Instructions: Cook the brown rice in advance. Combine the stock, cooked rice, celery, onion, carrot, soy sauce, Tabasco, and white pepper in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook 15 more minutes.

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chopped scallions.

Serve hot to 4 people for a filling lunch.

Comments: This piquant, chunky, and low-calorie soup looks festive and is nicely filling as a lunch, served with bread and followed by a piece of fruit. The recipe was contributed by a Floridian I know only as Roz, but who has been a great supporter of this site as well as a brainstormer on soup techniques. Roz thinks the recipe orginally came from an article about Oprah Winfrey, but she suggests blending the soup for a finer texture. Thanks, Roz!

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