Friday, January 6, 2012

Mushroom Barley Soup

 What better way to spend a gray winter day, than in the kitchen baking bread & making a big pot of homemade soup.


Yesterday, I had a craving for Mushroom Barley Soup, so I did just that. 

The ingredients for the soup are pretty straight forward, a mirepoix of celery, carrots, garlic & onions, then mushrooms & barely. What could be more simple!


I used a combination of white button mushrooms, baby portabellas, & dried porcini, with a cup of pearl barley, bought in bulk at Whole Foods

Start by cooking your barley separately, 2 cups water to 1 cup of barley.


Soak & chop the dried mushrooms.

 In a large stock pot sauté the vegetables for the mirepoix



I sautéed my mushrooms in a separate skillet , so that they got nicely browned, adding salt & lots of fresh ground pepper.


Then combine all the ingredients with about 6 cups of stock. 
Most recipes call for beef broth, but I used Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base instead, making mine a vegetarian soup.


While the soup simmered,  I began the batter for my bread.
 One of my all time favorite recipes is Herd & Onion Bread from  

You can see the recipe here or here. If you have never tried making this wonderful bread, I highly recommend making the effort. It is such a delicious, easy & quick yeast bread recipe.


What a cozy feeling, to have both bread rising & a pot of soup warming on the stove!


The Mushroom Barley Soup made a perfect winter dinner,



accompanied by a green salad & thick slices of homemade bread.


As long as I was in the kitchen, I might as well whip up a quick dessert too! 

We finished our meal with apple blueberry crisp.
Yum, this is my favorite kind of winter supper, simple yet hardy. 


Have a warm, cozy & nurturing weekend everyone!

7 comments:

  1. Wow... does this look delicious! I am a mushroom and bread addict, so this is right on the mark. Soup sounds good with the chilly temps and mixed with the lovely smell of baking bread... You just can't beat it. I am definitely giving this a whirl!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sally ...
    I'm pretending I am at your table for supper tasting your delicious looking bread and wonderfully evocative soup!
    Triump ... that dessert is a winning finale! Simple but stunning all up I would say!
    Meanwhile over hear the studio is emerging from the chaos and i'm already thinking what I wish to paint as I handle the tools of trade!
    S

    ReplyDelete
  3. this looks super yammy!
    it is cold here tonight and i made potato soup for supper.
    have a nice sunday tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  4. this looks absolutely delicious, and your loaf of bread seems equally tasty...

    ReplyDelete
  5. thank you Sally,for your wish ! And what a delicious treat I bump in..i wish i could cook this way :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. thank you Sally,for your wish ! And what a delicious treat I bump in..i wish i could cook this way :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have just now noticed your profile picture ! :)
    I manage to do it daily so far because I only usually do 25 mn practices. Only longer on my days off, and I go to a class on Saturday mornings.
    Yoga journal has plenty of great classes for free on their "video" section. I'm also considering joining Yogaglo, it seems very well made and organized.

    Have a nice evening :)
    ps: merci pour les félicitations !

    ReplyDelete