Chunky Veggie Barley

Look how big my new soup pot is! It's the size of my torso!

In Michael Pollan's new book, "On Food Rules," he separates "food products" from "food." When did feeding ourselves become so complicated? Pollan's main thesis is to "Eat real food, not too much of it, and more plants than meat." Alayna and I discussed this while eating our soup last night.

The thing I can't wrap my head around is the fact that I am 27 years old. I have a graduate degree. For most of the last decade I've had a moderate interest in eating well and yet I still don't feel like I'm close to mastering it. I've spent years thinking about this and reading books and articles. I feel like I have a strong basis about the world of marketing tricks and how food marketers get you. Yet I still fall for traps (sugar free jam with fiber anyone?) So how on earth do people who aren't neurotic nutbags like me even stand a chance?

It is a rare day when I can confidently say nothing I ingested was processed. Even last night we had pearl barley in our soup, which is more processed than hull barley. But I don't even know where to find hull barley. The thing that annoys me about Pollan is that he makes me feel like such an idiot for having these moments. He makes it sound so simple. But it's not. I've been working on my cooking for a solid two years and I still feel like I'm at the very, very beginning of it. The crest of the wave (of soup!).

Maybe it's because unlike Alayna, I didn't grow up in a cooking household. My mom claims it used to be a cooking household when I was young, but as I often bring up, when I was 11 my mom gave up cooking for Lent and then never looked back. No one yelled at me for drinking Cokes in the morning and Oreos after school (Eileen and Jessica, please confirm). I know there are some underlying issues here, like how it wasn't even an option that my dad would ever pick up the cooking slack for my mom, but my point is I didn't have a strong cooking mentor growing up, so for much of this I feel like I'm learning things for the first time now.

I like Pollan's idea of eating in moderation. That feeling of can't-move-full is obviously not a healthy feeling. It's akin to putting ourselves into a comatose state. We aren't alert. (But have you noticed eating too much homecooked food is a different feel entirely from eating too much processed food?)

But I get uncomfortable when his stuff starts to sound like deprivation (i.e. eat sweets on days that start with an S) I like saying, "Hara Hachi Bu," mainly because it's funny to say outloud but also because it means "eat until 80 percent full." A cultural habit, practiced on the island of Okinawa; the healthiest place on earth. Pollan highlights an old wive's tale: If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're not hungry.

I actually just ate an apple and I'm still hungry.

Clearly folks, I have issues with Micheal Pollan that perhaps I should just keep in the closet. Maybe I just want more of a gold star from him and less of a long sigh and shrug that I have so much left to do. I don't know. I'm interested in your thoughts. Are your current eating habits reflective of how you were raised? Do you often to cook for yourself? Do you even care? What are your food rules?

Chew on that and then go ahead and chew (and slurp!) on this...

Chunky Veggie Barley OR Ain't got no Gout Soup

• in a separate pot, cook one cup of barley as suggested (should take about 45 minutes)
  
• roughly chop 3 cloves of garlic and saute in olive oil with herbs des provence
  
• add one onion, thinly sliced, and saute until lightly browned
• add two parsnips (chopped) and a handful of carrots (chopped) and cook covered until they begin to get soft, adding more olive oil if needed
• add two bunches of chopped brocollini and stir, then cover again until brocollini are a little cooked through (2-3 minutes)
• add a handful of kale and stir and a box of chopped mushrooms
  
• once kale, brocollini and parsnips are mostly cooked through, add the barley with it's hot water to the pot, filling the rest with water and chicken boullion for flava
• bring to a simmer, salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Chickpea Rosemary Soup

While Melinda, our Monday Soup's dinner guest, was in the other room Alayna introduced me to her new buddy Ernst the Eggplant in the kitchen.

Alayna met Ernst at the Essex Street Market and at first she thought he was a deformed eggplant but then realized he was actually a great new pal. She sent me a message on Saturday night that we have a new soup buddy in our lives. I just pray he never rots. Notice that we discuss produce on Saturday nights? Cool.

Man, this post is weird, huh? Maybe it's because it's 4 o'clock and it's already dark outside. Maybe it's because I just watered my desk cactus for the month and I'm tired out. Or maybe it's because last night Alayna and I ate an entire mammoth bunch of kale. (P.S. Check out our kale chip recipe below. THEY'RE AWESOME. They're like potato chips for health conscious weirdos.) Anyway, yeah, I don't know.

