Miso Soup with Kimchee Dumplings

Cutting carrot flowers!!!... what a joy! It takes somewhat of a zen mind. And by that I mean patience and non judgment. They don't have to be perfect.
To make the carrot flowers, you must make long lengthwise cuts in your carrot.. I usually try to make 6 cuts on the fatter end, and 5 on the thinner end.

For the miso soup.. there are endless ways to do this. I've read many miso recipes and its one of my favorite ingredients, but this is the first time I've made a soup. First time for everything!

1 t Sesame oil
1 carrot cut into flowers
2 dozen shiitake mushrooms
2 scallions
1 med. size piece kombu
8-10 c water
5 T miso or to taste
ume vinegar
1 T dulse flakes
red pepper flakes
cilantro
kimchee dumplings!

Heat the oil in a pot. Add the carrots and 1/4c water and put a lid on it to cook the carrots a bit. After a couple minutes add the kombu, shiitakes and scallions. Once the mushrooms are soft, add the water dulse, ume and red pepper flakes (to taste.) Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Add the miso. You do not want the water to be boiling when you add the miso! It will kill all of the glorious living enzymes that were produced from years of fermentation. What a waste. So... dont boil the miso :)
Once your miso is incorporated & you are happy with the balance of flavors, add some chopped cilantro, and a couple of dumplings.. Once the dumplings are heated through enjoy!

Kombu- a sea vegetable (seaweed) that adds minerals, flavor and salt to soups, beans and grains. Most people dont actually eat it, its just something that you throw in the pot to make the other ingredients happy. I always add a piece to a pot of beans or rice.. and it actually helps with the digestion of beans. Wonderful. AND! get this... MSG was designed to act like kombu! its a flavor enhancer! cool. So, instead of keeping a jar of white powdery MSG on hand, I have kombu. works for meee!

Dulse- also a sea vegeatable. for the purpose of this recipe I used Dulse granules. They add a touch of salt and sea essence and add tons of minerals to a dish. You can sprinkle them on anything and hardly notice they're there. Sounds good. Also check out Dulse strips, which look a bit more like dried leaves. You can toss these in oil, toast em and put em on a sandwich in place of bacon.. a DLT!

Ume- One of the best ingredients. Ever. Umeboshi Plums are pickled (fermented) fruits which you can find whole, in paste form, or as ume vinegar. Ume plums have many homeopathic and culinary uses. I use them in many recipes, in place of other vinegars or citrus, to round out and heighten the flavors in the dish.

Kimchee Dumplings- also known as "Mandu", come in many varieties, and are a staple in Korean cuisine. You can pan fry them in oil, steam them, or drop them into soup. They remind me of Totinos Pizza Rolls only way better, and cheese-free. You can find them in the freezer department of Asian grocery stores, and they are available at Central Market, the store that I work at.