Creamy Mushroom Barley Soup with Lentils & Dill (Vegan)

Recipe from The First Mess

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Servings 6

This was such a tasty, comforting soup for an autumn day.  Good enough for company.  Serve it with some crusty bread and a colorful salad to complete the meal.

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 lb (454 grams) cremini mushrooms, sliced

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

1 large yellow onion, small dice

2 medium carrots, small dice

2 sticks celery, small dice

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 bay leaves

1 cup pearled barley or wild rice*

½ cup black Beluga lentils* 

10 cups vegetable stock

1 tablespoon light miso

1 cup unsweetened non-dairy cream/milk* 

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar*

1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

Instructions

1. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Pour in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until golden brown and tender, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.

2. Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and stir. Sauté this mixture, stirring often, until onions are soft and translucent, about 7-8 minutes.

3. To the pot, add the garlic, dried thyme, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and bay leaves and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Once the garlic is fragrant, after about 1 minute, add the pearled barley (or wild rice) and lentils. Stir.

4. Add the vegetable stock and stir. Cover the pot and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and remove the lid. Simmer until barley and lentils are tender, about 30 minutes, popping in to stir here and there. (Wild rice may take a bit longer to cook.) Discard the bay leaves.

5. Place the miso in a small bowl and ladle some of the hot broth from the soup on top. Use a spoon to break up and dissolve the miso. Then, add the mixture back into the pot. Add the mushrooms back into the pot as well. Then, add the non-dairy cream, sherry vinegar, Worcestershire, and dill. Stir to combine and bring up to a boil again. Give the soup a taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (more vinegar, salt, Worcestershire etc).6. Serve the mushroom barley soup hot and enjoy!

Notes

I like the look and firmness of black Beluga lentils in this soup, but green lentils and French lentils will both substitute easily here.

White wine vinegar is a fine substitute for sherry vinegar, if that’s what you use, you may want to start with 2 teaspoons.

Miso and vegan Worcestershire sauce are both quite salty, so just be mindful of how much salt you add.

For non-dairy cream, you could try nut pods brand original unsweetened creamer or Califia’s Better Half non-dairy cream or unsweetened cashew milk or oat milk.

Do not substitute hulled barley as it will take twice as long to cook and hulled barley does not “starch up” the soup as nicely.

Wild Rice Salad

Recipe from RainbowPlantLife

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes 4 servings (recipe can be halved or doubled)

There are several YouTube channels and blogs I truly enjoy watching.  One of these is Rainbow Plant Life.  The recipes and food prep videos are excellent.  The dishes Nisha prepares are all vegan.  This particular recipe for a simple wild rice salad was part of a food prep video.  She used the salad as a side, but also as a filling for roasted butternut squash.  I love the chewiness of the earthy wild rice, the sweetness of the dried cranberries and the crunch of the pecans. 

3 cups cooked wild rice*

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup fresh herbs (such as parsley, mint, cilantro, basil), left whole or roughly chopped

½ cup dried cranberries, cherries or chopped apricots

½ cup toasted nuts (almonds, pecans, etc.) OR seeds (pepitas or sunflower seeds, etc.)

2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2-3 Tablespoons high-quality balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt or sea salt, to taste

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl.  Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Serve.  Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

*How To Prepare Wild Rice In A Rice Cooker:

Place ¾ cup wild rice in the rice cooker bowl.  Add 2 cups water (or stock or a combination of stock and dry white wine).  Add ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt. Swirl to combine.  Close the cover and set for the regular/Brown Rice cycle.  When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, open the cover and stir to dissipate the heat to prevent over-cooking.  Close the cover and let the rice steam for 15 to 20 minutes. (At this point I added the dried cranberries to the wild rice and gave it a stir.  This plumps up the cranberries.) This rice will hold on Keep Warm for up to 1 hour.  Serve hot, or cool to room temperature and chill for later.

Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup (Vegan)

Recipe from GimmeSomeOven

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Yield: 8 generous servings

It wasn’t autumn, but the tail end of winter when I made this soup.  It couldn’t be easier to make because it’s done in the slow cooker.  The hubby really liked it because it’s a bit sweet due to the sweet potato.  I liked it because it’s filling, satisfying, and full of good-for-you veggies.  The recipe author has several adaptions (stovetop, Instapot, gluten-free option, a cream sauce option, adding chicken option, etc.) I do think the soup would look even more beautiful using wild rice and not a wild rice blend, but I used what I had. 

6 cups Homemade Vegetable Broth

1 cup uncooked wild rice

8 oz. baby bell mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 small white onion, peeled and diced

1 bay leaf

1½ Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 (13.5 oz.) can coconut milk (I used light coconut milk.)

2 large handfuls of fresh kale, thick stems removed, roughly chopped

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper

Place the vegetable broth, wild rice, mushrooms, garlic, carrots, celery, sweet potato, onion, bay leaf and Old Bay Seasoning in a large slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours, or until the rice is cooked and tender.  Remove the cover and add the coconut milk and fresh kale.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well.  Cover and allow to sit for a few minutes, or until the kale has wilted and has turned a rich green.  Serve hot or allow to cool and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

By my calculations, 1 of 8 servings equals about 167 calories and 3.4 grams fiber.

