Serves eight

Ingredients:

3 quarts of water
3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups peeled, chopped carrots
1 cup peeled, chopped sweet, or Vidalia onion
1 cup leeks
1 shallot, minced
3 cups of broccoli florets, blanched
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed, and blanched (pre-cooked)
2 cups of butternut squash, peeled, cubed and blanched (precooked)
4 ounces of cooked Soba noodles
2 cups cubed eggplant (purple Asian if available)
½ each of sliced yellow, orange, red, and green peppers
1 cup water chestnuts, chopped
3 Tablespoons of fresh ginger
3 tablespoons of organic honey
1 can of good quality, organic coconut milk (approximately 13 fluid ounces)
1 cup of cubed, firm tofu
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
1 bunch of fresh basil chopped
¼ cup sliced green onions
1 teaspoon of lime zest
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large soup pot, place three tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the celery, carrots, onions, leeks, and shallot. Sauté the vegetables until they become lightly browned; then deglaze with water. Add the coconut milk, fresh ginger, and honey. Stir this mixture, and let cook for 15 minutes on low heat. Place a sauté pan on high heat with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Sear the eggplant until it is browned, remove from heat and reserve.

Place the broccoli florets, chopped peppers, water chestnuts, tofu, blanched sweet potatoes and butternut squash, and eggplant in the soup pot on low heat, and continue to cook for ten minutes.

Add the chopped parsley, cilantro, fresh mint, basil, soba noodles, sliced green onions, and lime zest- cook for five minutes on low heat. Taste your soup, and add salt and pepper to taste.