Sunday's Soup

I am a barley nut!! In fact, I could eat it everyday, but then...my also husband lives and eats here too, so I can't just do as I please all the time. It has been far too long since I've had barley, so I decided to make a barley and mushroom soup today. Just a quick note, this recipe calls for 1 cup of uncooked barley, but I usually cook the entire bag(2 cups)and then I have barley for breakfast the rest of the week!! Barley is great with a little cinnamon, stevia and fruit and maybe a splash of Almond milk:)   

Mushroom and Barley Vegetable Soup
The ingredients;
For barley;
1 cup of uncooked barley
3 cups of water
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Combine barley and water with the olive oil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Set aside.

For soup;
1 8oz. package of small portobello mushrooms sliced
1 8oz. package of white mushrooms sliced
3 carrots chopped
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 large Spanish onion chopped
1 large clove of garlic chopped
1 package of dried mushrooms of choice (I buy mine at an Asian market, I have no idea what these mushrooms are, but I like them!)

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 large cube of Knorr vegetable bouillon
2 tablespoons of olive oil
6 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup, packed of finely chopped parsley

Begin by placing dried mushrooms in boiling water. Boil water and then pour over mushrooms. Water should just cover the mushrooms. Set aside.  Heat oil in saute pan. Add chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute until onion is tender.

 Add sliced mushrooms and saute for about 3 to 5 minutes or until cooked but still firm.

Transfer mixture to a large soup pot. Drain the dried mushrooms, but reserve liquid. Add the now soaked dried mushrooms to the pot. Measure the reserved soaking water and add enough water to equal 6 cups. Add to pot. Add cooked barley, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and salt and pepper. I like to use a mixture of peppercorns.

Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to a low flame and simmer for about an hour. Cooking the soup on a low flame for a longer period of time really allows the flavors to come together. Now add the chopped parsley.
To serve, I like to garnish my soup with Labna. This is a Middle Eastern yogurt that is very much like sour cream, but it has a creamier taste. If you are not able to find this, sour cream, or creme fraiche will do just as well. The Labna is a personal taste of mine.

 And there you have it.

If I may say so myself, the soup is delicious. If you would like a non-vegetarian version, you can add  grilled beef or lamb and use a beef broth or bouillon in place of the water.
Hope you are having a lovely Sunday. We were supposed to have enough snow to shovel. I hope I'm not speaking to soon, but it looks like we've been spared. I love winter and I love snow, but I am really ready for spring:)