Vegetarian for a month (or what remains...)

Brent and I have decided (well I suggested and he agreed) to try and cook and eat vegetarian for the rest of February. Now we're not going to just stop eating meat, we are going to challenge ourselves to cook more creatively without using meat, and using minimal dairy. I was making soup for our lunches for the week, and using all the fresh produce really got me thinking about the many different dishes we can make that are vegetarian. So we started brainstorming, and so far our list includes everything from tofu, bean dishes, risotto, steamed dumplings, rice and bean burritos, to vegetable curries and coconut milk pancakes. I'm really excited about this, and feel that having a challenge like this will help me to create some great new dishes.

This soup is my inspiration to eat/cook vegetarian for a month. It is possibly the simplest soup I have ever made, but it is seriously so good. Brent's exact words were 'Hot damn, that's like restaurant soup'. This is from the March issue of Canadian Living, and is supposed to be Alphabet Soup, but after searching a couple of grocery stores unable to find the tiny alphabet pasta we settled on some mini shells.

Alphabet Soup (minus the alphabet)

- 1 tsp olive oil

- 1 leek (white and light green parts only), diced

- 1 carrot, diced

- 1 rib celery, diced

- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 small zucchini, diced

- 4 cups vegetable broth

- 1/2 cup bottled strained tomatoes (Passata)
- 1/4 tsp pepper

- 1/2 cup alphabet pasta (or mini shells)

- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 1 cup packed fresh spinach, thinly sliced

In large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Cook leek, carrot, celery and garlic, stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add zucchini and cook until softened, another 5 minutes. Add vegetable broth, 1 cup water, tomatoes and pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add pasta; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in corn and chickpeas; cook until hot, about 5 minutes. Check the pasta for doneness at this point. If it needs to be simmered for another 5 minutes, now is the time. Once pasta is cooked, stir in spinach; cook until wilted, about 1 minute.

This soup is another excellent argument against canned soups, because it is such a simple recipe, but the flavours are so reminiscent of the alphabet soup we've all had as kids. Crush up some crackers and you are good to go!