Micha, you have my sympathy...

I run into problems like this all the time! So frustrating. That's why I now grow my own lemon grass. Of course, I see fewer recipes for it now that I have it available.

You got me to thinking about Minestrone, though and I made the full recipe this weekend. It was not at all salty, I needed to add more salt than the original teaspoon it called for. I do use kosher, which teaspoon for teaspoon is less salty. The soup was delicious. I used half green beans and half tiny cauliflowerette pieces instead of the zucchini. I also added about a half cup of frozen peas. They were all suggested subtitutions. If you can't locate the cheese rind, you could probably use vegetable broth instead. I double checked the variations and the only one except the rice/pasta one was a pancetta versin, which isn't vegetarian and probably just as hard to find as the parmeson rind.

Good luck on your quest for the cheese. Since you are buying it mainly for the soup, you can probably slice it off a little thicker and get by with less inches, if that makes any sense. I think it is just that the rind holds together better than a piece of cheese would, but I wonder if a person could use a piece of cheese and it would stay in one piece. Again, if it is made ahead, refrigerate before the rice or pasta and beans are added and finish right before serving, as it becomes quite thick when the starch expands.