Adzuki Beans and Green Peppers

A couple years ago, I bought a vegan cookbook and found a delightful looking recipe for a soup involving adzuki beans. I gathered the ingredients, cooked the dried beans, and then realized when tasting them, that they were red beans. In Chinese cooking, these are usually referred to as red beans, and almost always only used for desserts. Something about eating them in savory dishes usually makes me feel... odd.

Like something is just off. 

Kind of like the panic I have when I don't remember if I left the curling iron on and I'm fifteen minutes away from my house. 

I don't know if it's mental, or what. It just usually feels weird to eat red beans in a savory dish. 

BUT NOT THIS ONE. 

Yay! 

'Cause I totally had a half a cup of them languishing in a jar in my cabinet, and although red bean jello sounds totally amazing, I would rather use them on something savory because I really don't need to eat more sweets. 

Recipe is taken from Lisa's Kitchen

Differences between her adaptation and mine:

• I used half the amount of adzuki beans.
• I used slightly more tamari than what would have been half because it was slightly dull tasting. 
• Otherwise I did my best to follow her recipe. 

Black Eyed Pea Fritters!!

If you know me, then you know that me and a couple friends host dinner parties every few months.
But you don't know me.

Unless you're Nick.
In which case, HI BABY I LOVE YOU WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME AN HONEST MAN <3

Anyway, at the last one we did, someone's husband noted that he makes really good fried chicken. And thus, it was suggested that the topic of the next dinner party be soul food. Since I used to kind of be a vegetarian or something, it is, by default, my job to make the vegetarian options.
Because I'm friends with real vegetarians.
But they don't know how to cook.
Neither do I, but people assume I can because I do it frequently, and give out tips that people haven't asked for in the first place. That don't necessarily work.

Yet another reason why I am an asshole.

Last night, I decided to soak some black eyed peas for dinner without deciding on a recipe beforehand. For once, that definitely worked out in my favor. I started looking up recipes on Epicurious while in a development meeting. For some reason, my manager opted to show us SNL skits and random videos for the first hour of the meeting.
I know what the reason was.
It was so that we could understand the references he makes.
Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a sugar high hamster, so I didn't even pay attention during that. I tried. I really did try.

Regardless, I found a recipe from a book entitled Vegan Soul Kitchen for black eyed pea fritters. Fried things? Yum! Soul Food? Sure! It says it in the title, it must be soul food!! How fortuitous!

Of course, I didn't bookmark the recipe because I told the guy next to me to take notes, and he started texting me the aforementioned notes. And I had to reply.
By writing notes on my arm.
How do I have a job? Affirmative action? Maybe I'm secretly good at what I do?

Probably not.

There are red chili flakes underneath the cayenne. Yummm

Green mess? Hell yes!

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything Vegetarian 

Feeds probably 4 

Ingredients: 

1 cup black eyed peas, cooked 

2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled 

1 onion, chopped
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp ginger
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cilantro
half a lemon's worth of lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c bread crumbs
neutral oil

Place everything together in a food processor except the breadcrumbs and oil. Pulse until mixed, and if things seem too liquidy, add bread crumbs, pulse some more, until it seems less liquid-filled and like it could be used to form balls. Bean balls! I had to use a half cup, but there was probably residual liquid from the beans, which I had just finished cooking.
After forming balls, cook them in oil until browned.
Don't walk away to answer your phone.
And then channel surf.
And then realize you burnt everything.

They were delicious. Maybe not beautiful, but delicious. 

Lemony Collards Greens and Lentil Soup

I don't think that until this last year I had ever eaten collard greens. My family isn't much for hearty greens; I don't think we ever had kale, mustard greens, or the like when I was a child. I definitely fell in love with kale and chard during my last bought of vegetarianism. But collard greens are somehow something I have never tried until recently. I'm not really sure why. Most stores that stock kale or chard seem to have collards. I think part of that is I personally haven't seen a lot of recipes that call for them?

Regardless, a bunch of showed up in my CSA box, all green and vibrant. 

Greens and lentil soup time? 

Hell yeah.

