Chickpea Tomato Barley Soup

Today I had my first day of classes! Well, more like class because I had just one, Abstract Algebra. I like my schedule this term because I have just one or two classes a day and I'm always done by noon. It's so weird to be back on campus as a senior. I walk around expecting to see seniors that graduated last year. There are a few familiar faces, but a majority of them are very new and it's like a new campus. Actually, there have been a lot of changes since I was last here so it actually is a new campus to me in many ways. I also have a car this year, so I can drive myself around instead of having to match all of my housemates' schedules.

I've been back in town since Monday. I was proud of myself that I was able to drive for almost half the five-hour drive and not have a major accident, considering it was my first time on the highway.

So, anyway, since my schedule allows me to be home for lunch, I decided to make myself a big batch of soup. I'm a big fan of soup and especially everything in this one. It's also great to freeze leftovers and eat them during the week when I don't feel like cooking sometimes or if I get too busy!

Chickpea, Tomato, & Barley Soup [Makes 4 servings]
Adapted from Buff Chickpea

- 1 cup barley
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, for garnish

1. Rinse barley clean under running water. Place in a medium bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 1 hour; drain. [I skipped the soaking since I used quick barley.]
2. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, paprika, cumin, barley, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes or until barley is tender.
3. Add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook for 20 minutes or until flavors have blended. Discard bay leaves. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro before serving.



I left out carrots and celery because I didn't have celery on hand and I don't really like carrots in soup. This is actually more of a stew than a soup because there is very little broth. I purposefully left out an extra cup of water, so you can add it in if you prefer a soup. I actually really love these flavors together. Once they come together after 20 minutes of simmering, they taste fantastic. I love that the cumin is not overpowering because sometimes it can be, but it's more of a background flavor in this recipe.

Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

No matter how hot it may be outside, I'm still in the mood for a warm earthy soup. I had bought a pound of ground beef from Trader Joe's over the weekend, thinking I would put it on the Super Supreme Pizza, but never did. My mind travels from beef to barley to soup all the time, so that's what I went for on this 95-degree Tuesday.

I wanted to try this recipe because I loved that it uses dried mushrooms. The only ones we have in the house are shiitake mushrooms, but those taste great anyway. It's funny how just a few years ago, anytime my mom was making dinner with shiitake mushrooms, I would shut the door to my room and stay in there for the rest of the night. I absolutely hated the smell. Anything the mushrooms touched, I avoided. Now I am the total opposite. I actually love the smell.

I also had white button mushrooms left over from pizza on Sunday so I threw those into the soup. It's all mushroom anyway! My version is probably not as earthy as it should be because I had no beef broth so I used chicken broth instead. But it was still good and the addition of the ground beef made this soup even meatier and packed with protein.



Mushroom Beef Barley Soup
Adapted from The Kitchen Sink Recipes

- 3 oz dried mushrooms [I went for shiitake]
- 6 cups water, divided
- 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 8 oz white button mushrooms
- 1 quart (4 cups) beef broth [err, I had only chicken]
- 3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme [1 tsp dried for me]
- 1 cup barley

1. Boil 2 cups of the water. Pour it over the dried mushrooms, cover and set aside for 30 minutes. Drain and chop the mushrooms and reserve the steeping liquid.
2. In a large pot, cook the ground beef until no longer pink on the outside. Set aside on a plate. Drain the fat from the pot, leaving a little to saute the vegetables. Add the onion and garlic and cook for several minutes, until the vegetables soften. Add the flour add stir to coat the vegetables; cook one minute stirring constantly.
3. Add the beef broth, remaining 4 cups of water, steeping liquid, cooked ground beef, thyme and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour, until the barley is al dente. Discard the thyme and add the chopped mushrooms, cooking briefly until the mushrooms are warm.

It always takes me a long time to eat barley. I have a strange desire to make sure that every piece needs to be chewed. Barley doesn't fall apart as easily as white rice does so even after an hour of simmering it still holds its shape. No hurry. Just as I sat down to scarf down this soup because I thought I'd be late to work, my boss called to tell me I can go into work an hour later. Sweet.