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Tamara and I have been incorporating Portobello mushrooms into our meals as a substitute for red meat. She has this great way of cooking them on the stove in some soy sauce and serves them with organic spinach pasta and a vinaigrette.

As good as that dinner is I decided to try something a little different with them this time around. I got the idea for some soup by watching an oriental cooking show on the food channel. The soup that they were making is nothing like the recipe below, but did inspire it. So without further ado, JTk’s Hot and Nasty Soup.

First, take one large clove of fresh garlic, peel it, put it in some aluminum foil, and roast it in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Puree 2 small ripe tomatoes, 1 small red onion, and a couple of peeled carrots and add them to 4 cups of water in a pot over medium heat. Plunk in 4 beef bullion cubes and your roasted garlic. Break out your grater and grate up a tablespoon of fresh ginger root, add it and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper, a 1/4 teaspoon basil and a 1/4 teaspoon salt. Of course, as always, add a bay leaf.

Chop up 4 medium portabello mushroom tops and 2 medium sized potatoes and add them to the soup. Lower the heat and cover and let cook slowly for the next couple of hours.

The soup is not for everyone, it has a bit of a bite, but I like it. It’s not really nasty, but there is this old joke about this hot and sour soup we used to get back home, but that is another story….