Lemon Mushroom Rice Soup

Today was wonderfully warm.  The kids went off to school with calm and ease.  Husband and I slept in a little, then he went on a conference call and I slept in more.  He came to wake me up to go do errands together and I was shocked to see it was after noon!  We went into town, did a couple errands, then went to Iguana's for a sushi lunch.

The fish tank is a little mesmerizing and relaxing to stare at while eating.  The weather was so great, we sat right by the open door, which is behind the fish tank.  It was a gift to be able to sit next to the fish and feel the sun and warm breeze today. I could almost pretend I was somewhere tropical.

I had ice water with lemon and a green tea.  If you care to know what we ate, we shared:

#26, #44, #66, #68

I also ordered a miso soup, but they forgot to bring it out to me.

I'm still not hungry, but have nibbled on a couple things this afternoon.  Since I won't be cooking a dinner for myself today, I'll share an oldie but goodie.

This soup is very basic, but it's just so good.  There are so many possible variations on it, so please change it up and let me know what you've tried and how it's worked out.

This particular day I made it like this:

1 dollop Earth Balance
1-2 yellow onions
1 head garlic, chopped
6-8 cups vegan broth
1 cup arborio rice
pepper to taste
juice from 1-2 medium-sized lemons
1-2 cups wild mushrooms (chop into bite-sized pieces if you like)
1-2 cups fresh, baby spinach

Melt Earth Balance in stock pot.  Add chopped onions and stir until onion is soft, then add garlic and stir for about 5 minutes.

Pour in broth and add all other ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve.


This recipe is so easy, and you could try many different variations, such as a handful of chopped scallions, or leeks.  Throw in some chopped kale.  Use wild rice instead of arborio rice, although I really prefer arborio rice in soups, because it makes the soups creamy without adding any milk.  You could use all portobello mushrooms.  You could use a mushroom broth or some other flavour of vegan broth.  Maybe stir in a Tbsp of vegan and gluten-free fancy mustard.

I make soups often, because I can eat them for days, unlike stir-frys, which tend to get icky as leftovers.  This is one of my favourite soups, which was inspired by Greek lemon-rice soup, which traditionally has eggs in it, and often includes chicken.