Jay's Corn, Tofu and Vegetarian Ham Soup

My husband, Jase had a hangover this past New Year's day.  I served this soup for him that morning and he swears it was a cure for his hangover.  I also served him my Inka Cola concoction but I'll save that recipe for another time.  This soup recipe requires a lot of steps but it was fortunate that I had prepared it on New Year's Eve. To my surprise, Jase asked if he could take a cup of soup with him each day for lunch and also asked me to make him another batch for the rest of the upcoming week.  The recipe should yield about 6 servings but you can certainly divide the measurements for smaller portions.

Jay's Corn, Tofu and Vegetarian Ham Soup

Ingredients

8 cups of vegetable broth
1 Idaho potato chopped into small cubes
1 chopped large brown onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 chopped leek
1 cup rice milk
8 ounces firm tofu chopped into small cubes
1 cup chopped vegetarian ham
1 cup cut corn
1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 tablespoon vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes

Accompaniments

• chopped green onion
• chopped cilantro
• lime wedges cut into quarters
• garlic chili sauce
• pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot add vegetable broth and Idaho potatoes.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.  Follow next step while the broth simmers.
2. Add olive oil, minced garlic, onion and leek into a skillet and stir over heat until onions are transparent and leeks are softened.  Spoon into a processor, add rice milk and blend until smooth.  Add this mixture to the broth and potatoes.
3. Add tofu, vegetarian ham, corn, peas, carrots, vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce, tamari and nutritional yeast to the broth.  Some vegetable broths may be saltier than others so please add salt or pepper to the soup at your preference.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve in a bowl.  Sprinkle with green onion and cilantro.  Serve with lime juice and garlic chili sauce.