This rice noodle recipe was given to me by my Vietnamese friend Jeannie. The herbs gave the soup a different flavor and aroma. It takes only 10 minutes to prepare the ingredients and 20 minutes cooking time. This recipe serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
• 4 ounces rice stick noodles (about ¼ inch wide)
• 3 green onions leaves, white parts thinly sliced diagonally
• 5 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 piece fresh ginger (about 3 inches), peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded skinless chicken meat
• 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
• pinch red pepper, crushed

For garnish: fresh herbs such as basil, cilantro and mint
lime wedges
tops of the green onion leaves

In a saucepan, heat water over high heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add noodles, stirring to separate. Let stand 3 to 6 minutes or until tender noodles are tender. (Or just follow directions according to label). Drain.

In another saucepan, combine broth or chicken stock with onion leaves thinly sliced diagonally, water, ginger, hoisin sauce and crushed red pepper. Heat to boiling over high heat and reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Discard ginger if you like, add noodles and chicken meat. Heat to boiling over high heat then reduce to low heat and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Ladle to soup bowls. Serve with fresh herbs, lime wedges to squeeze over soup, and green onion tops.

Nutritional value per serving:

275 calories, 24 g proteins, 25 g carbohydrates, 8 g total fat (2 g saturated), 0 g fiber, 60 mg cholesterol

This soup recipe was something me and my siblings enjoyed during a stormy day.  The sayote would be picked from a neighbor’s backyard. Sometimes, my mother would serve this with fried fish.

Ingredients:
• 2     bunches misua
• 1     onion, sliced
• 3     cloves garlic, minced
• 2     tablespoons, ginger, chopped
• 3     cups vegetable soup stock
• 2     pieces sayote, julienned
• 2     tablespoons peanut oil
• 1     teaspoon salt
• 1     teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

In a warm skillet, saute garlic in oil, add onion and ginger, fry until onions are translucent. Add the vegetable soup stock. Add salt and freshly ground pepper.  Bring to a boil. Drop in the sayote and cook until tender. Add the misua and stir so that the noodles will not stick. Remove from heat. Let stand for about 3 minutes, then serve while still hot.  Serves 4.

This healthy soup recipe was a favorite of my children, my nephews and nieces. It is for children who turn up their noses at vegetables. This creamy, light green soup will surely tempt them. They will surely love vegetables after tasting this soup. To thicken the soup, you can add left over mashed potatoes. You can also add other green vegetables in equal measure.

Ingredients:
• 1 cup homemade chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons instant mashed potato powder
• 3 tablespoons butter
• pinch of ground pepper
• pinch of nutmeg

Procedure:

In a soup pot, heat the stock and water over medium heat. Add the onion, broccoli, and salt and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender. Puree half of the vegetables with half of the liquid in a blender or processor until smooth, then repeat with the other half. Be sure to vent the steam.

Heat the milk in a large saucepan until bubbles form on the edges. Stir in the mashed potato powder, butter and nutmeg and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the pureed broccoli and onion. Adjust seasoning according to taste.

Ladle into individual soup bowls. This soup recipe keeps well overnight and can be frozen. Serves 4 to 6. It is best served hot. It could also be served cold, depending on the preference.

This bean soup recipe was given to me by my landlady last Christmas. The jar of multi colored dried beans that came with It truly warmed my heart. I found it a unique gift that i shared with my friends too. It is a gift worth sharing with all the fixings for homemade soup. I find it easy to prepare and surely it warms the heart of a loved one, a friend or a neighbor or any one who receives it.

Pour 6 to 8 cups of different dried beans into a large mixing bowl. Mix it up. Measure 2 cups into each of a 2 pint size canning jars. Copy the following recipe into an index card. Fold it in half to create gift tags. Punch a hole in the card, slip a ribbon through the hole, and tie it around the lid with a big bow.

