We made a really tasty soup last night. Our schedule has been on-again off-again insanity, so we’ve taken to subsisting on one giant crock pot meal every one to two weeks mixed in with a few other meals (of pasta) so we don’t die of boredom.

I love crock pot cooking. There is nothing like throwing a bunch of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink into a pot and just letting it simmer throughout the day. The aromas start teasing me within the first hour, and by the end I’m dying to taste whatever concoction has been melded before me. Needless to say, I’m kind of loving our current cooking habits.

Last night, though, was one of only a few pots we’ve done that had no tomato whatsoever. Now, I love tomatoes. Brian loves tomatoes. But it always surprises me how much adding a can or two of tomatoes to a soup pot can alter the flavor so that the whole base tastes like tomato. Is this a bad thing? Certainly not. In fact, we find it delicious. But it also makes pots without any tomato that much more exciting to try!

So lasts night’s pot… no tomatoes. And it was also quite delicious.

(Sadly, I don’t have a picture of this soup, so imagine a giant steaming crock pot of spicy veggie deliciousness inserted here.)

Cumin adds a slight smokiness, and chili powder combines with crushed red pepper to give this soup a good kick. The original recipe called for onion, garlic, and spinach as it’s only vegetables; but Brian and I love a veggie packed soup. So our adaptation includes a plethora of veggies on top of the originals. Really, at this point we could probably call it “Veggie Soup with Tofu and Farro”! The tofu and farro add a great texture and protein as well. While all our additions can make the ingredient list seem almost painfully long, I can assure you that this soup is easy to put together since almost all of it gets tossed into the crock pot at once.

There is a lot of flexibility in this recipe, and this was the first time we’ve tried it. So there are a few changes I’ll try next time we make this one to balance out the flavors and textures a bit more. We definitely needed to add soy sauce in the end to increase the saltiness. So next time I’ll exchange one quart of the water for a quart of broth for additional flavor, and then add in more soy sauce as necessary. Also, the pot was big enough and brothy enough that 3/4 cups farro just didn’t quite cut it. I’ll up that to at least 1 or 1 1/2 cups next time (if you like brothier soups, you may not want to do this). Finally, I’ll double the sesame oil added in the end to increase its presence in the soup. The recipe below is my original, before any of these changes.

Make sure you use a large crockpot (ours is 6 quarts and fills to the brim).

This recipe will make about 5-6 quarts of soup. A serving is about 1 1/2 – 2 cups. We eat it for lunches and dinners throughout the week, so we make a lot.

Tofu Farro Soup with Veggies

Recipe adapted from James Byrd’s at Many Veggie Recipes.

• 1 block of tofu, cut into 1/2″ cubes (we used extra firm)
• 8 oz fresh mung bean sprouts
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms (whichever kind you like)
• 2-4 carrots, sliced in rounds (depending on size)
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced into half-rings
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup farro
• 1 quart reduced sodium broth (veggie, chicken, or beef: up to you)
• 5 cups water
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper (this gave a solid kick, so reduce it if you like a milder spice)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 8 oz fresh baby spinach (or regular, adult spinach, roughly chopped)
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil

First, make sure all your ingredients are chopped, sliced, etc. as directed above. Put everything into a 6 quart crock pot except the spinach, peanut oil, and sesame oil. Mix it around a bit to spread out the spices. It will probably be filled almost to the brim but will settle as it cooks. Set the crock pot on low for 8 hours. At the end of the 8 hours, mix in the spinach, peanut oil, and sesame oil. Set the crock pot on high for about 15 min to wilt the spinach. You must be dying to try it by now having been, perhaps, breathing in the aromas all day long. So serve it up, top with a bit more soy sauce (I tend to under do salt in the pot and top off in the end individually as desired), and enjoy!