MEF Photography Blog! » San Francisco-Based Wedding, Family + Portrait Photography

Winter is slowly winding down — one (ME!) can only hope the snow is gone for good.  But we do have a week of rain in our future here in Connecticut, and so I think it’s fitting to squeeze in at least one more soup recipe before the weather warms for spring.  I made this particular soup for the first time last week; it was extremely easy, but delivered great flavor and the leftovers were stellar.  Highly recommended!

Mushroom + Barley Soup

Serves 4

1/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed and drained
7 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I used half of each, because it’s what I had)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon butter
12 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (I used button, but cremini would be equally nice)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced (more wouldn’t hurt)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, plus extra to garnish (I used 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to garnish
salt and pepper

Bring 2 cups of stock to a boil in a small saucepan.  Add the bay leaf and a pinch of salt.  Stir in the pearl barley, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Remove mushrooms from the pan.

Heat oil in in the same saucepan over medium heat and add the onions and carrots.  Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion is softened.

Add the remaining stock and bring to a boil.  Stir in the mushrooms and the barley with its cooking liquid.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the tarragon and parsley.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.  Ladle into large bowls, garnish with fresh parsley and tarragon and serve.

Comfort food means different things to different people.  To my honey (and likely many more!), it probably means fried chicken; to others, a heaping scoop of ice cream fits the bill.  But for me, I often apply the label to any recipe that comes from my mother, my childhood, my life.  Sometimes the food is just plain ol’ bad for me, but not always.  Sometimes it falls under that catchall term of “American,” though often it doesn’t.  What matters is that the dishes remind me of the happiness I feel when I’m gathered around the table with my loved ones — of the comfort of family.

I make a concerted effort to bring these recipes into the family-of-two I have now, in the hope of fostering that same feeling of warmth and love between us.  Because while we may be smaller in number around the table, I am reminded of that greater connection while we eat and laugh and lick our fingers and enjoy one another’s company.  This is one of those recipes.  This is one that my family has been eating and laughing and licking fingers over for as long as I can remember.  Just  the smell of it makes my day better.  This is comfort food.

A bit of a warning, though: This is NOT date food.  It’s meant to be messy — though I welcome you to eat it primly with knife and fork like a civilized person.  But, if you’re planning to impress someone, I’d say leave this recipe in the drawer…for now. :)

Asian Chicken Wings

Serves 2-3

2 lbs chicken wings (separated into wingettes and drumsticks, wingtips cut off if necessary)
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 tablespoon sherry or rice wine
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 bunch of green onions (scallions), ends trimmed and cut into 1″ lengths
2 tablespoons water
4-6 tablespoons oyster sauce (more oyster sauce = saltier finished product)
1 1/2 cups short grain white rice, cooked according to package instructions, for serving

Marinate the wing pieces for at least 1 hour (and up to 6) in the salt, sherry, soy sauce and green onions.  Agitate the container occasionally to distribute the marinade.

When ready to cook, heat oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat.  Remove wings from marinade, scraping off as much of the green onions as possible.  Set aside marinade and onions.

Add wings to the pan and brown well on all sides.  Once brown, add oyster sauce, water, and remaining marinade and onions.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until tender.

Serve wings and sauce on top of rice.  Eat with fingers.  Laugh and enjoy.