Scott's Kitchen

Barley Soup With Mushrooms and Microgreens

Out of a can, a couple of my favorite soups are barley-based - either chicken or beef with barley, I'm not picky! Good flavor, good fiber - and there's something about barley that "beefs" up a soup in terms of chunkiness and flavor.

Recently, I came across this recipe in the New York Times for Barley Soup With Mushrooms and Kale - which I made in a modified form for dinner Monday evening last week - it was delicious!

Kale wasn't easy to find - and being a regular Trader Joe's shopper I had noticed they carry a small box of "microgreens" - so I substituted those for the kale.

Trader Joe's also sells a dried mushroom medley (which includes some porcini mushrooms) which I used to replace the dried porchini's ($1.99 for the medley vs $5.99 for the pure dried porcinis!) I also had a cup of beef broth left over so it went into the soup along with a quart of chicken broth instead of just chicken broth. Otherwise, I pretty much followed the rest of the recipe.

Scott's Less Famous But Still Tasty Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup

It's late on Thanksgiving weekend (back to work tomorrow - ugh!) and time to use up some of those turkey leftovers making homemade turkey noodle soup.

Unlike us, braver souls actually make turkey stock from the bird's carcass on Thanksgiving evening (frankly, we were falling asleep after dinner and struggled to get just some of the dishes cleaned up that night!). But, if you're looking for that real turkey noodle soup make from real homemade turkey stock, be sure to checkout Elise's Mom's Turkey Soup!

Scott's Famous Homemade Chicken Soup with Pasta

This year, as the cool fall weather has moved in and the daylight is fading faster, we've been experimenting with various chicken soup recipes to find one that really "hits the spot." There is something special about chicken soup - for both health and attitude! After several tries and variations, we think this one is just about perfect - and now it's famous!

It's a great Saturday or Sunday late afternoon treat to make in the fall and winter months. Hope you enjoy it - let us know by posting a comment!

Winter All-Afternoon Onion Soup

Out our way, the fall was warm and sunny this year - with the shortening days eventually delivering on cooler days and cold nights only over the last week or two.

We love to make onion soup on cool days like this - see my earlier "Scott's Favorite French Onion Soup" recipe for one of our favorite recipes. The problem with that recipe is that it's one of those "stand over the stove and stir" recipes - and, if you get a bit impatient and over eager with the heat, you'll subtly char the onions and have a bitter result. It's frustrating - you're looking for a great soup but it just takes a bit longer than it should.

Scott's Favorite French Onion Soup

This recipe was inspired by Husch Vineyards' French Onion Soup recipe, modified a bit to suit our tastes better. Husch is a small family winery in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County, just down the road from Navarro, Handley, Roederer, and some of our other favorites! Check here for a list of Anderson Valley wineries. Anderson Valley is one of the most beautiful California valleys and is on the road to Mendocino.