Back to "Normal" and Ginger Shiitake Soup

Greetings!  I am just getting back to normal after the strange October snow storm almost 2 weeks ago.  The kids are back to school after an 11 day break, electricity is on after a 6 day break and piles of branches as high as my head have been scooped up by giant trucks and taken AWAY...  So here we are, bracing for what is next as we all know snow and cold are just around the corner!
  I have been cooking and eating soups and stews exclusively lately.  Somthing about the steamy warming aroma just sets me right.  I also love the chopping and clearing out of all vegetables in the crisper to build the layers of flavors and nourishment that are otherwise know as soup.  My favorite is always Minestrone which is the ultimate in cleaning out the crisper but also meets all my families requirements for a meal and at least one left over meal, which I am a recent convert.  Soup is so much better the next day.
I talk about Minestrone but really I am going to share a recipe for Shiitake Ginger Soup.  Last week a friend came for dinner.  He is a vegetarian and I was so happy to leave the animal protein behind and create a "company" dinner.  I would love to eat like this 6 out of 7 days a week and shhh don't tell my faimly but we are closer to that goal.  I think that mushrooms do a stellar job stepping in for meat in all vegetarian dishes.  This recipe is one I adapted from Terry Walters beautiful cookbook, Clean Start.  

Ginger Shiitake Soup

6 dried shiitake mushrooms

8 cups water or veg. stock

1 heaping tablespoon grated ginger

10 oz white or brown mushrooms

1 large leek, sliced thinly

1 tablespoon EV olive oil

2 cups napa or green cabbage, thinly spiced

1 cup edamame beans

2 tablespoons tamari

1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar (or any other vinegar)

½ package udon noodles

Place whole shiitake mushrooms in 8 cups of boiling water or stock, remove from heat and cover for 30 minutes. While dried shiitake mushrooms are steeping slice fresh mushrooms.  Remove mushrooms with slotted spoon. Slice shiitake mushrooms discard the stems.  Heat oil in pan add leek and ginger sauté until the leeks are soft, add both varieties of mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms start to brown.  Add cabbage and edamame beans, tamari and reserved broth.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.  Add vinegar and season to taste.  Serves 6