Sunday, January 16, 2011

Weekend Fun and Barley Soup

We have been enjoying the weather. After temps being in the low 30s at noon just last week and lots of rain, yesterday it was in the low 60s in the early afternoon. It felt hot! Smile We took full advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed to the park and playground.







After the park, we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up a few things. It has been many months since I shopped at Whole Foods as I tend to have a problem with  “controlling myself” there. Since it was early afternoon, and we hadn’t had lunch yet, we decided to eat there. I got the spicy tuna rolls with brown rice – one of my favorites at WF. They didn’t disappoint.

Hubby and the toddler love the sugar cookies there and got some. They really enjoyed them.

The teenager is still home, and he wants me to cook all  of his favorite meals from childhood. After visiting my parents and eating barley soup in Austria a few weeks ago, he remembered that I used to make barely soup a lot when he was little. He also complained that I hadn’t made it in years. I don’t actually remember how I used to make it years ago, but I came up with a new version. I started  the soup right before we sat down to eat dinner and finished it while I was cleaning the kitchen after dinner. It worked out very well, and we have a nice homemade soup for lunch today. Plus, we had chicken for dinner, and I used the carcass after hubby carved the meat off the bones. 
Barley Soup
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup organic barley (there is a lot of barley in the soup; you could use less)
  • 8-10 cups liquid (I used half water, half vegetable stock)
  • 1 chicken carcass (optional; I usually make soups vegetarian, but since we had chicken, I decided to us it)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 6 carrots, sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, sliced
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Directions
  1. Bring the liquid to a boil and add the chicken carcass and the barley.
  2. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour until the barley is soft.
  3. Remove the chicken carcass.
  4. Add the vegetables and continue to simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
  5. Enjoy! 
I put the soup in the fridge, and it’s ready to be eaten today! I tasted some last night, and I really liked it. Let’s hope the teenager will like it, too! Smile

Questions: What’s your favorite childhood meal? Do you still eat it today? I loved my mom’s potato soup, but I haven’t had any in years. I think I will have to make some soon! What are you up to this weekend?
Be well,
Andrea