I used water and not stock and that was fine.
*The fresh parsley is nice but not necessary.
***This is lovely w/ just a green salad and some fresh bread and butter.

Had to throw in a packet of seasoning

Traditional Shepherd’s Pie is usually made with ground meat and white potatoes. I like this one because it has sweet potatoes mixed in and omits the meat filling. The curried lentil filling is sandwiched between two layers of creamy potato filling sitting on a crouton crust baked on top of sweet zucchini. I serve this as an entree with a simple chopped tomato salad.

This delicious, vegetable-filled broth can be served by itself or used as a base for other soups. The vegetables used in this soup are often just added to soup liquids for cooking. This recipe oven-roasts them first, enhancing their flavor. Your kitchen will fill with the aromas of the roasting vegetables evoking old-fashioned, home-style meals. Comfort food at its finest.

This creamy purée shows how using fruit in savory soups adds a nice, mellow flavor. Pears, because they are high in fiber, add body, too. If you buy the squash pre-cut, this soup is a good choice when you are entertaining because it is rich enough to be special while it lets you devote more time to other preparations. Chefs use leeks frizzled in a little oil to garnish dishes and add pungent flavor.
Fast Fact: While higher in fat than milk, cream is far lower in sugar and carbs.
Quick Tip: Large leeks tend to be woody, so buy them an inch or less in diameter.

Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford have trekked through most of Asia, photographing and cooking with tribesmen, local women, and street vendors, then sharing recipes from their adventures in award-winning cookbooks like Flatbreads and Flavors (William Morrow, 1995) and Mangoes and Curry Leaves (Artisan, 2005). I think they will forgive me for adding green beans and straw mushrooms to their recipe for the nourishing but minimal vegetable soup they ate at a truck-stop on the Plain of Jars in Laos.
Adapted from Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Tour Through Southeast Asia, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid (Artisan, 2000).

Fast Fact: In Asia, fish sauce is considered so indispensable in dishes that many vegetarian cooks use it
Quick Tip: For variety, make this soup using prepared mushroom broth or instant miso.

Calories: 318

Total Fat: 17.2g
Cholesterol: 12mg
Sodium: 1162mg
Total Carbs: 36.2g
Dietary Fiber: 6g
Protein: 8.5g