Beaker's Vegetable Barley Soup and Grilled Cheese

(Original recipe from here. I didn't add the things I didn't like.)

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts vegetable broth (I used this base)
  
• 1 cup uncooked barley (best from the bulk-food section)
  
• 2 large carrots, chopped (I did two baby carrots, because I don't like cooked carrots)
  
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (I added more)
  
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
  
• 1 zucchini, chopped (ick, there was NO SQUASH in my soup)
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained (rinse them to get rid of starchy ick)
  
• 1 onion, chopped
  
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder ( I used chopped garlic in oil, tastes better)
  
• 1 teaspoon white sugar (I don't know why, but I did it)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt (be careful with the salt)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon curry powder (add a little extra)
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika (I think this is mostly for color...)
  
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  

Method:

1. In a large wok, saute onions, bay leaves and garlic with a little olive oil. Slowly add in carrots and celery. Then the tomatoes. Finally add salt, pepper, parsley, sugar, curry powder, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Pour in the vegetable broth. Finally add the garbanzo beans and the barley. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 90 minutes. If it is too thick, add a little more broth. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Grilled Cheese:

Goat Cheese (something mild and soft)
Shredded Provolone and Mozzarella (it's easier to use pre-shredded)
Very thinly sliced bread (Peperridge Farms has a white-wheat thing that is available)
Butter

Method:

1. Heat a pan.
2. In a bowl, use a fork to mix the chevre and the shredded cheese.
3. Butter the bread, fill with the cheese mix and grill it like normal.

This soup was pretty amazing. A nice spiciness that wasn't expected and really filling. The next day, I melted some of the cheese mixture over it and it was very good, too. I love barley soups, but I usually make beef or creamy and I wanted to try something new. I really don't like squash, and I was afraid I'd miss something by eliminating it and cutting back on the carrots, but the soup still tasted great.

The grilled chesse was just fun. All I wanted all day was tomato soup and grilled chesse, so I just made everything fancy to fit the theme. I really love the cheap mozerella and provolone melted with a sharp, creamy goat chesse. And the thin bread made it more delicate so it was about the cheese. Also a great thing to dip in the soup.

The recipe page, you may notice, says that coarse cracked pepper will ruin the soup. I didn't read that until well after I added the pepper, and I don't think I ruined it at all. But next time, I'll make it with fine-ground, just to see.

Seven says:

I really REALLY like this soup. We had enough of it that I was eating it for the next few days, and it was fantastic. It would be a really great fall or winter stew, as it's very thick and filling. (If the pepper or lack of squash ruined it, I certainly didn't notice.)

I'm not as huge a fan of goat cheese as Carrie, but the sandwiches were tasty as well, if not quite as smooth and melty as I'd like a grilled cheese to be.