Monday, May 16, 2011

Auntie Florence's Soup

Auntie Florence died a year ago this June at the age of 98. She was the last of my older relatives and my Mother’s sister.  With a jolt I realized there was no generation ahead of me anymore. I was overwhelmed with a sudden urge to retouch all the lovely things she had given me and make sure all were safe and accounted for.
Here follows, a bit of her lovely:
 
Auntie Florence’s wonderful Mushroom and Barley Soup:
  • 4 cups of cold water
  • 1 beef bouillon cube (I use Knorr’s)
  • 1 cup of barley (use real barley & rinse it well, checking for stones & grit)
  • 1 large tomato, chopped with skin and seeds
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 stalk celery with leaves, cut in 1/4′s
  • 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut in 2″ pieces
  • 2 pints of mushrooms (1 crimini & 1 button) sliced
  • 2 TBS ketchup
  • S&P and garlic powder to taste (easy with the salt until the bouillon cube is dissolved)
Add everything to a heavy duty soup pot. Bring it to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, partially covered, for at least one hour or until the barley is tender. Add more cold water if needed. This soup should be fairly thick.

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