Are you feeling sickly?

Vegetarian Chick'n Noodle Soup to the rescue! Now, to be honest, my mom never made chicken noodle soup from scratch. But she was a whiz at opening cans whenever she heard coughing and sniffly noses.

It may seem odd that I needed to make chick'n noodle soup for the first time when the high temperatures are topping 100F, but I had a need. I kept trying to tell myself to wait until the weather cooled off, that soup is more of a fall food, that I wasn't even feeling sick... but my mind kept coming back to it. When I walked past some Chicken Style Seitan at the health food store, I knew it was time.

This recipe marks my first time making any variety of chicken (or chick'n) noodle soup, my first time using seitan, and my first time eating chicken noodle soup not out of the red and white can.

I can offer up the testimony of 4 grownups, 1 four year old and 2 parrots that it was mighty tasty. It can be easily veganized by using eggless egg noodles or other pasta of your choice. Just make sure to adjust the noodle cooking directions to suit the pasta you're using.

- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, cut in quarter-inch dice
- 3 carrots, cut in quarter-inch dice
- 1 medium potato (approximately two-thirds cup), cut in quarter-inch dice
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 container chicken-style seitan (I used White Wave brand), roughly chopped and with juice reserved
- 6 to 8 cups vegan chicken-flavor stock (vegetable stock probably will not yield the same results)
- one quarter cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 cups wide egg noodles
- two-thirds cup frozen corn kernels
- one quarter cup white (shiro) miso
- half a teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or to taste)
- salt to taste

Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the pan and lightly fry the chopped seitan until most of the liquid has evaporated and the edges are beginning to brown. Remove the seitan from the pot and set aside. Add the second tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and dump in the celery, carrot, and onion along with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are beginning to brown in places, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.

Pour in 6 cups of stock and the cubed potatoes and then bring to a boil. Add the egg noodles, return the stock to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for 10-11 minutes or until the noodles are done. Return the seitan to the pot. Stir in corn, parsley, and rosemary, and cook until the corn is heated through. If you feel the soup is too chunky, add some or all of the reserved 2 cups of broth until the juice:stuff ratio suits your taste.

Finally, remove about a cup of broth and whisk in the miso. Stir the miso broth into the soup and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Excellent with challah and fruit salad, whether you've got the flu or not.