But this is what I do know. Chickpea Rosemary soup is a comforting thing. Sort of like a potato soup. I also know that I really enjoy New York City in the fall. I keep realizing this over and over. Especially the Lower East Side. I felt all full of goodness and chickpeas when I set out to walk home Monday night at 10pm from Alayna's. I smiled when the street kiddies pretended to beat each other with baseball bats on Suffolk, or those rats that always run under your feet on the corner by Houston, or that drunk person you always run into because you can't see the corner because of the plywood fence that is covering the empty lot which always has movie posters for really good indy movies and meditation spots. You know what I mean. Anyway right, soup...

Friends 4-eva.

Chickpea & Rosemary Soup!

• Roughly chop about 4-5 cloves of garlic and saute in olive oil with some hot red pepper, adding a roughly chopped yellow onion when beginning to get translucent. Add about 4 stripped sprigs or fresh rosemary, leaves only.
  
• Increasing the heat a little, add 4 parsnips (also chopped) and then a zucchini. Cook another five minutes or so until everything is a little softer and you can stick a fork through them
• Add 4 drained and rinsed cans of chickpeas and two tomatoes, then cover with vegetable broth and bring to a simmer (not a full boil! it will make the rosemary bitter)
• Drain and season with lemon juice and black pepper!

Kale Chips!

• Tear leaves up into medium sized pieces and place in a brownie pan
• sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt and mix with your hands
• cook at 375 for about 30 min, stirring once and checking to make sure tops aren't burnt

West African Peanut Soups OR Nuts4Nuts!

Little did Alayna and I know but this was actually the last Monday Soup we made while still living in the same apartment. Apparently there was a little miscommunication. She didn't realize when I said, "I'm renting the truck Saturday," meant "I'm moving out Saturday." And I didn't realize that "I am going to Virginia this weekend," meant "Alayna is going to Virgina this weekend."

So all of a sudden Sunday rolled around, Alayna came home and my room was empty. Meanwhile I was uptown a ways fighting off mosquitoes because screens are one of the many things I am currently lacking and for those of you who don't live in New York City it's been raining for the last 47 days straight so there are a bunch of bugs. There is that and considering what I'm supposed to do without Time Warner Cable in my life. Writing that out made me sound pathetic, I know. But I like Desperate Housewives of New Jersey. Sue me. That's my heritage.

Is it just me or have these blog posts gotten way longer? Whatev. This soup is SOOOOO good. It's hearty and wonderful. One bowl is enough for any human to feel full. So I ate two and then waddled around a bunch. So enjoy! And don't worry, as stated last week, Alayna and I have a very detailed plan how to continue Monday Soups so do not fret fans. See you next week!

West African Peanut Soup!

• Chop 6-8 cloves of garlic, 1 yellow onion and a decent amount of peeled fresh ginger (again, I like a lot) and saute on low in peanut oil until fragrant
  
• Bring up the heat and add about 3 chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces and about a half a cup of roasted unsalted peanuts and keep covered until cooked through, stirring occasionally

• Add 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and in bite sized pieces, and cover pretty generously with chicken broth (but not too much! you still have things to add!)... bring to a boil and cook until sweet potatoes are soft
  
• Cut 6-8 plum tomatoes and 3-4 big handfuls of kale and 3 dried hot peppers torn into small-ish pieces and cook another 8-10 minutes

• Add about 3 heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter (more or less to taste, chunky or smooth is fine) and stir in
• ... Enjoy!

Sausage Soup

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Writing a soup blog when I'm at work is a lot more dodgy than I thought. But it's Thursday and I know the people... i.e. Alayna... is freaking out that there is no new soup to look at. Though there is a new Friday's Dinners! which also doubles as Sunday Brunch.

There is a lot to say here. One: This is a nice Italian-esq. comfort soup. Very similar to Italian Wedding soup, Ryan. Alayna was in the mood for it because she is freaking out- so are most of the Suffolk apartment ladies. As the lease is ending and cha-cha-changes are a-happening. Moving, subletting, weeding out potential craigslist killers. It's stressful. (Hey! Anyone need a room in the Lower East Side in a week? Inquire within!)

