A few years ago, I read the book ‘The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer’ from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner. It was a great read and very informative. Dan travelled the world to find the longest-lived people (100 years plus) to see what their secret was.
He has written two more books and the one I just finished reading is ‘The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People.’ The main theme in the book is that the most powerful determinants of our health and well-being are the lifestyle choices we make each day. In a nutshell: eat well, stress less, move more, and love more. In the back of the book are recipes from Greece, Japan, Italy, California and Costa Rica, areas where the oldest and healthiest people live.
Miso Soup with Vegetables
Miso soup is usually considered an appetizer for lunch or dinner in American Japanese restaurants, Okinawan (Japan) centenarian Kamada ate it for breakfast. I changed the recipe a little by adding rice noodles to the soup and having it for dinner. You can find miso in health food stores or in larger grocery stores that carry a health food section. Make a large pot of soup and freeze the extra. The noodles are added to the soup bowl just before eating, not cooked in the soup.
3 Tbsp miso paste
5 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 pound firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and the caps thinly sliced
2 cups pea shoots (about 3 ounces), roughly chopped
4 mini bok choy, finely chopped
6 medium green onions, thinly chopped
2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
1 tsp soy sauce
Kong Moon Rice Noodles (whatever company is available)
To firm up tofu so it doesn’t fall apart in the soup I sliced the tofu into 1-inch slices and baked them in the oven at 350°F for 45 minutes. When cooled, I cut them up into cubes.
2. Put the miso, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and 1 cup water in food processor or a large blender. Cover and blend until smooth.
3. Stir the miso mixture into 4 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Add the mushrooms, tofu, mini bok choy, pea shoots, and green onions; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime boil about 6 cups water. Take out the amount of rice noodles you need for 2 or 4 people and place them in a large bowl. Pour the hot water over the noodles and let sit until they are soft about 5 minutes. Drain and put noodles in each individual bowl.
5. Just before serving the soup add the sesame oil and soy sauce. Pour the soup into each bowl.
*If you like more texture, finely mince the ginger and garlic but don’t put them in the food processor or blender. Just add them with the tofu.
**If fresh shiitake mushrooms are not available, soak four large dried shiitakes with warm water in a small bowl for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid and add to the soup.
***Substitute baby spinach for pea shoots.
