Appetizer Soup

Hello and welcome back!  I'm excited to start back on this cookbook journey and I'm happy to say that the first recipe is pretty good. This recipe comes from the Weight-Watching chapter of the GH cookbook, and this would be perfect as an appetizer or for a light lunch or dinner.

(recipe and instructions are written as found in cookbook)

Appetizer Soup
(60 calories per serving)

3 cups of water
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1-lb. -3oz. can tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 stalks celery, in 1/2' slices
3 whole peppercorns
1/2 teasp. dried sage
1 teasp. salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a 2 qt. saucepan, with a well-fitting cover, combine water, beef and chicken bouillon cubes, tomatoes, onion, carrots celery, peppercorns, sage, and salt; simmer, covered, 1 hr.  Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.  Makes 5 servings.

 Notes:

• I could only find a 1lb, 12 oz can of tomatoes.  I didn't use the whole can.  
• Since it didn't specify in the recipe what kind of tomatoes to use I just used whole tomatoes and crushed them with my hands.
• This was slightly salty for my specific tastes, so if you are sensitive to salt it would best to use a lower-sodium bouillon cube, or you could even add more water or more of the juice from the can of tomatoes.
• I would use a bigger pot than when they specify if you are worried about spill-over.  It was fine for me if I put the heat on very low and kept the simmer to a minimum.  
• The taste of this soup was quite pleasant.  The vegetables were soft yet not mushy - they still held their shape even after an hour of cooking.  The seasoning of sage and the peppercorns were very subtle and not over-powering at all.  This tastes like a very mild vegetable soup that most people could enjoy.
• Roasted chicken would work well in here. Tofu.  Really any protein of your liking could work well if you wanted to make this into a more well-rounded meal for yourself.  
• If you are adding more to this dish (protein, different vegetables like potatoes) please make sure you use a larger pot to cook in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdeTcbdb4sY