So this soup made us all feel a little more relaxed. Thank you, soup.

Now for the contest. Drum roll please.

The First Ever MONDAY'S SOUP HAIKU CONTEST!

I know, how did we not think of this before.

Rules:

1. Write a haiku about soup.

2. Paste it as a "comment" to this blog post

3. Wait anxiously to see if you're the winner

You WANT to be the winner.

The Soup!

Slice about 6 cloves of garlic and saute in olive oil in the soup pot

add in 1 yellow onion, chopped

once the onions are getting opaque,

add about two fistfuls of kale, torn into smaller pieces

when the kale is getting softer, add about 1.5 handfuls of baby carrots, chopped

add the florets from one or two heads of broccoli

once the broccoli and carrots are getting softer, but still firm,

add a large can of crushed tomatoes with the juice

and bring the bot to a low simmer

add in a handful of fresh basil

and a handful of fresh parsley

in a separate pan, saute 4-6 Italian sausages cut into bite size pieces (half sweet, half spicy)

once cooked through, add to to the soup pot and fill with chicken broth to get to the right consistency

Bring everything to a boil and eat!

Hail to Kale Soup

If the first thing you do at work is go to The New York Times' online Health Section too, then you and I both know that kale is the new "It" vegetable. Shari Hern writes: "And yes, a vegetable can be amazing. Particularly when it's loaded with substances that can help protect one from cancer, cataracts, emphysema, and rheumatoid arthritis."

Hey Austin Brey, can your Trader Joe's frozen pizza do that? No. For more on the superiority of soup over Trader Joe's frozen pizza, please check back next week.

Anyway. If you love something you are going to fight for it and that's exactly what Alayna and I did.

First Soup Fight

Alayna: when are you posting it???

ML: soon I just got back from Jackson Heights.

Alayna: you're doing kale first, right?

ML: nah, I'm doing last night's

Alayna: but the kale is so wintery!

ML: nope, next week

Alayna: please?

Alayna: please, please, please

ML: nope. unless you want to write the blog

Alayna's First Blog Post

As you may have noticed, I have a mild obsession with soup. Actually, I wouldn't even say obsession with soup (although this blog makes it appear otherwise)... mostly I have an obsession with being secretly lazy.

Secret laziness means this: having home-cooked meals, but not having to cook (okay, really do the dishes) every night. Having nutritious food but only having to use one dish to eat it. Either way, I make so much soup because it's easy to make a huge quantity at once, it stores well, and you can put all kinds of good-for-you stuff into it.

Which brings us to kale. Mary and I only recently discovered kale because she read some article about how essentially it's mega-powered spinach. Fiber, iron, vitamins, whatever. It's all there. We like spinach, so kale seems like a good idea.

So far our relationship with kale has gone well. It's tougher than spinach, which means it holds up to cooking without becoming mushy if you walk away for a minute. It's also really good sauteed with fresh ginger, garlic and rock salt. And delicious in this soup. Other things delicious in this soup? Barley (fiber!), potatoes (vitamin C!) and mushrooms (the porcinis give that great earthy taste and the baby bella's keep the texture interesting.)

Wow Alayna, what an educational blog post.

And Now, Please Help Us Welcome Our New Friend, Kale

And welcome KZimm's first appearance on Monday's Soups.

Before you head to work put 3/4 cups of dried barley into cold water to soak for the day

When you get home, microwave 2 cups of water for 3 minutes

Then poor onto 1/2 ounce of dried porcini mushrooms

Let them sit for 30 minutes and put on sweatpants

Chop up about a handful and a half of baby red potatoes into bite sized pieces and boil in a separate pot.

Take off heat once they are mostly soft.

Saute about 5 cloves of garlic and 1 medium yellow onion in olive oil until translucent

Add 3/4 of a packet of sliced baby portabella mushrooms

(which are the same as cremini!)

and a handful of sliced shitake mushrooms to the mix and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are getting soft and everything is fragrant

Add in soaked barley, reconstituted mushrooms (with the soaking liquid!),

chicken broth,

a handful of parsley, rosemary and thyme

and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste

Clean and de-stem a bunch of kale and add it into the pot with the potatoes for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time.

Enjoy!

P.S. This soup was strongly inspired by a New York Times recipe. Thank you New York Times.