The vegetables are quite good, better than we expected. Although good in soup and stews, we usually add them to rice. Figure that 1 measure of vegetables absorbs 2 measures of water, so if you add 1/4 cup of dried vegetables in 1 cup of rice (our preferred amount), you should increase the amount of water in your rice by 1/2 cup. Also, the vegetables need longer than the rice, so start the vegetables first. Here's our recipe:

2 1/4 cup water plus 1/4 cup dried vegetables, add salt to taste, simmer covered for 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup basmati rice (Tilda brand is our favorite) and simmer for 10 minutes (pot tightly covered).
Turn off heat, and let stand in pot (still covered) for 5 minutes.
Stir and enjoy. This recipe comes out perfectly every time.

This stuff is amazing. It's like having vegetables as spices! I was so excited to try it that I was just putting in a bowl and adding salt and boiling water. After a couple of minutes, it was still a bit crunchy but pretty good actually. Then I read that you actually need to simmer it for a bit, and found that the veggies swelled up to the proper size and were much more like proper soup. Still super yummy. They're a tiny bit sweet on their own, but adding the salt really balances that out and makes a great broth.

You can add other spices to them like cumin or tumeric. Add them to rice with tomato sauce or bring or them camping with some dried butter and instant mashed potatoes. Perfect for Burning Man! It's like fresh cooked veggies without the need for space or cold storage. Having a hot bowl of vegetable soup when your out in the cold mountains feels luxurious.

Seriously, these dried veggies are totally amazing.

I purchased this item over a month ago and have used it several different ways, mostly as a soup or as a mixed vegetable side dish. I am writing this mindful of the negative and positive reviews this product has elicited. First and foremost, this is my first purchase of the Harmony House products First the Cons:

1. The product is titled "Dehydrated Vegetable Soup". Though when I opened the product, it did indeed possess a very pleasant aromatic aroma.. it was not a dehydrated soup. It is dehydrated vegetables that can be easily used with your favorite soup recipe.. In all fairness, Harmony House should make this clear on their label.

2.. The vegetables are in a raw or near raw state as far as I could tell. That is OK with me, but I can see where some might believe that you just add water to re-hydrate and boom, you are ready to go. I actually did this and vegetables crunched like they were raw... Again, not a problem for me, but for some, I can see where they may have been surprised. This is something Harmony House can easily correct with their labeling and product descriptions on Amazon.

3. The product did not come with a re-hydration chart. An oversight perhaps? One can be obtained from the Harmony House website.

Now for the Pros:

1. Harmony House added plenty of aromatic vegetables to the Soup Mix.
2. Packaging is excellent
3. Once re-hydrated and cooked to my satisfaction (simmered for 15 minutes), the vegetables had a good flavor and texture.
4. I used these vegetables as sides dishes and in soups that met or exceeded my expectations.
5. Very little or no waste when using these dehydrated vegetables. Measure out what you want and you're done.
7. The product seems to maintain its freshness for quite a while. After opening, I have mine stored in the original container with no issues.
8. Campers and backpackers can easily create their own food kits so they won't deprive themselves of their daily vegetables.
9. Excellent product for people with busy schedules.

All in all I am quite satisfied with Vegetable Soup Mix and will purchase again and try some of their other products as well. I am hoping that Harmony House or their re-sellers will do a better job of describing their products on Amazon's web pages.

Good for veggie soups and dressing up Ramen, however I must have gotten a bad batch because I occasionally find rock hard (maybe burnt?) bits with my teeth even after cooking for 10 minutes in boiling water. I prefer the Just Tomatoes, ect. mixed veggies over these, they don't have as much flavor but they re-hydrate faster and I haven't had a problem with hard/ burnt pieces.

There was no image for the nutrition label on the back of the vegetable container, so I took a picture and uploaded it.