Wild Rice Vegetable Soup

I was getting tired of making the same recipes every week so I went searching for something different. This soup is fantastic. I got the recipe from Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, but modified it a bit...mostly because I didn't realize the rice was cooked before it went in the soup. However, it still was amazing, despite my inability to read a simple recipe sometimes!

It made about 4 servings for me. Here is what you will need for this recipe:

1 cup wild rice

1 onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

8 oz. mushrooms (sliced)

4 cups vegetable broth

4 cups water (or less)

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

a pinch of red pepper flakes (it said to use hot pepper sauce, but I didn't have that) 

pepper

1 bunch of parsley (you could do cilantro instead, but I haven't tried it)

couple handfuls of spinach (or more)

1 bay leaf

1. In a soup pot, stir-fry onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and wild rice until everything gets a little soft.

2. Stir in broth and water and add in the bay leaf. Heat to boiling, stirring regularly. Then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 40 minutes until rice is popped and tender. 

3. In a small cup, dilute cornstarch with a little water until it is a smooth paste; then stir it into the soup. Cook a few more minutes, until soup thickens. 

4. Stir in Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, and pepper to taste and cook a few more minutes. 

5. Just before serving add parsley (or cilantro) and spinach. 

ENJOY!