Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Split Pea, Beef and Barley Soup recap

Delicious and filling, this soup is perfect for a cold and wintry night.

The catch? It took about two and a half to three hours to make. I did not realize how much chopping was required and I am a little slow in that department. Reading the recipe through, it was a cinch to make but it yielded a lot of soup. Toward the end, I had to split the soup in two pots because my pot was going to overflow.

A hearty and fulfilling soup. Next time, I'd split the recipe in half.

Letterpress January Goal: design a line of notecards (minimum 6).

Posted by Maria @ 4:09 PM :: (0) comments

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

January: Split Pea, Beef, and Barley Soup

From Sunset Magazine, January 2007

Based on a recipe from Lainey Feingold, this soup combines the best qualities of two classic soups: the heartiness of split pea and the rich, nutty flavor of beef and barley. Prep and Cook Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 1/2-in. pieces
5 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
4 large onions, chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups green split peas (one 16-oz. package)
3/4 cup dried baby lima beans
3/4 cup pearl barley
5 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-in. pieces

1. Heat oil in a 9- to 10-qt. pot over medium-high heat. Season beef with 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper, then brown on all sides in two batches. Set aside.
2. Add onions, leek, parsnips, celery, and remaining 3 1/2 tsp. salt and 2 tsp. pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onions soften, about 5 minutes. Return beef to pot and add split peas, lima beans, and 4 qts. water. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Add barley and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in carrots and cook 20 minutes more. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per cup.

Yield: Makes about 8 qts. (serving size: 1 cup)


NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 155(19% from fat); FAT 3.3g (sat 0.9g); PROTEIN 11g; CHOLESTEROL 18mg; SODIUM 401mg; FIBER 3.8g; CARBOHYDRATE 21g

Posted by Maria @ 5:27 PM :: (0) comments

Friday, January 05, 2007

new start

So, I'm resurrecting this blog. It all started as a New Year's resolution of some sort.

Not one to be big on New Year's resolutions, I usually have goals set every year. General goals mostly and half the time I achieve them and half the time, I fail miserably.

Realizing that I may need to be more specific to achieve the ultimate goal, I'm making things simpler this year.

One goal is to make one new recipe a month from the countless magazines and cookbooks I have. A friend of a friend found out about my resolution and made an awesome suggestion: take photos of the stuff I make and at the end of the year, make a calendar filled with each month's recipe and photo. Brilliant!

I figured this blog will make me accountable for my monthly goal.

I do have another goal. That is to do something towards my letterpress business each month. I will not necessarily blog about that here but I will list my goal for the month. And maybe some pictures.

Posted by Maria @ 3:06 PM :: (0) comments