Miso Soup with Vegetables

I don't know what the season is like where you live, but here in Seattle fall has definitely arrived.  There is that indistinguishable chill in the air, yellow leaves are strewn across the yard, and I woke up this morning with a cold.  My body is apparently not holding up with the change of seasons (and busy schedule!) as well as I would like.

Today, say no to your to-do list.  Instead, say yes to fuzzy socks, lying on the couch, a warm cup of tea (or this if you're feeling like me), and being present while eating miso soup.  

This soup is easy-to-make and combines the medicinal benefits of sea vegetables and miso.  Since miso is a living food, boiling it will destroy its beneficial enzymes, which is why the recipe calls for adding it in at the very end.  This recipe calls for wakame, which is a thin piece of seaweed that can be found fresh or dried.  It's different from nori (the dry, brittle sheets of seaweed used for sushi rolls), but you could also substitute nori if that's what you have on hand. I also added in ginger, mushrooms, and cilantro for extra flavor.  This is the perfect soup to battle a cold, fill a hungry belly, or warm you up at the end of a chilly fall day. 

Miso Soup with Vegetables
Adapted from Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source by Terry Walters.
Serves 4

6 cups water
3 carrots, sliced thinly into matchsticks 
12 ounces extra firm silken tofu, diced

4 fresh shiitake mushrooms

2 Tablespoons fresh chopped ginger to taste

3 inch strip wakame, broken into small pieces
dash of tamari or shoyu
1/4 cup miso

4 green onion, chopped

Fresh cilantro leaves 
In large pot over high heat bring water to boil. Add carrots, tofu, mushrooms, ginger, wakami, and tamari, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

In separate bowl, dissolve miso in 1/3 cup water. Ladle soup into individual bowls and stir 1 generous tablespoon of dissolved miso into each serving. Top with chopped scallions and cilantro and serve.