Vegetable Quinoa Soup

Most of the time we don't have a problem working through all the veggies in our CSA box, but every so often, my fridge is overstuffed with veg and my new box is coming the next day! What to do?? SOUP! It's almost always the answer in my kitchen - particularly when we are still in our wet winter, and I'm constantly fighting the chill that seems to wrap itself around my body in the late afternoon and early evenings. The best thing about vegetable soup is that it is completely modifiable based on what you have in your kitchen! I'll tell you what's in mine, but you can totally adjust based on what you have. I also wanted a soup that would have some carbs as well as protein, so I added quinoa and black beans, but you could use farro, barley, pinto, cannellini, kidney, garbanzo...whatever floats your boat. This batch made 12 cups for me - you can make more or less based on the amount of liquid you use.

Vegetable Quinoa Soup
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa (I used a mixture of red and white)
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
3 large carrots, cleaned and diced
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
1 lb mushrooms, chopped into pieces
1-2 tbs olive oil
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch kale (any kind, but I prefer dinosaur kale)
1 bunch swiss chard (remove stems and cut into small pieces)
1/2 head Napa cabbage, shredded
Chicken stock (8 cups)
Water (4 cups)
1 large can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
2 tbs Better than Bouillon chicken base
Salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce (1-2 tbs)

1. Heat a large heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. When warm, add the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms and chard stems and saute until softened, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the greens, chicken stock, water, diced tomatoes, black beans and quinoa. Stir. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. When it boils, turn the heat down to a simmer and put the lid on. Cook with lid on for 20 minutes. Remove lid, stir and add the Better than Bouillon and Worcestershire sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10-15 minutes more with the lid off. Serve warm.