Melt butter in medium to large sized pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery and potatoes and cook for 5 to 8 minutes.
Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add vegetable broth, kombu, bay leaves, salt and pepper, increase heat to medium high until boiling. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove bay leaves and kombu. Add fresh herbs and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile in a small to medium pot, bring water to a rapid boil. Add one teaspoon salt and low protein noodles. Cook for about 5 minutes. Drain, do not rinse. Add noodles back to the pot and low protein portion of soup. (20 gm dried pasta -- 60 gm cooked -- to 180 gm soup per serving). Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. The noodles do not reheat well, so prepare noodles as needed.
For high protein portion, add a can of white cannellini beans rinsed and/or one cooked chicken breast, diced into ½ inch pieces. Add high protein noodles, simmer until noodles are tender (about 15 minutes).
