Difficulty Level Easy

I'm still nursing a sore mouth after my tooth extraction earlier this week and I must say, it's pretty hard to think about food, let alone cook and eat when your mouth hurts. I'm not allowed anything that requires a lot of chewing, nothing crunchy, no nuts or seeds or rice, and nothing acidic. That removes a whole lot of possibilities, so what's left? Chicken soup, that's what.

My darling husband took pity on me and went to the local Pho joint that he frequented while I was in Kenya. He came home with containers of noodles and chicken and a chicken broth that was rich and delicious and completely satisfying. It was the perfect restorative dinner and instantly made me feel better. I had some of that wonderful broth left over, so I used it for the base for my soup of the week, but you could use vegetable stock or water for a vegetarian or vegan soup.

I was hanging around in my pajamas and I really didn't feel like going to the store, so I just made soup from my pantry. I had dried morels, dried shiitakes and dried trompettes de la mort, so I soaked them in separate bowls and then added them to the broth. You could use any kind of dried mushroom, or fresh mushrooms if you have them. A bit of miso and a bit of soy and some noodles and I had a quick and easy soup for lunch. I used soba noodles and cooked them separately, but you could use Chinese noodles and add them directly to the soup pot.

INGREDIENTS