Comments on: Dinner with My Family #1: Vegetable Barley Soup

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:21:05 +0000

Lamb + Barley = Scotch broth, yum!

By: Karla

Karla — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:56:25 +0000

@#32 Janis
“Then there is quick cooking barley, which only takes about 10 minutes to cook, and which probably isn’t the best choice for this soup.”

My cupboard held quick cooking barley and it worked just fine when I made this soup over the weekend. I added it when the greens went in and it looks just like the barley grains in the picture Trent posted.

By: spaces

spaces — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:09:06 +0000

I made this soup mostly, except I didn’t have any barley and used lentils instead. It turned out quite nice.

By: kjc

kjc — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:50:14 +0000

I am reposting this comment, as it’s lost in the approval queue. I’ll delete the link, so this should post OK…

I made this soup yesterday, using vegetable stock I’d made a week ago. In my opinion the soup is good, albeit bland; I wouldn’t make it again.

If you’re looking for a truly outstanding vegetarian dish, try West African Peanut Stew. Mark Bittman has a version (he calls it soup) with chicken, but you can simply ignore the chicken. Trust me, it’s wonderful: just Google “Mark Bittman West African Peanut” and you’ll find it. There’s a link immediately below the video to the article and recipe.

By: littlepitcher

littlepitcher — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:40:10 +0000

You can also sub thyme for basil, carrots for celery, and (if you’re lucky enough to find them on sale or grow your own) add mushrooms and/or shiitake. Reminds me–lamb date is up today at our store. Anyone else log expiration dates to get bargains?

By: Vivianne

Vivianne — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:59:21 +0000

If you’re not vegan, and lucky enough to have a leg of lamb, make broth from it and use for this. Lamb-barley soup is amazing!

By: erb

erb — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:38:57 +0000

Kudos to you on going vegan. My resolution this year is to transition to veganism by the end of this year. What perfect timing for your dinner series. Thank you for the inspiration and practical tips.

By: Vickie

Vickie — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:30:35 +0000

Thanks for starting this series, the soup looks fantastic. ☺

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:03:27 +0000

I use my pressure cooker to cook barley in 20 min.

By: Michele

Michele — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 18:10:29 +0000

Thanks Trent-I will look forward to these posts! I recently made this same soup with homemade beef broth from the leftover Christmas Even dinner prime rib bones. It gave the soup a depth of flavor that was wonderful for those who like the meat flavor.

By: Janis

Janis — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:43:01 +0000

Since you first mentioned this soup, I’ve been looking forward to you posting the recipe. Thank you! Now I look forward to future “Dinner with My Family posts” – what a great idea.

About different types of barley, I tend to buy hulled barley from the bulk bin. Since I don’t have package directions to refer to, I did a quick search and learned that hulled barley (considered the most nutritious form) takes a little longer to cook than pearled barley, which takes about 45 minutes to an hour to cook. Scotch barley, or pot barley, takes slightly less time to cook than pearled. Then there is quick cooking barley, which only takes about 10 minutes to cook, and which probably isn’t the best choice for this soup.

I found a variety of cooking times for the different types of barley, probably a matter of “chewiness” preference than anything else. If anyone has anything more definitive, time-wise, please share.

By: bookwoman

bookwoman — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:32:36 +0000

Trent’s articles about his children are like a time machine for me, he is using some of the same strategies that we used with our son when he was young. He is now 20, and a college student. He is extremely frugal with money. During his last two semesters at school, he only spent $500 beyond his tuition, housing and meal plan. (We pay his health insurance and medical costs). He rarely eats off campus and takes advantage of $1 movies and free concerts on campus for entertainment. He buys his clothes at Goodwill. He made all his Christmas presents for his friends. So when you sow the seeds of frugality at an early age, it becomes a habit.

By: bookwoman

bookwoman — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:15:36 +0000

Shelley, you can put cooked stuff into compost as long as you have some uncooked too. Obviously the cooked won’t have the bacterial action going that you need for compost.

By: lurker carl

lurker carl — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:45:17 +0000

Shelley, I tripped over that last e. Sorry.

By: lurker carl

lurker carl — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:43:25 +0000

Shelly – as long as sugars, fats, meat or meat-based stocks were not used to cook the veggies, they can go into compost. Think apple pie, veggies flavoring a beef roast, stir fry. You don’t want the sweet, grease or meat aromas attracting vermin.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:32:35 +0000

I generally put veg ‘waste’ into the compost. I’ve always read that you can’t put cooked veg into the compost, but I’m not sure why. If I use veg ‘waste’ to make stock, that’s a better use, but what should I do with the stuff I drain out of the cooked stock? Compost or trash bin?

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:30:00 +0000

I’m looking to cut down on meat and eat more plant based foods, so let me add my thanks for posting this!

By: Mel

Mel — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:42:55 +0000

I just wanted to add my voice to the “Yay! Thank you!” camp. I’ve had a packet of barley in the cupboard for a long, long time without knowing what to do with it (my boyfriend wanted to make a traditional Czech meal called “Black Kuba” but chickened out in the end). This looks perfect.

I think this is also the extra push I need to get a website project I’m working on going again – thank you! :)

By: marta

marta — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:30:55 +0000

People surely tend to overestimate their protein needs. It’s very unlikely that you will suffer from protein deficiency in a First World country. Just have the adequate calories intake (no starving!), and you’ll be fine.

Add a little meat or cheese, sure, but that needn’t be done in name of filling protein requirements. It’s very easy to get all the protein you need on a vegan diet.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:15:48 +0000

#3 cv, thanks for tip on the cheese rind. I see it in the discount cold cut bin from time to time and never knew what people did with it! If you make this soup with meat, make it the day before, chill over night, and all the fat rises to the top in a firm, hard layer. Remove the fat layer and place in large stockpot with equal amount of water. Heat in a pot (on low heat) until fat melts, and chill. There will be a cake of clean, firm fat on top of the dirty water. The fat is useful for soap making. To me a little bit of soup meat makes a more flavorful broth. A little meat also makes it easier to get your protein requirements. Nothing wrong with vegetarian or vegan.