Recipe: Creamy Winter Vegetable Soup-in-a-Hurry

• 2 pkg. (about 16 oz. each.) Frozen (hopefully organic!) Vegetables, Mixed (California Mix, Oriental Mix, Etc.)
• 2 quarts water with vegetarian bouillon cubes added to make broth
• 1 large onion chopped (or 2 tsp. onion granules
• 4-6 cloves garlic (cubed) (or 1 tsp garlic granules)
• Ginger (minced fresh--2 tsp, or ground -- a slight tsp)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2-3 bell peppers, chopped (varied colors) or frozen bell pepper medley
• Kombu, 1 piece
• Your Choice of Herbs and Spices, to taste (about 1 tsp. each)
  Basil, dill, coriander, cumin, turmeric, tarragon, whole fennel
  2-3 Bay leaves
  Oregano
  Parsley
  Rosemary
  Sage
  Italian seasoning
  Taco seasoning mix (no MSG)
  Thyme
• Lemon juice, ¼ to ½ cup
• 2 – 3 (15 oz.) cans of cannellini beans or pinto white northern beans, process, with liquid, until smooth and creamy
• 1 -2 (15 oz.)cans of tomatoes (Choose from stewed with seasoning, diced, diced with green chilies, etc.)
• 1 or 2 or 3 cups, Bite size pieces of baked tofu or seitan, etc.
  
  Instructions:
  
  If you have time, use fresh onion and fresh garlic. (If no time, use dried.) Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. When onion becomes translucent, add minced ginger and fresh chopped bell pepper (3 colors?) or if no time, toss in frozen bell pepper medley. Saute a few minutes longer, until the peppers release their juices. Then add any or all of herbs/spices/flavorings (mentioned above) to the onion/garlic/bell pepper mixture. (I use about a tsp. of each), roughly measured into the palm of my hand. (Exception: 1 – 2 TBSP taco seasoning, a slight tsp. ginger powder).
  Place Kombu (optional, but very healthy) and 2-3 bay leaves in large soup pan with broth at medium heat. Add onion/garlic/pepper herb/spice mixture to the broth. Add processed (pureed) beans. Remove the Kombu before it reaches a boil. Bring to a boil. Add 1 pkg. of frozen vegetables (California mix is great for this: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, summer squash) bring back to a boil, then and simmer until tender.
  IF YOU WANT A VERY THICK WINTER SOUP, remove bay leaves and process (puree) the soup mixture at this point. Return mixture to soup pan (It’s best to have two soup pans for this.) Then add the second bag of frozen vegetables. (If you have frozen corn, add it at this point.) Bring back to just up to a boil, then simmer on medium or low heat until this second round of frozen vegetables is tender. If you like, add a can of corn, stewed, or diced tomatoes at this point as well as baked tofu/seitan/etc.. Add lemon juice before serving. Add a little salt and pepper, or soy sauce, to taste, a little at a time. Serve with whole wheat bread, corn bread, whole wheat pita bread, or whole wheat biscuits, etc. Enjoy!