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Vegan Miso Noodle (or Tofu) Soup

6 sliced carrots
6 stalks of sliced celery
8-10 sliced mushrooms
4 chopped green onions
2 thin slices of ginger
6 cups veggie broth, water, or veggie bullion in water
2 TBS olive oil
3-4 TBS shiro (white) miso paste
a bunch about 2" in diameter of flat asian wheat noodles or julienne cut tofu

heat the oil in a dutch oven (that's a large pot). Add the ginger and cook until fragrant. Remove the ginger pieces and add mushrooms and onion. Cook until mushrooms are tender about 2-3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, broth/water and simmer 20 or so minutes until carrot slices are tender. Meanwhile mix your miso paste with a little bit of hot broth/water from your soup and stir until blended smoothly. This will prevent miso clumps in your soup. Add the noodles and diluted miso paste and cook noodles in the soup as long as the package directs (usually 3-4 minutes). If using tofu, just cook long enough to heat thoroughly.

For non-pescatarian vegetarians and vegans: Make sure you buy shiro miso paste without bonito extract (generally added for making japanese miso soup) as bonito is a fish and you wouldn't want to eat that, would you? Miso paste gererally can be purchased in asian food stores but occaissionally turns up in foriegn food isles of generic grocery stores.

I made this (noodle variety) for dinner tonight. Measurements are approximent. I just pulled out whatever was in the fridge and cooked it.