Recipes for October 11th

October 11^th, with Mel Chin

Mushroom Barley Soup

Cook barley like you would brown rice- 1 part barley to 2 parts water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer til plump. Set aside

Pour boiling water over dried mushrooms (1 part mushrooms to 5 parts water) and cover for 10 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Squeeze out liquid and chop mushrooms. This liquid will be your stock, or you can use other stock or water

Sautee chopped onions, garlic and plenty of thinly sliced fresh mushrooms, along with the chopped reconstituted mushrooms. There could be some carrots and celery in there too, if you wish. Simmer until lots of juicy mushroom liquid has formed, but not long enough for it to have evaporated.

Add a genrous splash of sherry or vermouth and cook for a minute

Add your stock, some soy sauce, S & P, fresh thyme, a dash of molasses, and bring to a boil, making sure the flavors are intense and that there is plenty of liquid

Add the barley, lower heat, and cook for just 10 minutes or until flavors have melded, but barley has not expanded, which it has a way of doing

Summer Lasagna

I use the lasagna noodles that needn’t be cooked first

Roast peppers: toss in a really hot oven or grill until blackened. Remove from heat, place in a paper bag or bowl, cover and steam. When cool, remove skins, stems and seeds without using water

Sautee chopped onions and garlic til tender

Add thinly sliced summer squash, chopped roasted peppers, S & P and red chili flakes

Make sauce (summer or winter tomato sauce, depending on what’s available), and make it wet

Layer roasting pan with sauce, lasagna sheets, more sauce, grated cheese (parmesan, mozzarella, … whatever you like), filling, and so on, until you have at least three layers

Bake in a preheated 400 oven for 20-30 minutes

Best to make enough sauce for ladling on top

Garnish with fresh parsley or basil

Greens with dressing

 Wealth Underground Farms provided the squash, peppers, onions, & carrots. Thank you!