Four Days of Rain + Many Vegetables = Delicious Soup!

I posted this soup on the second day of January in 2011 and it merits recycling because my house smells SO GOOD right now as I await the finishing touches on a batch of this. I have a crisper full of celery, kale, mushrooms, leeks and brussels sprouts, plus a couple of garlic cloves on the counter, so here goes.

Asian Mushroom Soup

When it is raining really hard, it's chilly, and you're in denial over the end of vacation, here's a good solution... a veryflavorful soup, full of vegetables, chicken and rice noodles.

I had some chicken broth I made after having an amazing roast chicken on New Year's Eve. But you could just use canned broth or bouillon cubes if you had to. The flavor comes from the garlic, ginger, soy sauce and mirin. If you don't currently have that in your pantry, you should... it's a great ingredient for salad dressings or just to add some tang to stir fry.

My roommate is fighting a cold, so I'm hoping the combo of ginger and garlic can do some chicken soup magic -- with a little Asian flair.

Happy New Year people. Don't be in denial -- it's gonna be a great year!

Ingredients

• 4 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce (or tamari if you're gluten-free like me)
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 cups assorted mushrooms, sliced -- white buttons, oyster, shitake, portobello and crimini; if using shitake, discard stems 
• 3 cups white cabbage, cut in wedges (I didn't have cabbage, but had a stalk of brussels sprouts. Yummy!)
• 2 cups fresh udon noodles or cooked linguine (I used a package of pho noodles -- PERFECT)
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions, with some of the green tops
• 2 cups shredded raw spinach or whole baby spinach leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mirin (sweetened rice wine) (optional)

Directions

In a large pot, combine broth, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots and chicken. Cover. Bring to a boil; simmer until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in noodles, green onions and spinach; simmer until greens are wilted, about 2 minutes. Season.