"Perpetual" soup
Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 8:58 am
Usually a cold, snowy 3-day weekend is the sort of thing that sends my good McDougall intentions spinning out of control. This weekend I started a crock pot of soup and kept it going all weekend. Definitely a peasant-style soup. I started with some vegetable broth, water-sauteed onions and cabbage, burdock root (gobo), some dried mushrooms, and a couple cups of pre-cooked barley left over from the week. I had a couple cups of that for breakfast, and then topped the pot up with carrots and celery and some more water. I kept the pot going all weekend and replenshed it with different veggies, grains, and water. It's a great way to use up odds and ends of produce. Other things I added were: Asian sweet potato, diced homemade seitan, crushed garlic, chopped bok choy. The flavor keeps changing as the ingredients change. The broth got very rich and brown; so good that it is almost impossible to believe that there are absolutely NO bones or fats in it. I always thought that I needed bones to make a really good broth, but the barley eventually dissolves into the stock, making it thick and rich-tasting.
I also baked a batch of whole-grain sourdough bread (no added fats or sugars), so I had bread and soup available whenever I felt hungry. All weekend I felt happily nourished, and I lost about a pound into the bargain. Right now the pot is simmering away. I added more water and uncooked barley after I ladled out my breakfast and lunch. I plan on keeping the pot going for the week, to see how it develops.
I also baked a batch of whole-grain sourdough bread (no added fats or sugars), so I had bread and soup available whenever I felt hungry. All weekend I felt happily nourished, and I lost about a pound into the bargain. Right now the pot is simmering away. I added more water and uncooked barley after I ladled out my breakfast and lunch. I plan on keeping the pot going for the week, to see how it develops.