- 4 carrots chopped
- 4 celery stalks chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 pound sliced mushrooms chopped
- 1 tbl olive oil
- 5 cups veggie or chicken broth
- 2 tbl flour
- 2 tbl fresh chopped dill
- 2 tbl parsley
- 1/2 cup barley
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- salt and pepper to taste
my grandmother is my mentor in the kitchen. as far back as i can remember she was cooking up feasts and entertaining. for a lot of my childhood she lived in the upper hudson valley. i remember the long car rides to visit her and being so excited during the drive. even as i child i enjoyed the ride up. if you have ever been to the hudson valley you know what i am talking about. there was this one bridge i remember so vividly and then the trees of course, fall, even winter, just stunning. everything up here just has so much history. one of the many reasons i love living here.
i remember it so clearly, we would drive up and walk into her old farmhouse where she always had a huge roaring fire going and she would be in the kitchen cooking these extravagant meals for us. we were always welcomed in her kitchen, and she always took time to answer any questions and let us cook with her. she would set the table with this beautiful antique china and treat us like adults at a dinner party. it always meant so much just to feel like one of the adults. she doesn’t cook as much now, we seem to have all taken over the responsibility but occasionally on thanksgiving you can find her baking her famous cakes or making some appetizer that you never heard of or even knew that you would like. it’s because of her i love to cook, cooking with my kids now always reminds me of her and how special it made me feel to be involved.
j had an accident at school today, poor little man took a pretty hard fall and he is miserable. when we were driving home he asked me to make him veggie soup, that’s what he calls my mushroom barley soup, and i immediately thought of my grandma. this is her recipe that she passed down to me a couple years ago. it’s a great recipe that she has been making for as long as i can remember. it’s a great bowl of soup:-) comforting and warm for these really cold snowy days and when your just not feeling 100%. hope you like it and it makes you feel as warm and cozy as it does us:-)
- in a big soup pot, saute carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, and barley in olive oil for about 15 minutes.
- mix in flour and stir through for 1 minute, add broth and bring to a boil.
- stir and reduce to a simmer for an hour until barley is soft, add sherry, dill, parsley stir.
- taste for seasonings, add salt and pepper.
