Monday, September 22, 2008

Soups On!

Hello fellow soup-swappers! What a great idea this is; thanks to Jessica for hosting. Here are two recipes for some favorite fall soups. Another favorite is curry butternut squash soup (The Silver Palate Cookbook), but there are enough butternut soup recipes in the mix already. Here's one for the mushroom lovers among us, and one for those of you that don't like mushrooms (but also don't have peanut allergies).

I usually post food-related stuff on my other blog: Eat, Sleep, Kids, but decided to put this one here as I came to it by way of a crafty blog friend. Thanks for the tip Amy! Consider joining if you have a recipe that you'd like to share. I think that you are technically supposed to have made the soup over the weekend, but in my case that didn't happen. Too many house projects (painting!) and family visits. At the rate we were going we were lucky to have even fed the kiddos before dark last night.

Mushroom Barley Soup (from Real Simple, Nov. 2005)

1 C. barley
1.5 T. olive oil
2 med. onions, diced
1/2 t. kosher salt
dash black pepper
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
20 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
5 C. chicken or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
8 springs fresh thyme

**Serve with crusty bread. Sourdough works great.

In a medium pan bring the barley and 4 C. of water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until tender, 30 or 40 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the onions have softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and cook, covered, for 6 minutes more. Add the mushrooms, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, covered, until they release their juices, about 4 minutes. Add the broth, bay leaves, and thyme and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked barley and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with additional salt and pepper.

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Ghanaian Groundnut Stew (adapted from Extending the Table)

1 lb. stewing beef (500 g)
2 C. onions, chopped (500 ml)
1 clove garlic
ground red pepper to taste
1/2 t. ground ginger (2 ml) or 1 T. ginger root, minced (15 ml)
2 C. stewed tomatoes (500 ml) or 2 large fresh tomatoes, mashed
1 beef bouillon cube
1 t. salt (5 ml)
2 C. water (500 ml)
1/2 C. peanut butter (125 ml)
1 T. balsamic vinegar (15 ml)
6 fresh scallions, chopped

In heavy frypan or saucepan, brown beef in 1 T. oil (15 ml). When browned, add another 1 T. oil (15 ml), onions, and garlic. Saute 5 minutes. Add red pepper, ginger, tomatoes, beef bouillon, salt, and water. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until meat is tender. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix peanut butter, balsamic vinegar, and 1/4 C. (50 ml), stewing liquid. Once 30 minutes has passed and meat is tender, slowly stir peanut butter mixture into stew. Cover and simmer, stirring frequently, another 30 minutes. Add more water to thin if necessary. Serve over 1/2 C. rice (125 ml) and top with peanuts and freshly sliced scallions.

9 comments:

Little C and Little J said...

Oh! It is definitely soup season, this is a great idea and great sounding soups!

Sandra Lundy said...

Oh, mushrooms, how I love them! I know this soup has to be incredible! Thanks for sharing it :)

melissa s. said...

these both sound yummy. i'm adding them to my soup list!!

Jessica said...

Thanks so much for sharing in the Soup Swap. I only realized I liked mushrooms about a year ago and my food world has certainly broadened! I'm looking forward to trying this out!

Amy said...

My husband is a big-time mushroom lover but I only have one mushroom soup in my repertoire (I'll post it on the next soup swap day). I can't wait to try this one. Thanks and I hope you get a chance to enjoy some soup soon!

Amy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I love that soup season is back! Those both sound delicious. I tagged you on my blog, by the way.

Juniper said...

Ohh this Ghanian one sounds like an unusual one- excited to try it! thanks Beth!!

Rebekah said...

This is my favorite soup recipe ever! I pulled this off your blog last fall and I've never been the same since. We love our mushroom barley soup :)