 The greens were really pretty before I chopped them up. Oh wells. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 onion , chopped 

1/2 cup lentils 

1/2 lb collard greens? Not entirely sure because I lack a scale and I just used the bunch I had

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil 

1/2 a lemon 

1 tsp red chili flakes

Cook chopped onion in olive oil until translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add minced garlic, and cook for a few minutes more. Clean and remove the ribs from the collard greens. 

 

It looks less than appetizing, but the flavor was excellent :) 

New Year's Day Good Fortune Soup

I like traditions. I think they can be fun and exciting. However, the only tradition we have involving New Year's is watching the Rose Parade. As a child, I can remember waking up early to make sure I saw it all...even though they play it over and over all morning. I don't watch it anymore. My parents still do, though. 

 

Yeah, my bowl wasn't big enough. If I ever cleaned my sinks, I could have used one of them :( 

I used the recipe from Homesick Texan. It looked delicious and it had a delightful reasoning for why it would bring good fortune :) 

The differences between the original recipe and what I did are as follows:

• I halved the recipe EXCEPT the collards. That was doubled.
• Cooked the beans from dried in a little bit of broth. Used the broth as the base. 
• Removed the bacon grease
• Removed the ham

The result? It was a little bit too acidic. I think that if there had been ham, it would have soaked up the vinegar and it would be perfect. However, I liked it very much. I would definitely make it again sans vinegar. 

White Bean and Tomato Soup

When I was a child, I was a very picky eater. One of the only things my mother could get me to eat were sliced tomatoes, coated in Italian dressing. I'm not really sure why she ever offered them like that initially, but it was literally all I would eat for dinner many a night. Perfectly ripe tomatoes are by far my favorite fruit. 

I genuinely love them more than other fruits, even the sweet ones.

I never lost my love for tomatoes. 

When I first started cooking for myself, I would buy pints of cherry tomatoes, slice them and add them raw to cooked pasta. I would saute them with vegetables, basil and garlic, and eat them over rice. 

When I was wondering around my apartment today after work, I had an overwhelming desire for tomato soup, preferably paired with a grilled cheese sandwich. I don't think there has ever been a more perfect pair. Although someone left a half quart of milk in my refrigerator after the seasonal cookie festivities, and I could have hypothetically made the cream of tomato soup that traditionally accompanies a grilled cheese, I lacked the bread to make a grilled cheese. I also had a half cup of white beans I had cooked on Sunday languishing in my refrigerator, lonely and begging to be used. 

So I did. 

Ingredients: 

1.5 cups cooked white beans, and approximately 1/2 cup cooking liquid if from scratch  

7 oz canned tomatoes with liquid (1/2 can)

1 carrot, peeled and sliced 

1/2 onion, chopped 

2 cups stock 

Water to cover 

A pinch cayenne 

Bring water, stock, tomatoes, carrot and onion to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer 30 minutes, then add white beans and cayenne, and heat through. 

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

It's sad how if I eat like crap for just a bit, I feel like crap for much longer. I hung out with a few of my best female friends on Saturday, and we pretty much gorged ourselves on fried and sugary foods. I pride myself on cooking the vast majority of my own meals, and for sticking to a relatively healthy diet. However, that day, I did not eat anything that hadn't been fried. 

Someone told me recently that's a sign of getting old. I know that isn't really what it is.

I can't possibly be getting old.  

I've always been like that. 

Maybe I was born old. 

I've been told I'm old soul, on several occasions. 

Maybe that was a nice way of saying "That skirt looks like it belongs to an geriatric with dementia." 

Regardless, I felt the overpowering need to cook something with VEGETABLES. 

AND NO MEAT. 

AND VERY LITTLE OIL. 

AND SUNSHINE. 

AND HAPPINESS.  

AND RAINBOWS. 

AND UNICORNS.

Due to a severe lack of unicorn steak, I opted instead for a delicious sounding stew at Everyone Likes Sandwiches. I left out the rice, since I bought some rather disappointing onion rolls from a grocery store, and added cooked adzuki beans for protein. 

And obviously, too much stock. 

