Bold creole seasonings add spunk and pizzazz to a down-home hearty good soup with the earthy umami of mushrooms and chewy barley along with a whole team of good vegetables. You’ll find, of course, the creole trifecta: celery, peppers and onions, teamed up with tomatoes, carrots and cauliflower. The barley not only adds a chewy texture, it helps thicken the soup.
Include meat or leave it out, depending on your diet, your preferences, and your health needs. I did include 1/2 lb. of ground venison this time and last time I used some of my leftover Philly cheese-steak French dip meat/veggies and I think I loved that version even more. Mostly I included the meat to help ensure my body gets the protein that it needs. Still, there are so many good things going on in this hearty soup, I have no doubt this soup would be marvelous sans the meat.
Sharing a little self-introspection (Svadhyaya)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why I do what I do. Why do I blog? Why cook? To eat healthy? I think I’ve always wanted to contribute something that would help other people and make a difference in EVERYTHING that I do (at work and at home), but sometimes I get into a habit of doing something and the lines get fuzzy and start to wonder, ‘why am I doing this?’ … the questions have especially surfaced lately as I’ve been going through some continuing education for teaching yoga. Years ago, when my youngest graduated from high school and I was presented with an opportunity to take yoga teacher training from my favorite yoga teacher, I decided it was time to do something for ME and take the training. After yoga teacher training was done, I did start teaching yoga … and still attended lots of classes, but the training aspect dropped off as I was able to return to using my free time to blog. I put any continuing education training off to the distant future as I resumed my normal activities of life.
When we do things like that, the months and years have a way of catching up with us, don’t they? I got to the point last year when I realized the deadline for completing my 30 hours of continuing education was nearing. I did a little calculation figuring up the weeks and determining how long I had to “catch up”, and realized I had better get busy. The teachings have been interesting and thought provoking, and I’ve found myself delving into not just scientific, but also philosophical wisdom and teachings which always seem to lead back to the question: why am I here? What is my purpose?
Purpose (Dharma): Good Food, Good Health, and Love
The answer to this question of purpose (or dharma) for me varies over time, of course. Some bloggers just love to cook, some love to write, some bloggers do it for the money. My overall purpose with this blog was never for the money (and perhaps that is why it never has become a source of income for me, but I’m okay with that). For me, I think, is this: food is love. It one of our most basic needs and one of the biggest sources of connecting with our fellow human beings. Food is meant to be shared, but it is also meant to nourish your body and your soul. When we share food, meals or recipes, we are creating a connection, we are reaching out to our fellow human beings, we are sharing sustenance, comfort and love.
And so I am here, sharing what I know, what I’ve learned, what flavors I’ve found work together the best, not just for the instant bit of pleasure when you take a bite, but also for the health that it brings to the body.
When I started the blog, I wanted to share delicious recipes that also help your body thrive and provide peace for your soul. At first, I aimed to cut down the fat, but then as I realized that our bodies need healthy fats, I shifted. As my body is aging, I’m tuning into its changing needs. Fiber and heart disease are my top two things right now, but I want to help others on their human journey, help share the love of food and flavor and keeping our bodies in tune.
Every Day is a Journey
My body is shifting in what it needs and sometimes I fail to provide it, even though I try to eat healthy every day. I try to listen to my body and track certain things I know it needs (like, fiber and other things that help keep the pipes clear), but yeah, there are days when things aren’t moving like they should. Each day is a learning opportunity and I take notice and try to adjust accordingly. Perhaps my career has prepared me for this, since my day job is reporting and analytics, I naturally look to data to try to help me understand what’s happening and how to correct it.
But even if you’re not a data-lover like me, I think that the same thing applies: check in with your body, notice how it feels, if something is amiss, try to figure out what it is that you could do to make it feel better.
It’s definitely a journey and a story that changes day by day. But it’s worth it.
Oh but the Soup …
So that leads us back to this soup recipe. Barley is one of those high-fiber grains that help cleanse your body and it adds such a good flavor and thickness to soups. Beef and barley soup has been one of my favorite soups since I was a child, but this time I wanted to switch it up a bit, add some spice … and also the umami of mushrooms. I packed this soup with lots of healthy veggies (tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, celery, onions) and amped up the flavor with creole seasoning. I personally like to kick it up even more by adding a little hot sauce to every bowl, but, as I always say in my yoga classes, do what feels right for YOUR body.
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Creole Mushroom Barley Soup
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 min
- Yield: About 8 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Creole
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Bold creole seasonings add spunk and pizzazz to a down-home hearty good soup with the earthy umami of mushrooms and chewy barley along with a whole team of good vegetables. You’ll find, of course, the creole trifecta: celery, peppers and onions, teamed up with tomatoes, carrots and cauliflower. The barley not only adds a chewy texture, it helps thicken the soup.
Ingredients
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 2 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced or chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled & sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper or mini sweet peppers
- 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, broken into small florets and/or chopped OR cauliflower rice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup uncooked barley
- 4 cups mushroom juice (juice from reconstituting dried mushrooms) or vegetable or beef broth
- 1 pint home-canned tomatoes or a 15-oz. can
- 2 – 4 teaspoons low-salt creole or cajun seasoning (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- Optional: 1/2 – 1 lb. ground venison or beef, browned, or leftover pot roast or steak, chopped
- Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the onions and saute until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms, then cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender. Stir in the celery and cook a few minutes longer until the celery is tender.
- Now add the carrot, peppers and cauliflower, then the bay leaf, barley, broth or mushroom juice, tomatoes and seasonings. Let cook for about an hour, until the barley is nice and tender. If using meat, stir it in.
- Taste the soup and add more seasonings, salt and pepper to your liking! Enjoy.
Notes
This hearty soup is even better the next day.
© Copyright 2021, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Keywords: Mushroom, Barley, Creole, Stew, Soup, Plant-based
1 comment
I love a good, hearty soup like this one — especially the fact that they’re always better the next day! 😉