Miso soup

Several weeks ago in the midst of the two and a half months of feeling constantly exhausted, nauseous and just generally like crap that is the first trimester of pregnancy, I was walking down an aisle at the grocery store when all the individual serving pre-packaged Asian noodle soups caught my eye.  To be clear, I haven't bought any of these things, umm, maybe ever.  I think we had a few packets of ramen noodles that Aleks's mom sent us one year back in Tucson that I ended up throwing away because the bugs ate them before we did.  But, on this day, they caught my eye and then some, and I loaded up the cart a bit with some of the Thai Kitchen brand packets and an instant miso soup pack.  And boy did they taste amazing!  I ate three different kinds for lunch that day.  Maybe it was the salt...

Anyway, it got me thinking that I could probably make miso soup from scratch for a lot cheaper, so the next time I went to the store, I bought a tub of miso, some tofu, and some dried seaweed.  I haven't had luck figuring out how to incorporate the seaweed yet - I always just end up with a slimy mess of it.  But, other than that, I've been enjoying making miso soup. It takes about 2 seconds to make, so it's a nice option on a cold day when you want a bowl of soup but don't have time to cook, really.

Miso is fermented and if you avoid boiling it, comes with all the great gastrointestinal benefits of other fermented foods (think probiotics).

I bought red miso, because that's all the store had.  It's a bit of a darker, fuller flavor than the light miso you normally get in a sushi restaurant.  It's great for winter. I think I would be inclined to try a lighter miso in the summer.

I just boil a bunch of water, then turn off the pot and stir in the miso paste until it tastes good.  I usually add some chopped tofu then too.  Like I said, I've tried adding dried seaweed without any much luck.

I would love to know some more tips if anyone has any.  I think next time I make it I'm going to try to add some pre-cooked noodles.  I'm also inclined to try adding swiss chard.  Any other suggestions?  I like that this soup is so quick and easy to make, but I'm also open to ways to dress it up and make it more interesting.

Thanks!

Maggie