Vegan Mushroom Soup

As a vegetarian, mushrooms can be a great addition to soups and stews, as they allow the same texture and hearty taste of meat.

Mushrooms contain about 80 to 90 percent water and are very low in calories (only 100 cal/oz.). They have very little sodium and fat, and 8 to 10 percent of the dry weight is fiber, so they are an excellent addition to anyone trying to downsize. Mushrooms are also an excellent source of potassium, copper, riboflavin, niacin, and selenium. With all this nutrition, they become truly magical.

Mushroom Soup Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup sweet onion, chopped
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 6 cups brown mushrooms, sliced  
• 1 ½ cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon rock salt 
• ⅛  teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup unpolished quinoa
• ⅓ cup Dolores hemp seeds
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional garnish)

Mushroom Soup Directions:

1. Wash and finely chop parsley and set aside.
2. In a large cookpot, heat olive oil on medium/high heat. Add in onion and celery and cover and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Stir, turn heat to low, and add in all mushrooms. Cover and let simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add stock, vinegar, salt, pepper, and quinoa. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, then turn to low and cover.  Let it cook for 20 minutes; do not stir.
5. Place 1 cup of soup mixture along with Delores hemp seeds in a food processor or Vitamix and blend until pureed. Pour back into the soup pot and stir.
6. Pour into four soup bowls evenly and serve with a sprinkle of parsley on top of each bowl.  Freezes well. 
7. Makes 8 cups.

ENJOY!