Around here, we’ve spent the day cleaning and organizing things. As I’ve said, we moved here on October 1, but being the busy worker bees that we are… we’re just finishing all the unpacking and stuff. It feels good to finlly be (almost) moved in.

Post-holidays, the food supply around here is really low. Buuuuuut, it’s freezing here in NYC and husbo and I decided we were going to hole up all day in here and not leave for anything. Even groceries. So, I cleaned out the fridge and threw together what turned out to be a fantasmo dinner.

Here goes:

Veggie Barley Soup (instructions in pictures)

• Directions:
  • Heat some olive oil in a large stock pot
  • Chop an onion and 2 cloves of garlic
  • Toss ‘em in the pot
  • Find any/all leftover veggies in the fridge; give them a rough chop and throw them in the pot too (this was just carrots and broccoli for me)
  • After the veggies soften a bit, add broth to the mix. For me, this meant 1 carton of vegetable broth (chicken broth works too). I also threw in a can of diced tomatoes (not pictured).
  • Bring to a boil and let it simmer while you go and do something else (like build your new Ikea dining room table, for example)
  • This step optional:
    • I like my soups to be more blended/less chunky usually. If you’re like me, at this point in the game get your immersion blender in the mix and blend to desired consistency. You could also work in batches putting it in a blender, then add it back to the pot.
  • Continue to simmer. Add more broth. I added half a carton of veggie broth. More or less would work (remember, we’re emptying the fridge here).
  • Spice time: I love worcestshire sauce (a couple of dribbles), sea salt, fresh pepper, parsley/sage/rosemary/thyme (and yes, I sing a little Simon and Garfunkel every time, haha).
  • Find some sort of grain. Add that. I had an untouched bag of pearled barley lurking in the back of my cabinet. I rinsed and added about 1.5 cups. Bring to a simmer, cover for about 45 minutes.

Biscuits (because we don’t even have any bread/crackers/etc)

• I should preface this with a little disclaimer: Rarely can one halve or double a baking recipe to desired results. It doesn’t work. Almost never. I’m not sure why. I had my heart set on biscuits and found a quick, easy recipe when I realized I didn’t have enough butter. Anyhow, I made a feeble attempt to halve it and really just half-assed it… Here goes:
• Biscuits (adapted from Biscuits Supreme at BHG.com)

• In a bowl, combine 1.5c flour (I used 1c white / 1/2c whole wheat), a pinch of sugar, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, pinch of salt, and 1/2 tsp cream of tatar. Toss together lightly with a fork. Cut up 6 tbsp butter into the dry stuff and blend with a fork (or ideally a pastry blender) until clumps begin to form. Add 1/2c milk all at once and mix until dough starts to form. At this point, my dough was not beginning to form and I had to add a few more dribbles of milk until it did. Be careful when doing this: you can always add more milk, but you can’t take it away – don’t be too heavy-handed.
• I divided and flattened the dough into six little patties (like I would with hamburgers), and placed the on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Pop into the oven at 450 degrees for 10-14 minutes (mine were perfection in 12 minutes). These dark-horse biscuits turned out to be awesome – lightly crisp on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside – mmmm.

Buen provecho!