And too much spicy curry paste.

So I topped it off with coconut milk to lower the heat. 

It was delicious, and just what I needed. 

Split Pea Soup

The first time I experimented with split pea soup was in college. I made the decision to pursue a vegetarian lifestyle when I was a freshman, so, as one might imagine, my culinary options were vastly limited. It was great, initially.  SALAD AND CAKE FOR EVERY MEAL. CAKE IS ALWAYS VEGETARIAN! No guilt from a giant slice of cake because I ATE SALAD LIKE A BOSS. ERRYDAY WAS CAKE DAY.

Eventually, I got sick of that. I moved on to pb&j sandwiches, cereal for lunch, rice and cookies for dinner. And then I realized they had a soup section most of the time. I actually remember the day I tried split pea soup for the first time. It was raining. I was damp and miserable, worn out and worn down from a winter quarter filled with SCIENCE. My freshly minted physics notes were wet, thanks my despondent ambling back and forth across campus.  When wandering through the dining common, searching for something to warm my cold bones and keep me full enough to last until my next meal, I lingered in front of a hotel pan filled with suspiciously colored split pea soup. I decided to take the plunge.

It was satisfying, warm and deceptively delicious. I was won over.

The soup I made tonight was definitely tastier. I used a recipe from 101 Cookbooks, where it's explained far better than I could ever hope to.

Red Lentil and Squash Soup

Yet another dubiously mustard colored soup... At least when I take pictures of it. In reality, it was a nice warm gold. Light but with a creamy consistency, easily slurped while spacing out and watching terrible TV. 

Which is what I've devoted the lion's share of my free time to lately. In my defense, I've been reasonably sick, since I appear to have an immune system comparable to that of a seven year old. 

I've been obsessively watching Top Chef. I adore shows that involve making things. I used to be obsessed with Project Runway. I love Iron Chef. I'm always glued to the TV when Chopped is on. 

Top Chef has a bit more drama than I usually enjoy, but somehow I keep getting drawn in to the drama. The bitter hipster in me is really disappointed that I get into this stuff. I am perfectly fine with being interested in the food aspect of it, though. 

I'm not really sure where I was going with this, but I had half a roasted butternut squash from yesterday so I wanted to use it all up. Squash IS ridiculously cheap, but I knew if I didn't use it today, I wouldn't use it at all. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 white onion, chopped 

1/3 cup red lentils

1/2 butternut squash 

1/2 tsp tumeric, cumin, and minced fresh ginger 

1 tbsp olive oil 

2 cups stock 

2 cups water 

pinch of cayenne 

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Feeds two absent minded Christina's 

Saute the onions in olive oil until translucent. 

Meanwhile, in a soup pot bring red lentils and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. When tender, add roasted squash, spices, and stock. Simmer for about five more minutes. Allow to cool sufficiently to blend in a blender. Blend until smooth, and top with cilantro. 

Roasted Winter Squash and Turnip Soup

I'm still sick.

It's not cute anymore. No one wants to put up with my bullshit, not even me.

It wasn't cute to begin with.
Maybe it would have been cute if I was just flushed and had the vapors or something. Sinus infections aren't cute. Accidentally coughing on coworkers isn't cute. Having someone note that you "kind of sound like you're dying" isn't cute.

I'm sick of this bullshit, body. We've got some talking to do if you really think we can make this work.

Ingredients:

1/2 Butternut Squash
1 medium turnip, peeled and quartered
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 an onion
2 cups stock
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil

Feeds two lethargic, whiny Christina's
Inspired by, yet again, Love Soup

The ravioli is a spinach ricotta one Fresh and Easy. It was made of disappointment. Every time I tried to scoop it up with my spoon, it would fall off and splash soup everywhere. When I finally did manage to bite it, the filling fell out and splattered across the soup, my table and my face. 

Pasta and I have a mostly hate relationship. 

Preheat oven to 400. Toss turnip, squash with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast until squash starts to collapse, and turnips are browned. 40+ minutes.

