Macrobiotic Soup for Lunch

There's something about soup that makes me fall madly in love every time I make it. I think that its the way that the flavors of each ingredient mix and create new flavors... And there's something incredibly zen about the way that the steam floats upward... Mmmmmmm....

To completely change gears on you... There is a lot of buzz in the vegan community about macrobiotics and it's benefits. I do not follow the macrobiotic philosophy exclusively, but it certainly has benefits. Macrobiotic means "good life." The philosophy is somewhat complicated, but it boils down to a few key ideas. Practitioners emphasize eating whole grains (not their bread products, but the actual seeds), vegetables, seaweed, and fermented foods like miso. Their way of eating intends to bring balance to the body (like yoga!). 

For this barley soup, you will need:

1 inch piece of kombu seaweed (I order this from www.edenfoods.com/ I've never tried this soup without it, but I bet you could if you don't just have loads of seaweed in your cupboard)

1 cup pearled or hulled barley

1/2 cup dried shitake mushrooms (you can really use any mushrooms you want- dried shitakes are my favorite)

3 slices of ginger

6 cups of water

any vegetables you like in your soup (I like carrots and celery in this soup)

1 large onion

3 tbs wheat or oat flour (you can put oatmeal in a coffee grinder and use it, too)

3 tbs red or barley miso

juice of 1/2 lemon

parsley for garnish

Directions: Place the kombu at the bottom of the pot, then add the mushrooms, ginger, any vegetables you are using, barley and water. Cook on medium for 30-40 minutes. When the barley is soft, saute your onion for 3-4 minutes on medium high, until translucent. Add your flour to the onion and coat it well. Pour your onion into your soup and reduce heat. Ladle some of your cooking liquid into a container and add your miso. Miso may take a while to dissolve- I mix it up with a fork. It's important to make sure that you don't boil the miso- it will kill the enzymes in the miso that make miso good for you. When your miso is dissolved, pour it into the soup, add your lemon juice and parsley and serve! I usually remove the kombu and ginger before serving, but if you're a purist, you'll want to eat them. 

I usually eat this soup with fried tofu and steamed collard greens with carrots. Simply saute your tofu with some sunflower seeds or sesame seeds, soy sauce and oil until golden brown. Steam your greens and carrots lightly and then dress them with 1 tsp umeboshi vinegar (a salty, yummy brine) and 1 tsp of flaxseed oil. 

Lunch!!!!