Multi Beans Soup Recipe
• 2 cups dried beans
• 10 cups water or stock
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 pieces carrots, diced
• 2 cups tomatoes, minced
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 1 piece green pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• salt to taste

Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain and place them in a soup pot with r crushed garlic cloves and 10 cups of water or stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add the diced carrrots and simmer for 1 more hour. Add the minced tomatoes, chopped onions, diced green pepper, parsley, lime juice and chilli powder. Simmer for another 3 hours and season with salt.

This chicken soup recipe is a unique combination of flavors that is totally different from the usual chicken broth that we are familiar with. This tangy and gingery soup will surely perk up a stressed and fatigued body and soul.

Ingredients
• half kilo chicken meat (skinless and boneless), cut into thumb size pieces
• 1 piece medium sized white onion, cut up into big cubes
• 1 thumbsized ginger, minced
• 3 pieces half ripe, medium sized tomatoes, cut into big cubes
• 5 pieces unripe tamarind
• 1 bundle young malunggay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• garlic powder
• water

Heat a casserole and add the chicken meat, onions and minced ginger. Stir until the onions are tender and when meat start to stick to the casserole, add water enough to cover the meat. Let it boil. In a separate saucepan, boil the unripe tamarind in half cup of water until it is soft and ready to be mashed. Mash the mixture and strain. Add the strained juice into the boiling chicken meat. Add the tomatoes into the stew and continue cooking until the chicken meat is tender. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Add the malunggay leaves until boiling. Serve hot. This recipe serves 4 to 6.

The advantage of soup is that nothing is wasted. Vegetable soups are extremely low in calories and filling, making it a complete meal. They are inexpensive and easy to make. In fact, some of the most popular soups were thrown together, using up old vegetables hidden in the back of the fridge. Fridge Cleanup Soup.

It is awfully hard to go wrong in making vegetable soup. If you are just a beginner in the kitchen or having that special someone over for supper, a bowl of savory soup is always a winner.

Find the biggest pot in the house and fill it half full of fresh cool water. The pot we will be using in the following recipe will contain 12 cups of water half full. You can adjust the measurements to the proportion and size of your pot.

The key to good vegetable soup is timing and broth. Simulated chicken base is an excellent starting point. Check the ingredients to make sure that there are no animal fats or preservatives. A good quality chicken base can be usually be purchased in your local health food store. You may also want to try an all natural vegetable base soup mix. Garlic, onions and seasonings, soya sauce, bean sauce – all of these ingredients must first be added to the cold water, allowing the flavor to mingle before adding the contents of your soup. Before adding vegetables, taste the soup broth after then minutes of boiling to make sure that it is full-bodied and perfectly seasoned to your taste.

If you like your soups thick, add Quinoa or whole oats that have been powdered in the coffee grinder. These are also excellent for thickening stews. (Potato juice also is an excellent thickener working like cornstarch.) Once your broth has simmered for 15 minutes, add any dried ingredients such as split peas, legumes or lentils. Go easy on these ingredients because they are rich concentrated foods. A small amount is more than enough. They will also add to the thickening of the soup because of the starches. Soak beans overnight before adding them to the soup. If you are not used to eating beans, bring the beans to a boil then throw away the water. Do not add it to the soup broth or you may find yourself in an embarrassing situation.

Your next step is to add any starchy, dense vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, yams, turnips and squash. These vegetables take longer to cook. Chop up the remainder of the soft vegetables while they are simmering on the stove. Timing is important so there will be no over-cooked mushy veggies. Vegetables are added according to their required cooking time.

Just about now, your house is going to be filled with savory smells that will entice your house is going to be filled with savory smells that will entice your children into the kitchen asking you, Daddy is the soup done yet? I’m starving.

About five minutes before you turn off the heat, add the tomato paste. The longer tomatoes cook the more acidic they become. After turning off the stove, allow the soup to stand for about an hour. Then add good tasting yeast for a rich cheesy flavor.

You can also add miso, but never cook this delicate fermented bean paste. Miso has been fermented for over two years in large cakes, keeping its enzyme qualities and producing healthy bacteria that help to clean the colon.

We hope that these soups will give you a starting point in which you can begin to create your own dishes that will reflect your character and unique taste. We have lots of room for creativity.