Lofty Aspirations

Last night I had big plans.  We were going to have a fire, take the Christmas card picture, I was going to make soup and Colin was going to fry oysters.  Had the fire, made the soup , fried the oysters, and attempted to take the Christmas card pic...  

Brought Colin into the room, 

and managed to get Otis to lie down,

but this one would not sit still.

Otis really wanted his picture taken, but 

 Colin thought it would be more fun to throw the mistletoe.

At least the soup was a success,

so here's the recipe for it.  Colin's sister forwarded it to me on Sunday saying it was great.  She added a 1/2 lb. of browned ground sausage, a dash of worcestershire, and doubled the broth by using 4 cups of vegetable broth and 4 cups of chicken broth.  I did the same, but forgot the worcestershire, and it was extremely tasty.  I also needed 5 leeks to make the 1 1/2 cups chopped instead of the 2 mentioned in the recipe.  I added the browned sausage to the pot after putting in the rosemary, garlic and mushrooms.  It went especially well with a grilled pimento cheese today at lunch.  Baby bella mushrooms and 32 oz. chicken and vegetable stocks are on VIC special, so I guess it qualifies for the blog.

Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups chopped leeks (about 2 small stalks; white and pale green parts only)

1 8-ounce container sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, pressed

2 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice

1 cup pearl barley

4 cups (or more) vegetable broth

1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces), trimmed, center stalks removed, leaves coarsely chopped (about 8 cups packed)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks; sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until leeks begin to soften, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary; increase heat to medium-high and saute until mushrooms soften and begin to brown, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice; stir 1 minute. Add barley and 4 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until barley is almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add kale; stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Cover and simmer until kale and barley are tender, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed for desired stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Bon Appétit

December 2009