Mushroom, Barley & Swiss Chard Soup

Out of the L. A. Times Food Section, I found another winning soup recipe. Modified of course for my taste and time frame. I didn't make the from-scratch-mushroom-stock, I used Organics brand vegetable broth, enhanced with a variety of additional herbs.

Ingredients for 4 to 6 servings:
3 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup pearl barley
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms, trimmed & sliced
1 tablespoon salt
1 bunch Swiss chard, trimmed and coarsely chopped
2 turnips, peeled and cut into half-inch cubes

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a tall 8 quart stockpot over medium-high heat. Add carrots and celery and saute until tender but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in the barley and stock. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover. Cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium nonstick skillet until hot. Add the mushrooms and saute until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add the salt, Swiss chard, turnips and sauteed mushrooms to the stockpot. Bring soup to a simmer, cover and cook 30 minutes.

Per serving:
139 calories
5 grams fat
0 grams cholesterol
534 mg. sodium
21 grams carbohydrates
3 grams protein

Spent time in and out of the kitchen for most of the day dicing and coarsely chopping vegetables for said soup, doing laundry, listening to music, talking to Mom, sitting outside in the sun, watering the garden, folding clothes, prepping for tax filing. All with a deliciously warm breeze blowing in.

I picked up a great cd "Women of Latin America" full of Spanish guitar and the lyrical sounds of this type of music. It's produced by Putumayo World Music and it has been my soundtrack for today. As the day winds down and the cats begin wondering back inside all dirty from rolling in the dirt (Bink), or wet from running through the sprinkler (Pumpkin), I notice the days are getting longer and the garden needs some tending. The birds are in the big tree outside the library window, tossing their discarded berries to the ground. Jiggy's the last one in, I hear my husband saying his name at the back door screen. Jiggy. Jiggy. When he strolls in he'll flop and roll on the kitchen floor.