MEANWHILE Sweat the onions in olive oil in a pot. Add potatoes, stock, and then STOP AND MAKE THAT MOTHER FUCKING HAMMERTIME 

LIKE WOOOOOOOOAHHH

Seriously get that song out of my head. It's fucking terrible.

If the potatoes become tender before the roasting is done, add the turnip and squash flesh. When adding turnip and squash, add water if the existing liquid doesn't cover everything. Allow to cool and blend until smooth.  

White Bean and Radicchio Stew

My CSA box had a huge head of radicchio chilling in the bottom. I wasn't really sure what to do with it, since I haven't ever had it in any way other than as part of a salad. So, to Google I went! The question was, what to make? Salad didn't sound like a very good idea. I'm still super sick, and I wanted something with less... texture for dinner. Soup would have been ideal, probably, but I didn't really run into any recipes I liked the idea of... Until I saw the one for White Bean and Radicchio Stew at Nytimes.

It was pretty when it was all ripped up and being cleaned :(

I found on Nytimes this recipe, and it looked pretty good. I more or less followed it to the letter, so I'm not going to bother copying it out. The only difference is that I halved the recipe.

...Not so pretty when it's done cooking, unfortunately.

Bell Pepper and Corn Soup

When I opened my box of vegetables this week, I was honestly confused. It's December. Why are there lettuce and bell peppers? I thought I was doing this to get seasonal vegetables?
I don't know.
Seasonality is a mystery to me. I just don't know.
Whatever.
Just... whatever. I'll eat it. It ain't no thang.

I wanted to use a soup recipe from the cookbook "Love Soup" but I didn't have all the ingredients, of course, so I pretty much just improvised.

Ingredients:
1/2 white onion, diced... sort of
1 garlic clove, minced
Two Bell Peppers, diced... sort of
1 Jalapeno, minced
~1/2 sweet corn (frozen, it's all I had)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups stock
1/4 c parsley, chopped (THIS WOULD BE BETTER WITH CILANTRO, BUT WHATEVER I DIDN'T HAVE ANY)
Juice from half a lemon

Sweat the onions in olive oil over medium heat until they're translucent. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add bell peppers, jalapeno and stock and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat until it simmers, and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Add in the corn and simmer for five more minutes. Add the lemon juice and parsley when done :)

Arugula and Apple Soup, Topped with Toasted Pecans

I didn't have high hopes for this, honestly. I find arugula to be very assertive, and I was worried the soup would be bitter. I've had arugula and pear salad before, and although I didn't think it terrible, I didn't really have high hopes. However, I had the ingredients for this soup in my CSA box, so I thought, eh why not?
My worries were completely unfounded. This was utterly, and somehow surprisingly, delicious. Lemony, bright, and pleasantly spicy.
The recipe is from Love Soup, which is an absolutely adorable vegetarian cookbook. The quantities are a bit varied from hers, though.

Ingredients
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 apple, peeled and cored (gala I think maybe in my case? I'm not sure)
5 oz Arugula
1 boiling potato
3 scallions, chopped
1/4 Parsley, chopped
1/2 lemon
2 cups broth
1/4 tsp cayenne
pinch nutmeg
1/4 c chopped pecans
1 tbsp olive oil

Serves two greedy Christina's

• Spread pecans on a baking sheet and cook in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes 
• Sweat onion in a soup pot on medium with the olive oil until translucent 
• Roughly chop the potato, arugula, and apple. 
• Pour 2 cups water and two cups stock in a pot with the apples and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook for 10 minutes.
•  Add the scallion and simmer for five more minutes. 
• Add arugula and parsley, and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add lemon juice, cayenne, and a pinch of nutmeg 
• Puree in a blender to a consistency you like. Mine was hella hella chunky cause I like biting stuff . 
• top with pecans 
• Nom 

Vegetarian chili

I had a few roommates in college who would occasionally make tons of chili. The apartment would be filled the aroma, the windows would steam over, I would draw bizarre pictures with my fingers, and we would all enjoy huge bowls of steaming, delicious, turkey or beef chili.

