sized thin-skinned potatoes (about 12 oz total), diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 quarts homemade or canned vegetable broth
1 large turnips, peeled and diced (I always skip this cuz umm..I don't like turnips!)
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans or white kidney beans (cannellini)
2/3 cup small dry shell or elbow macaroni
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 1/2 cup of shredded jack cheese (I always skip this too hehe.)
Salt and Pepper (to your liking, I always skip the salt when using Swanson's vegetable broth cuz it's already plenty salty)

1) Heat oil in a 5 to 6 quart pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft (~8 to 10 min).
2) Add barley, potatoes, carrots, and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and boil gently for 20 mins. (If you're not adding turnips like me, skip step 3 and just simmer for another 20 min.)
3) Add the turnip, cover and continue to cook for 20 more min.
4) Stir in beans and their liquid, macaroni, tomato paste. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and boil gently until macaroni is tender to bite (~12 to 15 min).
5) Add cabbage and cook, uncovered, until cabbage is tender-crisp (~5 min).
6) Add salt and pepper to taste.
7) Add cheese (or skip it hehe).

Vegetarian West Lake Soup

The West Lake Soup is one of my all time favorite soup. I've adapted it to my new diet, substituting tofu & mushroom for beef. mmmm.....yummy!

Vegetarian West Lake Soup
(about 4 to 6 servings)
- 2 cups of homemade vegetable broth (or 1 can of swanson's vegetable broth)
- 2 cups of water
- a package of soft tofu (12 oz, cut into small cubes)
- 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots
- 1/2 a cup of straw mushrooms
- 1 egg white (optional)
- a stalk of green onion (chopped)
- a bunch of cilantro (chopped)

1) In a small to medium pot, add 2 cups of vegetable broth, 2 cups of water, and 1 cup of frozen peas and carrot. Bring it to a boil.
2) Add the straw mushroom and tofu.
3) When it starts boiling again, pour in the egg white. (You need to pour and stir the soup at the same times so that the egg white won't clump together. For a thicker consistency, you can dissolve a teaspoon of cornstarch in a little bit of water and pour the mixture into the soup.)
4) Add the green onion and cilantro.
5) Add pepper and salt to taste.