Weathering the Storm

Friday night was a crazy night.  Ashley and I had thought it would be nice to make a dinner when she got out of work.  She got out a bit early and we did a few errands before beginning to make dinner.  I wanted to try to keep it fairly healthy.  We decided on soup and salad.  Simple but I know it had been some time since I shared a recipe so I wanted to make this meal something special.  This night turned out to be more special then either of us had anticipated.

I wanted to make a soup that was hearty but not heavy.  Sometimes hearty salads can be too heavy.  This soup hit the spot.

Potato Barley and Kale Soup

2 full stalks of kale
4 small red potatoes (cubed)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 cups of water
3 cups of vegetable broth
3/4 cup of pearled barley
1/2 cup of onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon of thyme
1 tablespoon of oregano
1/2 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of ground pepper
1 teaspoon of salt


In a pot, bring the water to a boil and add the potatoes.  Boil until potatoes are tender, should take about 15 minutes.  Strain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan, add the oil, pepper, garlic, onion, oregano, and thyme and fry on low heat until onion is tender.

In a pot, add 2 cups ofthe vegetable broth and barley.  Bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes or until the barley is tender.  This may need to be stirred occasionally to avoid the barley sticking to the bottom of the pot.

In the meantime, add one cup of the vegetable broth, onion and garlic mixture and 1 cup of the potatoes (cooked) to a blender.  Puree until smooth.  Pour the mixture into the barley pot and add the remaining potato chunks.  Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes stirring regularly.

Add the kale (stems removed, torn into 4 inch pieces) to the pot, remove from heat and cover.  Allow to sit for about 5 minutes or until the kale is soft and bright green.

This soup would be great served with chopped scallions.


As the soup was nearly done, the clouds rolled in.  Dark, aggressive clouds.  Seconds later the rain was pouring down and small branches were dropping on my roof, making a clatter.  Within minutes, the power was flickering and eventually went out.  With the soup still of the stove and no light, we had to act fast.  Suddenly, a huge thud echoed throughout the kitchen from the roof.  I ran out into the rain to spot a massive branch not laying on my house.

Several minutes later, the rain stopped and the power was back on.  We plated our meal and decided to bring the meal to the front porch to watch the storm slither into the distance.

After dinner, I climbed up to the roof and tossed the branch off.  Luckily, there seemed to be no damage.  Close call.