Yesterday I posted about making a nice mixed veggie soup. Very versatile, great for leftovers, too.

Today I got home with not a lot of time to think about what to cook, much less go out to the store to buy ingredients if I did think of something. Had to make do with what we had.

Rice in the cooker, and then frozen tilapia fillets in a sink of warm water to thaw. Leftover veggie soup comes in handy, but it isn't enough for the three of us.

So, I stir-fried 8 oz of baby spinach in a wok with olive oil and soy sauce. Set the spinach aside in a dish to keep warm.

Then I cut up the thawed tilapia into large chunks, and fried it with the last of the bagged cole slaw in the same wok with a bit more oil and a bit more soy sauce.

Voila! Fish and rice = basic staples. Veggie soup, plus cabbage from the cole slaw, plus spinach = a nice variety of healthful vegetables.

It's a great way to get a really nice variety of veggies going. If you add the right ones, you don't really need to add much in the way of flavoring.

Here's my standard fare:

• carrot
• onion
• zucchini
• celery
• tomato

Dice each of the above veggies, add a little water to a pot, and start cooking. Make sure to cook in order of how long it takes-- carrots and celery, then onion, then zucchini, then tomato.

The carrots and onions add a wonderful sweet flavor to the veggie broth, and the tomatoes balance it out with a bit of sourness. All that's needed is a sprinkling of salt and voila! A healthful stew of soup. Goes great by itself or mixed with other dinner fixings.

• 2 Carrots, diced
• 1 Zucchini, diced
• 1 package Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 4 cups Chicken broth
• 1 cup barley
• 3 tablespoons butter

1. Heat 2 spoons butter + olive oil, fry onions until soft. Add salt, pepper and soy sauce.
2. Add 2 cups chicken broth and barley, stir and cook a few minutes.
3. Add remaining broth, bring to simmer, cook barley, covered, for 20 minutes

4. Add vegetables (except tomatoes) and cook additional 10 minutes, uncovered.

5. Add tomatoes and cook another 10 minutes, or until broth evaporates and barley is tender (but chewy). Stir in remaining spoon of butter and add more salt and pepper to taste.



For added protein, I microwaved some turkey meatballs from Trader Joe's, and added them to individual servings of risotto... or soup?

See, I think I wound up adding too much liquid, because between the broth and the vegetables, it ended up being more of a soup than risotto. There wasn't THAT much liquid leftover, so it was only slightly "soupy", but it was delicious that way, too! The barley has an interesting, nutty flavor-- a little remniscent of oats, but with the consistency of brown rice, with some added chewiness. Delicious!

Total cost?
Half a bag of barley = 75 cents
Zucchini = 50 cents
Pack of mushrooms = 99 cents
Onion and carrot = 25 cents
Tomato = $1
Meatballs = $1

Grand total = $4.49 for all 3 of us.

Heat leftover salmon water (or any water used to cook meat (extra flavor!) else just plain water)
Add soybean paste and diced medium/firm tofu.

Serve over reconstituted wakame seaweed with a slice of whole-grain bread with almond butter.
Season with extra Tamari soy sauce if desired.

Ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes
• 2 zucchinis
• 3 carrots
• pasta
• salmon

Bring pot of water to boil.
Cook carrots, zucchini and pasta for ~10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook a few more minutes.
Also added Trader Joe's chicken broth packet for extra flavor.

Cook salmon separately.


Ladel soup into bowls. Cut cooked salmon portions into pieces and add to soup.