what we're eating: miso soup

Confession: I love ramen noodles. Not just the fresh kind (although those are awesome) but the kind that cost twenty cents at the grocery store. I don't know why (I think it has something to do with not being allowed processed food as a child) but the thought of having my weekly intake of sodium in just one meal? LOVE IT.
Fortunately, there are options. Right now, that option is miso. If you're not familiar with it, it's fermented soybean paste which has tons of health benefits, not the least of which is the fact that it's very alkaline in your system. When I can feel myself getting out of balance from too much high-acid food (caffeine, alcohol, and processed foods) miso helps to balance things out.
Besides which, it's delicious.
You can find miso at pretty much any grocery store, but if you have an asian grocery they will probably have a wider variety. (Yes, there are different flavors.) Right now I'm eating red miso, which has a slightly stronger flavor than yellow miso. It's still not overpowering, though. Generally, the darker the color the stronger the taste.  For my miso soup I use just about every vegetable I can find in my fridge. This batch includes:

• Carrot
• Turnip
• Onion
• Fresh ginger
• mushroom
• Frozen peas
• extra firm tofu

First I slice or shred all the veggies very finely. I grate the carrot and turnip on the fine side of the grater, but a mandoline would work well here, too.  Here are all my veggies: yes, that's for one person! The yellow in the middle is the minced fresh ginger. Pop all your veggies into a pot, and then add 3/4 cup of water. (Or so. You want to cover the veggies.)  Cook on high.  Throw in your diced tofu. (I only ever cook with extra firm because that's the only kind I like.)  Bring the whole pot just to a boil. You don't have to cook longer than that, as long as the veggies are very fine. They will be plenty cooked. Remove from heat.  Stir in about a tablespoon of miso. You don't want to further boil it, because that will kill enzymes in the miso. There is enough heat to dissolve the paste, though. Just keep stirring!  Yum! Enjoy your speedy, tasty, delicious meal!