Soup's on!

I'm moving along nicely with most of my resolutions, thank you very much. The one that has taken the back seat, of course, is the dieting. I'm finally getting some good teacher substitution work and can't be bothered to exercise when I come home in the afternoons -- I'm too hungry. To try to help in that area, I've been eating mostly salads and soups for lunch. Today, I have a dilemma. I can't decide which soup recipe to make. Which looks best to you?

Williamsburg Pumpkin Soup

¼ C chopped onions
4 T butter
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 C pureed pumpkin
½ t nutmeg
½ t salt
Pepper to taste
1 can water

Directions
Sautee onion in butter. Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly.

OR

Soba Soup with Spinach (from Everyday Food Jan/Feb 2009)

2T Vegetable oil
12 oz shiitake mushrooms (stems removed) caps thinly sliced
4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T peeled and minced fresh ginger
Coarse salt
2 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (14.5 oz each)
½ package (4.4 oz) soba noodles
1 bunch flat leaf spinach, torn
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T soy sauce

Directions
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms, scallion whites, garlic and ginger; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until mushroom are tender, 6 minutes.

Add broth and 3 C water; bring to a boil. Add soba; reduce to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach; cook just until tender, about 1 minute. Add lime juice and soy sauce. Serve topped with scallion greens.

I love trying new food. Though, I can't find true buckwheat soba noodles anywhere, so I'm substituting whole-wheat pasta. Wagamamas has the BEST soba dishes, but, alas, there are none in Texas. So I'll try to do my own.

Remember, it's okay to tip the bowl to your mouth to slurp up every last yummy drop!