My grandmother, Roslyn, is the world's best grandmother ~ and she's a knockout too, even at 90!
She found a version of this Mushroom Barley Soup at eatair.blogspot.com and called me so excited that she made a delicious vegan soup! Well, I had no power from Saturday until today thanks to the random pre-Halloween blizzard that hit the East Coast so I just had my first bite this afternoon and it was wonderful!
3 c. boiling water
1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, cut into coins
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium portobello mushroom caps, cut into 1/2" dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
4 c. water + 1 veg. boullion (or 4 c. veg. stock)
1 c. barley
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 c. frozen corn
salt & pepper to taste
Soak dried mushrooms in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium stock pot, saute onions, carrots, celery, and portobellos in oil with a little salt & pepper until they're starting to get tender. Add garlic, parsley and thyme, and cook another minute or so, then add porcinis and their soaking liquid and all the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat a little and simmer, partially covered, until barley is cooked, about 30 minutes. Season with more salt & pepper to taste. (For a thinner soup you can use less barley - like 1/2 cup.)