Haha, I'm just kidding, I never ate it. It smelled ridiculously amazing but I was probably all NAW DUDES I DON'T EAT ANIMAL FLESH UNLESS I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO EAT AND IT'S FREE. WAIT IT'S FREE? I ATE ALREADY ACTUALLY BUT HOLY SHIT IT SMELLS AMAZING.
I don't know.

Fun bonus fact: I've never had non vegetarian chili.
I used to make vegetarian chili all the time, so I kind of just pour in whatever I can find.

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno, diced
1 head garlic, roasted
1/2 cup kidney beans, soaked if you like
1 (yellow) bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili powder
2 cups stock, plus more water

Yeah, it's ugly. It's chili though.. what do you expect?

• Cook onion in a soup pot with olive oil until translucent 
• Add kidney beans, stock, and water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook, adding water as needed. It took me about an hour and a half for them to get tender. 
• Squeeze roasted garlic into the soup pot. Add the remaining items to the pot, and simmer until vegetables are tender. 
• Eat with CORNBREAD IF YOU GOT IT 

Broccoli Daikon Soup

Every wednesday, we have meetings at work that typically last for three and a half hours. I typically zone out, fall asleep, flirt with my (gay) soulmate via text, or browse reddit for most of the duration. Today, though, I was trolling the internet for yummy sounding recipes. I've come to the conclusion that the internet is generally not a big fan of broccoli in soups. I had a head of broccoli that had gone from delightfully verdant and firm, to limp, flaccid and jaundiced.
Maybe I just wanted to use the word flaccid.
I also had an equally floppy daikon radish sitting in the fridge, languishing alone on the bottom shelf.

Ingredients:
1 small head of broccoli, chopped
1 small daikon radish, chopped
1 pitifully small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp miso paste
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1/4 tsp bonito flakes

• Sweat the onion in olive oil in a pot until translucent
• Add garlic, and cook for one more minute  
• Add radish, broccoli, stock, and spices/miso paste. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes 
• Allow to cool, then blend to a consistency you find palatable. 

Apparently, that consistency is CHUNKY for me. 

Coconut Curry Squash Soup

I was whining all day that my throat is sore, my nose is congested and my sinus cavities ache. My coworker suggested I eat something spicy.
OF COURSE.
WHY HADN'T I THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE.
Not sarcasm.
Sort of.

I don't know I'm woozy from benadryl.

Ingredients:

1/2 a medium sized butternut squash, cubed
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp curry powder
2 cups stock
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp olive oil

Sweat the onion in the olive oil in a pot. Add garlic, and saute for a minute more. When done, add the stock and butternut squash, and simmer until tender (10 - 15 minutes if the cubes are small enough :) ). Add curry powder, coconut milk, and blend. If using a standard blender, make sure that you let the soup cool a bit before blending.

Black Bean and Squash Tacos!

TACOS TACOS TACOS TACOS TACOS.
One of my friends argued with me that this is, by definition, not a taco, because of a lack of meat.I still think this is a taco, but what do I know?
I didn't actually tell him it had soy sauce in it, though. Cause then I guess he could be right :(
I'm pretty much 100% certain I took the idea for these from the post punk kitchen, but I haven't been there in ages, so I doubt I followed the recipe that thoroughly.
I didn't grow up eating Mexican food in any form, so wrapping anything in a tortilla and calling it a taco doesn't seem unjust.

Ingredients:
1/2 an acorn squash
1/2 cup cooked black beans
Tbsp minced cilantro
1 baby bell pepper, diced (approximately half a normal bell pepper)
1 chili, seeded and minced (thai of course because that's all I have)
1 tbsp soy sauce
Salt, pepper to taste

After slicing the acorn squash in half, I heated a pot of water to boiling and placed the squash in aforementioned water for approximately 3 minutes. This is supposed to make it easier to peel. Who knows if it works.

Aww, doesn't it look like it wants to be eaten? It's a freaking heart omg <3

After peeling, chop the squash into cubes. Place cubes in a pan covered with foil; toss with olive oil. Set oven to 400 and roast until starting to brown.
Then, add to a pan with a bit of olive oil, and start to saute. Add the soy sauce, chili, and black beans  after about a minute and cook for about 5 minutes. Place in tacos, and garnish with cilantro and bell pepper.


