Day 357: Miso Soup

So is this "scratch cooking" or not? Look at the four convenience packages it took to make this simple soup! (It seemed as much like "cooking" as a Minnesota hot dish with a can of Campbell's, frozen vegetables, a few slices of Velveeta and canned onion rings for garnish.)

And anyone who's familiar with miso soup will laugh. (Hey! at least I know from someone who lived in Japan that miso is pronounced mee-zo with a fuzzy sz sound.)

But apparently you don't eat the kelp? (It didn't kill me. And I kinda liked it. And aren't you supposed to eat your greens, anyway??? NOT eating it would have felt like picking tomatoes off a pizza.)

I claim no expertise in miso soup. What did I miss? What should it have looked like, tasted like? How should it have been cooked? What should I have/ could I have added? Is it "scratch cooking"? or not?? Help, please!!

My own BIG LESSON: This confusion, these questions, the uncertainty, THIS is what it's like to cook when you don't understand the language, the tools, the ingredients, the techniques, the outcome. And even aftering reading up a bit, it all still seems well, like Greek, er, I mean Japanese. And while it's likely I preach to the members of my own choir here (who reads food blogs except other cooks?), it's a good lesson for those who consider ourselves evangelists of home cooking. Do we "dumb down" the kitchen code language, the searing, the sauteeing, the simmering, the scalding? There are good discussions about this happening at Simply Recipes and Tigers & Strawberries and The Accidental Hedonist.

SO THE MISO SOUP, ALANNA, WHAT ABOUT THE SOUP? ... The broth was delicious, soft and subtle and comforting, a less salty, less strident chicken broth. I'm told that the broth is flavored by the kelp and bonito flakes but that miso, added near the end, is that bit of lagniappe that makes miso soup, well, miso soup.

NUTRITION NOTES ... There're hardly any calories here and yet lots of volume. It made for a great light supper after a few days of too-much-too-rich food. But it didn't last: I reached for the peanut butter before bed.

FROM THE ARCHIVES ... The Recipe Box features a whole section of New to Me vegetables. Perhaps, new to you, too?

MISO SOUP
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Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 25 minutes
Makes 4 cups

"What I did" and not necessarily how it "should be done"

Kelp / seaweed (in the package I bought, it seemed to be packed in salt)
4 cups water
Bonito flakes (the small box held a dozen packets, I used 1/2 a packet)
8 ounces shirataki noodles (these are tofu noodles, virtually no calories, no fat, no carbs and with texture "close to Italian pasta")
4 tablespoons white miso (which is actually tan not white in color)

Rinse the kelp in running water, then soak it for 5 minutes in cold water. Rinse it again and place in a saucepan with the water, bring just to a boil. (If you're going to eat it, you might want to chop it before adding to the saucepan.) Stir in the bonito flakes. Add the shirataki and return to a boil. Stir in the miso, stirring until it melts, keeping soup hot but not boiling. Serve -- and wonder what in heavens you just ate.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 46 Cal (26% from Fat, 24% from Protein, 51% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 1 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 6 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb4; 29 mg Calcium; 0 mg Iron; 38 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1/2 point

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