Barley and Lentil Soup

Tonight, I had planned on making this soup. However, I felt extremely lazy today and decided to put off grocery shopping until tomorrow. I thought I would stop on my way back from work instead of making a special trip today. Now I just know that I will regret this tomorrow, but it’s a decision that made me feel very good today, so I guess I will have to deal with the consequences…

Part of said consequences was that I didn’t have all the ingredients that I needed for tonight’s soup, so I had to adapt it a little. Really. I only had to make very small adjustments. For instance, I didn’t have any canned tomatoes. So I used fresh tomatoes and V8 instead. I didn’t have any swiss chards, but I had broccoli. That worked beautifully. Not enough carrots? Not a problem. I added celery.

I think it was a huge success, well, with me anyway. My son had a bite, right out of the pot, grabbed a V8 and left. “I take it you don’t like it” I said. “I had a late lunch” was his answer…

So I have some leftover… anyone interested?

Ingredients
(serves 3-4)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 small onions, diced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 celery rib, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp salted herbs
• 1 tsp cumin
• black pepper to taste
• ½ cup barley
• ½ cup du Puy lentils
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup V8
• 2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• ¼ cup flat parsley, chopped

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large pot, add onions, carrot and celery. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until golden. Add garlic, salted herbs, cumin, pepper and barley. Stir to combine. Add water.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partly cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.
• Add lentils, v8 and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until lentils are tender.
• Toss in broccoli and parsley. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, until broccoli is tender and serve.

 

 

Oatmeal with a tropical twist

I am being true to my word and have been eating oatmeal at least once a week now for the past month. I am truly enjoying this, really! By changing the flavor combinations, it just never gets boring. However, I’m about to start experimenting not only with flavors but also with combining / using different grains in the upcoming weeks. Not that I’m already fed up with oatmeal, it’s just that I come across so many exciting ideas while reading other people’s blogs, some of them I just can’t wait to try. There are so many different grains out there that I have never really made myself before, such as millet, amaranth and buckwheat, for instance. Plus, I love making new discoveries and experiences. But in order to do that, I will have to stock up on some grains first, for I don’t have all that many on hand.

Today, all that was available in the cupboard was my good old faithful Old Fashioned Oats. A quick look in the fridge and I knew which direction I would be taking today. I just didn’t have that many options, to be honest. All I had left in the fruit drawer were pears (those could’ve really worked, but…), apples (been there, done that), grapes (didn’t feel that) and strawberries. “Hmmmm, strawberries… wish I had mangoes to go with that… I wonder if…” I opened the freezer and, oh heaven, there it was, a beautiful, colorful bag of frozen mangoes. BINGO! There was my combo of the day.

While the oatmeal was cooking,  I  proceeded to cut the strawberries into little cubes, put those in a bowl, tossed in a handful of frozen mango cubes, then went back to the fridge to take out the soy milk and plain yogurt I would be needing later, when I spotted it. Right there, sitting in a bowl, all lonely and waiting to be eaten, about a ¼ of a cup of leftover pineapple, all diced up and ready to go. How perfect! Looks like this tropical combo was just meant to be. I only wish I’d had some coconut left in the cupboard, but no luck… I reverted to using pecans instead. Not quite the taste I was shooting for, but still, it was a winning combination. From now on, I will make sure I always have shredded coconut in the cupboard. Just in case an opportunity like this one presents itself again!