Sick Day Soup

I caught the Office Cold.  It actually wasn't all that bad, just tiring.  Half a dose of DayQuil and a lot of herbal tea knocked it down to an acceptable level of discomfort, but there was one day with a whole lot of sneezing.  I also went to bed at 6pm for a week.  I think where everyone else at work went wrong (and got a lot sicker than I did) was not getting enough rest.

This recipe is mostly like Wor Wonton Soup, just without the wontons and adding red lentils.  If you don't like lentils, you could sub quinoa, chickpeas, or just about any legume.  The soup was just low in fiber for my liking and the only soba noodles at the market had a crazy amount of salt in them.  I did not want to add water retention to my list of woes.

*2 cloves garlic, minced
2" fresh ginger, grated
4 stalks green onion, sliced
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
*1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced
*1/2 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
1 qt low-salt chicken broth
1 package firm tofu, diced
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off
*1/2 C dry red lentils
salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste

1.  Pour broth into a large pot and start heating on medium.  Add garlic, ginger, and onion first, then start slicing everything else.  Add in mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and radishes and let everything come to a low boil.  Cover, lower heat to a simmer, and cook until vegetables are softened, about 30 minutes.

2.  While that's simmering, rinse the lentils well to reduce any starch.  Cover with water 1/2" deep and bring to a low boil.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse.

3.  Add diced tofu and shrimp to the main pot and cook until the shrimp is done, about 5 minutes.  Add in lentils and taste.  Add salt, pepper, and soy sauce as needed.  Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings as a main course, or 8 smaller bowls

Difficulty rating  :)