COMFORT FOOD!

Tigerlily Tinkering is looking for some good comfort food recipes. Go on over and share! She's posted a wonderful family recipe for Tomato Bisque in hopes of enticing you to post one of your own. I think I'll add a family favorite from around here: Cheesy Herb Risotto.

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.