What the hell is wrong with my hand??

Lemon Cilantro Red Lentil Soup

It tastes as mediocre as it looks :(

I had to choke it down, slurp after agonizing slurp.
This bizarre thing happens to me when I exercise. I lose my appetite after having a bite or two. It's kind of annoying, since I KNOW I HAVE TO EAT. Maybe I drink enough water during cardio that my stomach is just too full? I don't know.

Eggplant And Bean Red Curry

When I went grocery shopping with my mom last weekend, I pointed out a bag of mini eggplants. She saw them, basically reacted with OMG HOW CUTE I MUST EAT THEM!! (I assume that my mother was one of those kids who had a tiny pencil case with tiny pencils with tiny lead in them. She goes crazier for minature things than I do. )
Unfortunately, neither she nor my father actually likes eggplant, so I "rescued" them from their refrigerator.
I did ask before I took them.

Anyway, curry is one of my cures for not feeling so great. It came out pretty well, I think. I used a recipe from a thai cookbook of my mothers, but I made a lot of substitutions.

Ingredients:
I have no idea how much eggplant. See above.
6 oz green beans
1/2 cup edamame, thawed if frozen
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 thai chili, minced
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 tbsp red thai curry paste
Peanut oil
1/2 c each stock, coconut milk
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Heat one tbsp peanut oil in a nonstick skillet. Add garlic, chili, and onion, and sautee for about 2 minutes. Add curry paste and cook for two more minutes.

Add eggplant, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables, cook for 2 more minutes. Add the stock and coconut milk, bring to a boil, and after it thickens a bit, remove from heat. Serve over rice :)

It tasted a lot better than it looked.

Lightly Pickled Vegetables, Soy Marinaded Chicken Rice Bowl

Every once in a while when I go out, I end up going way harder than I intended.
I know this because I woke up with glitter on my arms and bruises on one of my legs.
... Yeah.

Apparently pickled food is what I do when I'm hung over... Even though I really just wanted a cheeseburger. The chicken in the bowl, though it looks decent, was disturbingly salty. Maybe my taste buds are screwed up, but.. I think it had an exceedingly high salt content.

Ingredients:
Pickled stuff:
1 large cucumber, sliced in sticks
1 large carrot, sliced in sticks
3 inch cut of daikon radish, sliced in sticks
Salt

Optional:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar, I recommend using more than that though
A few squirts sriracha

Place vegetables in a colander, and lightly salt. Let sit for half an hour. I think you could let them sit for 10 minutes and you'd be fine. I decided to wash the WHORE off while waiting. Thus the half hour resting time.
If you want to eat the veggies now, don't bother with the pickling fluids. They're pretty decent as is, especially if you're eating them with other things.
If you want to actually pickle them: mix the liquid components together. Place vegetables in a bowl, and pour mixture over them. Let sit for 24 hours.

Lemongrass Vegetable Soup

Finally using that lemongrass I bought when I went grocery shopping with my mom. This came out pleasatly spicy, but not overly so. This also managed to almost clear out my fridge!! Hurray!

Ingredients:
2 thai chilies, minced
1 medium clove garlic, minced
Zest of a small lime
Two stalks of lemongrass
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
4 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
1/2 c peas (frozen in my case)
3 small carrots, sliced
4 cups stock

Serves slightly more than two

Mince the core of one of the stalks of lemongrass(IE just the parts that don't resist when you cut it. I physically can't cut anything but the inner core because of my complete lack of upper body strength and my general lack of interest in doing anything that takes effort). Chop the other one into a size where it will be able to be completely submerged in your pot(I cut it into 3 inch lengths. YES THREE INCHES I KNOW IT WAS THREE).
Place chilies, garlic, lime zest, sugar, soy sauce, and lemongrass in soup pot with stock. Heat until it boils.
Reduce heat to a simmer. Add peas and carrots, and cook for about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms, cook for two more minutes (so that they're cooked but not over cooked).