Chinese Spinach Soup

At last week's West Hollywood Farmer's Market, I bought a big bunch of Chinese spinach. It looks a bit like basil, but tastes like spinach. I wanted to make a soup out of it, but couldn't find any recipes with Chinese spinach. I didn't want to see this green beauty wilt in my refrigerator or go to the compost bucket untouched, so I created this recipe. Jacob tells me that this was the best soup he's tasted, and second only to his Bubby's. I tend to think that the love you put into the meal you make is what makes it tastes so good, but this time it was a complete accident. I put the soup on the stove and completely forgot about it. I was consumed by some phone calls for about 45 minutes, while the soup was bubbling on the stove. This soup tastes yum with bits of matza. I plan on buying a different bouquet of greens every week and making a soup around it. Next week will be sweet potato greens week.

Ingredients:

1. 1 leek, washed and thinly sliced; remember to discard the dark green parts
2. 4 stalks of celery, washed and diced
3. 2 medium potatoes, washed and diced
4. 1 large or 2 medium carrots, washed and diced
5. 1 bunch of Chinese spinach, washed and chopped roughly, including stems and leaves
6. 2 tablespoons of miso
7. olive oil
8. salt, pepper, cumin
9. bragg's liquid aminos
10. 8 cups of water

Directions:

1. saute leek in olive oil on low heat
2. add celery, carrot, and potato; mix well
3. cover and let sweat
4. add Chinese spinach, salt, pepper, cumin; mix well
5. continue to saute under the cover
6. add water; cover and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes
7. turn off the heat, add miso and mix well
8. adjust salt to taste or add bragg's liquid aminos
9. enjoy!