Meatless Monday- Mushroom Barley Soup

So, I’m changing the name of this feature to meatless Mondays because I think the word vegan freaks people out.  But, the recipes will still be vegan.

This week is a super simple crock pot soup.  It’s cold and wintery even in L.A., so I thought a nice warm soup would hit the spot.  Plus mushrooms and barley are so good and healthy.  The recipe is from Vegan 101 edited by Kate DeVivo. I added the bay leaves and used the mushrooms I had on hand.

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

3/4 c each chopped onion, celery, and carrots

2 bay leaves

3/4 tsp crushed fennel seeds

2 cups sliced cremini or white mushrooms

1/2 c. barley

salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients, except barley, salt, and pepper int a slow cooker and cook on high 4-6 hours.  Add the barley the last 30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. You end up with this:

I realize now I drained the tomatoes.  It definitely needed at least another 1/2 cup of liquid to make it more soup like.  Next time I’ll check when I add the barley, and add some more water if it looks a little dry.

It tasted very good.  My mom makes a hamburger soup, obviously with ground beef, and this tastes very similar.  And it’s so simple to make in a crock pot.

Is the cold weather putting you in the mood for soup, too?

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