This week marks a couple of giant milestones for my 12-year-old daughter, Celia. On Saturday, she will have a bat mitzvah to mark the culmination of her years of studying Hebrew and the beginning of her journey into Jewish adulthood. She will lead the congregation in prayer and chant directly from the Torah, the Jewish holy scroll. She will also provide an interpretation of the section of the Torah that she read to help understand it and relate it to our modern lives.
Preparing for this is a lot of work, and most kids feel a gigantic sense of accomplishment (and relief!) when the day finally arrives. We will celebrate afterwards with family, friends, food and dancing. We are so proud of Celia and how hard she has worked, especially during this last year of intensive study. Andrew and I are also incredibly touched and excited that more than forty members of our out-of-town families and friends are trekking to Maryland to celebrate with us.
This week also marks the one-year anniversary of Celia becoming a vegetarian. Last March she decided that she didn’t feel comfortable eating animals anymore, a decision that surprised us because she had always loved meat. She hasn’t eaten any kind of meat since then. We support her at home by providing lots of meatless options for breakfast and lunch, and only having meat for dinner once a week.
Celia has always loved chicken noodle soup. Now that she’s a vegetarian, I wanted to come up with a way for her to still enjoy it. It turns out that chicken really isn’t essential to a great tasting “chicken” noodle soup — in fact, I think the celery and garlic supply much of the flavor. I hope you’ll enjoy this soup that I share in honor of Celia this week. As we say to celebrate happy occasions and wish “good luck” in the future, Mazel Tov, Celia!
Recipe: No-Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 tsp. minced garlic, (3 – 4 cloves)
- 4 stalks celery, sliced (use the leaves, too)
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 64 oz. reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups fine egg noodles
- 1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a stockpot over medium heat, add the butter and oil, and when the butter melts, add the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Sauté them until the onions are tender and translucent, 8 – 10 minutes
- Stir in the thyme, then add the broth and bring it to a boil. Add the noodles and cook them until they are just tender, about 4 minutes if you are using fine egg noodles. Season it with salt and pepper to taste, garnish it with the parsley, and serve it immediately.
- Slow Cooker Directions: Add all ingredients except the noodles to the slow cooker, and turn to low for 8 – 10 hours, or to high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes, before serving, add noodles and turn slow cooker to high for the final 30 minutes of cooking.
Preparation time: 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
A huge congratulations to Celia for all the work she has done in preparation of her transition to adulthood. You must be so proud of her!
We have had your No Chicken Noodle Soup, and we loved it!
Theres no protein though without the chicken. What do you add for protein?
Hi Kathy, Thanks for your comment. I served it with egg salad for protein and they worked well together.
Congratulations, Celia!
Congratulations, Celia! Is she the one in the second picture? She looks just like you. The soup sounds good.
Thank you, Dawn! She’s the girl in both pictures, one was just years ago and one was a couple of weeks ago.
Mazel Tov to Celia and her mom!
Way to go, Celia! Aviva, you must be so proud of her. Mazel Tov!
Very impressive of both Aviva & Celia. Aviva for supporting her daughter in her choice and Celia for sticking to a choice that can be especially challenging for kids.
Mazel Tov Celia! You definitely have a lot to look forward to this weekend. Enjoy!
What a beautiful tribute, Aviva! As a member of the extended family, I can say we are all so proud of Celia for her moral courage as a vegetarian, for her educational accomplishments (in Hebrew and English!), and for her loving participation in family and community.
You are a beautiful, principled, caring and hard-working young woman Celia! Congratulations to you and the rest of us who welcome you to the world.
I add quinoa (a complete protein) to the soup when I add the noodles and let them cook together. I also squeeze in a lemon’s worth of juice at the end of cooking because I don’t care for the taste of quinoa (although most people don’t taste/mind it) and find that the lemon juice brightens it all up. We all love it! Congrats to you and your daughter on her big day.
congrats celia! i have been vegetarian my whole life..misconception exists about the amount of protein you need, but it’s roughly 1/2 of your weight in grams..
also try amy’s no chicken noodle soup for quick alternative and they use tofu for protein!
Congratulations to Celia! That recipe looks delicious. I’m a vegetarian and am trying to raise my children the same, so I think I’m going to cook it for dinner tonight!
For additional protein, you can use whole wheat noodles instead of conventional egg noodles or serve it with crackers and hummus. Great recipe, I enjoy making No Chicken Noodle Soup all the time at my house. Congrats Celia!
Amazing! Congatratulations Celia.