The Colorful Kitchen Cookbook Review & Giveway ft. Loaded Miso Noodle Soup

BenBella Books recently published The Colorful Kitchen by Ilene Godofsky Moreno and is kind enough to GIVE-A-WAY ONE FREE COPY to a blessed individual. You'll love this cookbook!

Photography by Ilene Godofsky Moreno

Ilene thanks her education in art and her career in the textile industry for helping her view her recipes in the same way, designing and crafting them carefully. She takes art to the plate using vibrant colors, making food that looks as good as it tastes and is easy to make. The cookbook is filled with colorful plant-based recipes that are incredibly enticing. I had the hardest time choosing one recipe to feature. I went with something that not only my husband and I would cherish, but you would too! 

Photography by Ilene Godofsky Moreno

I chose her Loaded Miso Noodle Soup Recipe. I read the ingredients, saw the pic and was 100% in. With fresh ingredients on hand I whipped it up this afternoon. Not only does it come together FAST but seeing all those fresh, healthy, colorful ingredients staring back at you on the cutting board puts you in a good mood while making it. From start to finish it was a pleasure. The vegetables, the broth, the colors bouncing around while boiling, the tofu, the "chicken" like mushrooms and then the NOODLES! I mean c'mon, it's a winner all around. Miso happy right now! It truly was "colorful, not complicated", Ilene's wonderful mantra.

It makes a big pot of soup, this was ours right before dishing up.

From The Colorful Kitchen by Ilene Godofsky Moreno (BenBella Books, 2017).
Loaded Miso Noodle Soup 
TOTAL TIME: 20 MINUTES
MAKES: 4 SERVINGS
 
When I was little and I got sick, my mom would always make me noodle soup. (Remember the kind that came in a pouch?) Cuddling up under a blanket and slurping the broth from a mug was the most comforting thing in the world. This recipe gives me that same feeling, and I like to keep it in rotation for rainy nights and sick days.
 
4 servings of soba or brown rice noodles, uncooked
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups water
1 cup julienned carrot*
1 cup julienned zucchini*
1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup broccoli florets
3 tablespoons miso paste
1 (14-ounce) package firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup chopped green onions
1 sheet roasted nori seaweed, broken into pieces
 

1. Prepare the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Set them aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the vegetable broth and water to a boil. Add the carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, and broccoli, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Use a ladle to transfer 1 cup of broth to a small bowl. Use a fork to dissolve the miso paste into the broth, then return it to the pot. Add the tofu, green onions, and cooked noodles, then simmer for 1 more minute, until everything is warm.
4. Transfer to bowls and top with the nori seaweed.

 
NOTE: “Julienned” means sliced into matchstick shapes.

I found the process comforting and feel nourished inside and out. My husband LOVED it too and we have leftovers, win! You're going to love her book.
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Shine on!
Christa

TO ENTER TO WIN:

• Type Ilene's Mantra "colorful, not complicated" in the comment section below to enter to win!
• ONE winner will be selected & announced Friday 3/2/2018, the winner will be contacted via e-mail, "The Colorful Kitchen" cookbook will be forwarded to the address provided, US and Canada only. Thank you so much!