Vegetable-Barley Soup

When making soups, what a fine line there seems to be sometimes between healthy and dull.  Going way back to the beginning of the soup-a-day blog posts, it was mentioned then there were a few key components to any soup – a liquid base, a garnish – usually vegetables or meat – and some kind of seasoning.  From this point moving forward, a soup cook can add, subtract, or substitute in any number of ways, depending on taste.  Even the size of the veggie dice, for example, makes a considerable difference in how it cooks and the ultimate texture.  Add pearled barley and the texture is going to obviously thicken to the point of forming a gooey base along with the chicken stock.

There are a few surprising components with this recipe for vegetable-barley soup though.  The first is that it comes from the wrong end of the 'every day of the year' soup book, September 10, but at 38 degrees here in late April it does feel plenty enough like fall to feed a hearty soup.  Another surprising feature is just how spare this recipe is, asking for virtually no sodium or meat – this is one of those lists that, once you see it up and down, you realize that the ingredients are going to have to speak for  themselves....or make some additions.  The core is a lot of veggies: carrots, potatoes, parsnips, (rutabaga, if you can find them), the barley, and basil, oregano, and thyme.  The resulting

texture is thick and rich, but the problem is that seemingly no amount of salt is enough elevate the single tone taste.  As you continue to spoon into the bowl, you know what you are eating is good for you, rich in fiber, warm in the belly and easy on digestion...but too simple.  I didn't take my own advice to add something when necessary.  What this soup needed was large chunks of cubed bacon or fried ham, turning it, I am betting, from medicinal to delicious.