NOTES:

To make this even more convenient, you can prep the vegetables the night before and store in the fridge.  I chopped up the celery and carrots and put them in the fridge.  I sliced the mushrooms and stored them in the fridge covered with a cloth.  I peeled and chopped up the sweet potato and stored them in  the fridge in water. This keeps them from discoloring.  The next morning, all I had to do was chop up the onion and garlic, which I did while my coffee percolated. J

I prefer using Homemade Vegetable Broth because it’s cheap, easy to do and I can control the salt content.  If you prefer using a box of broth which equals 4 cups, you can add 2 cups of water to the soup instead of opening another box.

Old Bay Seasoning can be found at most grocery stores.  You can make your own.  Here’s a recipe I found on the web, but I’ve not tested it. 

Homemade Old Bay Seasoning Mix Makes about ¼ cup Recipe from Linda Larsen, About.com Not-Yet Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen 1 Tablespoon ground dried bay leaves* 2 teaspoons celery salt 1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika 1 teaspoon ground celery seeds ½ teaspoon ground white pepper ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves ⅛ teaspoon ground mace ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight container and store in a cool place. Use with seafood or chicken. *Note:  You may have to grind dried bay leaves yourself. Be sure to use dried bay leaves, not fresh, because they grind more easily, and completely grind to a powder.

Rice and Roasted Corn Pilaf

Rice and Roasted Corn Pilaf with No-Knead Buttermilk Bread

Serves 4

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Veggie-Full Magazine

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

We thought this was outstandingly good.  It was also very filling and satisfying too.  And, it’s meatless!  The original recipe called for ½ cup wild rice, but I didn’t have any, so I just made a batch of Black Japonica Rice that made a lovely contrast with the bright yellow sweet corn.  Whatever rice you use, go ahead and prepare 1 cup uncooked rice.  You’ll have more than enough for this recipe.  Use two cups of cooked rice for this recipe and save what rice you have left for another dish.

1 cup Lundberg Black Japonica Rice

2 cups water or Homemade Vegetable Broth

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Pinch of Kosher salt

4 ears fresh sweet corn, husks and silks removed

Vegetable spray

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used 1 ½ cups Cooked Dried Chickpeas.)

½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I used 1/3 cup HomemadeBasil Pesto.)

3 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 large lime)

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and chopped

Baby lettuces, for serving (optional)

1 lime, cut into quarters, for serving (optional)

Place the rice in a sieve.  Place the sieve in a bowl and add water to cover the rice.  Swish the rice around a bit.  Drain.  Repeat.  Add the drained rice, 2 cups water (or broth), 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid.  Bring to a boil.  Stir and then cover.  Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook 40-45 minutes until the rice is tender.  Turn off the heat and leave the lid on for another 10 minutes.  Scoop out 2 cups of the cooked rice and use it for the recipe.  Set aside.  You’ll have some extra rice to use for another recipe.

Preheat the grill.  Spray some oil on each of the ears of corn.  Grill the corn for 7-8 minutes, turning frequently, until the corn is charred.  Remove the corn from the grill.  Cut the kernels from the cobs and add to the bowl with the rice.

Add the walnuts and fresh basil leaves (or pesto) to the bowl. 

Whisk the olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper together until well blended.  Toss the dressing into the pilaf/salad.  Arrange on a platter and top with avocado.  Serve with some baby lettuces, if desired.

Nutritional Information*:  (per serving) 474 calories; 28 grams fat (3 saturated); 0 mg cholesterol; 430 mg sodium; 51 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams fiber; 9 grams sugar; 13 grams protein (*These numbers reflect the nutritional value of the original recipe that includes fresh basil, canned chickpeas and wild rice.)

Wild Rice and Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries and Pine Nuts

Serves 10

Recipe from Raising the Salad Bar by Catherine Walthers

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

The combination of wild rice and wheat berries makes a hearty dish that’s filled out with dried cranberries, diced apple and buttery pine nuts. The citrus vinaigrette is really delicious and could be used for other salads too. This dish is perfect for a holiday or fall party because the salad can be made up to a day in advance. It would be especially yummy served along with roasted turkey, chicken or pork. As you can see this salad turned out to be quite eye appealing as well.

Salad

¾ cup wheat berries, rinsed

1 cup wild rice

1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt

2/3 cup dried cranberries

½ cup thinly sliced celery

1 crisp apple, peeled and diced (Add this just before serving, if making in advance or the apple will turn brown)

½ cup minced flat leaf parsley

¼ cup pine nuts (I toasted these in a dry skillet.)

Citrus Vinaigrette

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

grated zest of 1 orange

½ cup fresh orange juice (It took two small oranges for this)

2 Tablespoons raspberry vinegar (The recipe said you could also use Champagne, rice or balsamic vinegar, but, I haven’t “husband-tested” these yet)

1 Tablespoon finely minced shallot

2 teaspoons honey

¼ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water and the wheat berries to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 35 minutes.  Add the wild rice and salt to the pot.  Bring to a boil again, lower the heat, then simmer and cook, partially covered, for an additional 50 to 55 minutes or until both grains are cooked.  Many of the wild rice grains will have split somewhat, but they will still have a little bite.  The wheat berries will be plump and slightly chewy.  Drain well.  Stir in the dried cranberries and let the mixture cool completely.

Meanwhile, put all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar with a lid and set aside until it’s time to serve the salad.

In a large serving bowl, combine the cooled grains and cranberries with the celery, apple and parsley. 

Just before serving, shake the jar of vinaigrette well to combine.  Pour over the salad, mix will and top with the pine nuts.  Serve at room temperature.