Serve with baked potatoes, baked butternut squash, steamed broccoli, and a green salad.

Miso soup is the Japanese version of chicken soup – a combination soul food and comfort food. It is traditionally eaten at breakfast in Japan as a daily staple. Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans, and is full of antioxidants like vitamin E, as well as protective fatty acids. It’s healthful and delicious, and the Japanese say that the linoleic acid in miso promotes soft skin. The soybeans miso is made from also contain isoflavones and other elements that provide protection against some forms of cancer. To preserve these properties, miso should not be boiled. Add it to a soup after it has been removed from direct heat.

I made lousy meringue for about 10 years before I discovered it needed cream of tartar!

It was like pulling teeth to get this recipe from Mildred. “I don’t know — a pinch of this, a few handsful of that.” In the end, it’s definitely worth it!