Beef Barley Tomato Soup

Similar to the recipe on the box of Quick Cooking Barley, but made with a soup base my daughter made.The  soup base consists of :

Celery, leeks, onion, garlic, parsley, tomato, potatoes, that had been cooked for 1 and one half hours, processed in a blender and strained. It’s a healthy food recipe called Special Soup or Hippocrates Soup,  it’s a good tasting nourishing soup alone or as utilized as a base for other recipes.

To the soup base, add the following, when completed cooking :

• Beef chuck , diced to small size suitable for soup.
•  Olive oil, bacon fat etc. in the pan. Fry the beef, till almost fully cooked.
• Diced onion, roughly 1/2 as much as the beef.
• Salt, pepper and seasonings to taste.
• One or two medium tomatoes, diced chunky.
• Finish with finely chopped garlic, cook till the ingredients are wilted.

Meanwhile in a oven proof measuring cup, mix a measured amount of quick cooking barley and water as package directs.

Microwave several minutes, drain, and add to soup.

 I needed some greens in the soup for color , my wife suggested some baby spinach . The spinach was added and then seasonings adjusted and grated Parmesan  added for the finish. Everything was warmed through.

(this soup base would also make a good pasta and beans recipe)

A very tasty and nourishing soup a recipe worth repeating.

Roasted Veggies with barley

   Too simple…
Prepare barley

1 cup barley to 2 1/2 cup water
While the barley simmers, cut and dice vegetables.
Fennel
White onion
Green onion
Garlic
Carrot
I used a almost a whole fennel, including some of the stems diced like celery.

Medium dice on the bulb, and some of the fennel tips.
White onion, medium dice.
Green onions, medium dice, both the white portion and green stems.
Carrots cut to similar size.
Toss with salt, pepper, oil, a bit of rosemary.

Cut a piece of parchment paper about double the size of the baking sheet. Center the parchment paper on the baking sheet, add the veggies and fold and seal the paper, all edges to enclose the veggies.
Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour.

The fennel is very flavorable with the accompanying veggies , no other seasonings were needed.

Serve over barley.

The texture of the veggies were just right, not mushy, not too crisp.

With added broth, would be a good soup.

Rosemary and garlic fococcia

looking for a recipe for fococcia, used this as a base.

http://hautesucreblog.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/roasted-campari-tomatoes-and-sweet-vidalia-onion-focaccia/

didn’t have tomato at the time.

The recipe calls for a starter…as in beer making rehydrate the dry yeasties…some sugar water sprinkled with yeast and let stand… a quick acting yeast it will foam up quickly.

 

flour and salt

 

prep the rosemary and garlic

 

combine with the starter and flour and proceed as usual for making dough, this is a double rise.

prep the toppings, I used red and white onion combo for onion, go with sweet Valdalia if you like and have them. For me the stronger the better.

 

when the dough has risen, form in to a sheet pan, parchment is available at the warehouse club , so I use it often, slightly oiled.

hard cheese grated… the cheese was close to the rind, very hard, a combo of Romano and Parmesan

top with the onions and cheese

baked …

 

 

 

sliced and served with a beer.

 

bonus pictures of some bread I baked….….

 

herb flatbead

Catching up on posting, lots of pictures in iPhoto….

the love of bread with herbs from the garden………Flat bread means bread NOW !

 

Rosemary, Thyme and Oregano….

One batch of dough and herbs…..

Double batch of dough divided 24 times…..

Massage 8 dough sections with oregano and form into balls…

Roll into flats…..

a hot griddle….

Now with rosemary…..

I was in the process of cleaning the drip pans from the stove, they were soaking to remove accumulation of crud etc.

a bit labor intensive, now the thyme…. the last 8….

dual burner cast iron griddle power…

work in the herbs…

getting all puffed up….

 

cooling….. half the batch stashed away so they all don’t disappear at once…

Boar Osso Buco

Time for another recipe of Osso Buco, very similar to a previous post, osso-buco-or-baked-marrow-bones/.

Boar shanks from PV Farmstand, purchased at the Wintertime Farmers Market.

Ready, a few simple ingredients that are slow cooked.

Find a covered oven proof pot that will nestle the shanks.

Prepare a mix for breading the shanks, here a combination of flour seasonings and breadcrumbs.

A good sized heavy pan for browning the shanks, a combination of olive oil butter in the pan and plain olive oil ready.

Coat the shanks with olive oil……

Now dredge in the seasoned breadcrumb and flour mixture……….

Coat liberally with the mix…..

Gently fry the shanks till golden brown…..

Turn on the sides to brown and seal exterior surfaces….

when browned, return to the cooking vessel….

add chopped onion to the oil in the browning pan……

Add the sauteed onions to the pot with the shanks…..

Add chopped tomatoes and some tomato juiced (canned is OK) to a sauce pot….

Heat and add wine…..

Add the sauce to the pot…..

Add enough liquid to go about 2/3 of the depth of the cooking pot….

Fresh aromatics dot the surface…..

A layer of parchment paper atop……Cover and Bake low and slow about 325 degrees at least an hour and a half.

Later…… DONE…..

Now the next day, (once cooked, cool and refrigerate at least a day beforehand, it’s worth the scheduling beforehand, once cooked will keep well in fridge), diced veggies and saute….

Bake some small  potatoes, fry or broil them slightly to crisp up the skins…. reheat the shanks with the congealed gravy……

Plate it up ! On shank per serving…..

Serve with a homebrew ! Definitely not a boaring meal !

Later on ,serving variation #2, with rice and broccoli and carrots…

Again, one of my favorite cuts of meat….

My compliments to the chef, your not the only one who sucks the marrow from the bones ……  !!!