Vegetarian chicken soup?

Today is theme day here on the b5media Science & Health Channel, hosted by Ruth over at Eating Fabulous. I had hoped to put together a fabulously exciting post for the occasion, but alas, I’m just not feeling up to it today.

I’ve managed to fall victim to one of the viruses going around, so I haven’t really felt like cooking much in the past couple days. All I’ve been craving has been hot liquids to soothe my aching throat.

Trying to look on the bright side of things, I realized this was the perfect time to make myself a giant pot of vegetable soup. I love fresh vegetable soup, and it’s easy to make from whatever I have in the fridge and the pantry, usually.

This time it started with sautéing some onions, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, and garlic in olive oil in a large soup pot. Then I poured in a couple quarts of water and added two mushroom bullion cubes, a bay leaf, and some chopped fresh sage. I also put in about a cup of tomato puree, some cubed tofu, and some frozen spinach. I let the whole thing simmer for about half an hour and then voilà, I had my delicious, healthy sick-person-approved food for the day. The leftovers went in the fridge, so luckily I have some more to heat up and eat today.

If you’d prefer a more concrete recipe, may I suggest Ribollita di Luana, which I found on The Wednesday Chef. I’ve been meaning to give it a try.