Barley Soup for the Soul

There are days, and then there are d.a.y.s.! Soup is always one of those comfort foods that is easy to fix, and does a body good. Unfortunately with a lot of canned soups the salt content is through the roof, and if you ask me, they lack the flavour that home-cooked soups can give.

Today was just that kind of soup, and it was...meatless! (Insert gasps here.)It was a rich and hearty Barley Vegetable soup with kale as the surprise ingredient. Interesting, to say the least. I will give a word of warning, kale is apparently the Disney World of slug-town. Make sure that if you buy kale you inspect every leaf, as the little slimy boogers will show up just about anywhere. The first three groups of kale in the grocery were covered with slugs. Luckily the bundle I brought home didn't have anything on them.

For fear of the soup not being filling enough, I will admit that I cooked some beef tips on the side in case they were needed. After trying the soup, it was actually very filling, and for lack of a better word, meaty, even without the meat. I also changed up the Atkins for Life recipe and used beef broth rather than chicken broth. It made the soup seem more hearty.



Barley Vegetable Soup

1/2 cup raw pearl barley
1 tablespoon of butter
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 cups chopped kale

1. In small sauce pan bring 1 1/2 cups water to boil. Add barley, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2. In soup pot, melt butter and cook mushrooms and onion until slightly browned and tender.
3. Add garlic to soup pot and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
4. To soup pot, add all of the remaining ingredients (except for kale). Bring broth to a rolling boil and reduce to low. Cook for 15 minutes for flavours to mix.
5. Add kale and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

If you're looking for something quick and hearty, this soup is a great addition to your food rotation. I definitely want to try this recipe again using different stocks (chicken, vegetable) to see how it changes the overall flavour.

Try it! You might like it...or maybe you'll order pizza.