Veggie-Quinoa Soup

Sopa del día

2 broth-y soups in 1 week!  I must be sick.  Oh yeah, I am.  Apparently having a sore throat makes me like broth.  I'm actually eating soup for the second time today!  (This has got to be some kind of record) I had the last bowl of Chicken-Veggie Soup for lunch today.  I found that Tostitos Multigrain chips went really well with it, their saltiness was great with the not-so-saltiness of the soup.

I ended up making soup again tonight partly because I knew the broth would be nice to my throat, and partly because I was just itching to try again for a successfully flavorful veggie stock.  I was in luck, this soup is delightfully tasty.  I'm not itching to pour a bucket of salt in it, like I was with the chicken soup. (although I should probably admit the fact that I didn't measure the salt this time...I just kind of shook some out over the pot).  Also, the quinoa is way tastier than the whole grain pasta I used in the chicken soup.  I'm about to give up on whole grain pasta, it just does not taste good. I'm pretty sure the tiny bit of health benefit I get from it vs regular pasta is not worth the nastiness.  I mean, seriously.  I put whole wheat flour in my cookies; surely I can get away with eating regular pasta all the time.

Veggie-Quinoa Soup

the oils: butter, bacon grease, olive oil
the veggies: carrots, celery, radishes, bok choy
the leaves: bok choy, spinach, basil
the seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, sage, thyme, turmeric, rosemary, salt
other: fresh grated ginger, 6 garlic cloves
quinoa: 1/2 c

directions: Brown the vegetables in the oils.  Include the bok choy stems but save the leaves for later.  Once the veggies have begun to brown, add 2 c water.  When the water boils, add the quinoa and another cup or so of water.  Bring it to a boil, then simmer.  Add the bok choy leaves, spinach leaves, and basil leaves when the quinoa is just about done.  Remove from heat when the quinoa is fully cooked (grain is translucent, germ ring is visible)

Dinner is served.

Of course I had some chicken next to this bowl of soup.  And a spinach roll similar to my arugula rolls, but with spinach, roma tomato, and gouda cheese.  And I think I'm still hungry.  That's why I don't like broth-y soups.  They are so. not. filling. At least it was super tasty!