Parker's Vegetable Soup and Curried Split Pea Soup

Parker asked tonight if he could make supper. Now, he helps me cook all the time and has since he could stand. In fact, if I don't have three children in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking, I hardly know what to do with myself. I asked him if he wanted a recipe and he said "No, I have a new recipe in my mind I'd like to try out." So I let him go. I made some Curried Split Pea Soup from Vegan with a Vengeance while Parker did his thing. I just wanted to be around to watch how things took shape about be there to answer questions should they arise. We are also a chatty bunch of people and we can't cook without talking...we rarely do anything without talking non-stop so cooking is quite often a loud event. It was so much fun! I loved watching him thoughtfully pick out ingredients. He decided to try to recreate a soup we had once at a restaurant probably two years ago. I was pretty impressed with the ease and simplicity, yet he pretty much nailed the soup. He also wrote down the recipe and took the picture. So without further ado...

Parker's Vegetable Soup:

1 teaspoon Organic Better Than Bouillon (vegan version, of course)
2 cups water
1 package frozen peas, carrots, corn mix
1/2 package of firm (not silken) tofu cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp rosemary (crumbled)
1 tsp salt (you could definitely go lighter on the salt)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 soy milk

In a soup pot, bring the water to a boil and dissolve the Better Than Bouillon. Add frozen vegetables and all the other ingredients except the soy milk and stir. Heat for 10 to 15 minutes, add the soy milk, stir and simmer (do not let it boil after adding the soy milk) for about five minutes. Serve hot.
Josie and Dema just ate Parker's soup and loved it. Rob and I were pleasantly surprised and Parker was pleased. I can't wait to see what Parker comes up with next. I will probably give him dinner duty once a week. Parker still had room for two bowls of Curried Split Pea Soup after two bowls of his creation. Cooking really works up an appetite. If you haven't had the Curried Split Pea Soup, you really should make it. Very, very easy, yet tasty, hearty, and inexpensive.