I’m officially in soup-making mode. After that first bowl of butternut squash puree I realized how much I missed making homemade soups for lunch (and leftovers), and now I can’t be stopped. So what that it was 91 degrees out today and felt like Arizona in August (What happened to Indian Summer? What is Indian Summer?).
And today I was actually having two women from our church over for lunch (I’ve officially been roped in to help with the food fundraiser department of the fall fair…I’m very nervous about it!) and I felt like the occasion called for something more than cold cuts. I know trying a new recipe out on guests is never advisable, but I do it all the time anyway. A recipe in the great Sara Jenkins cookbook Olives & Oranges for a farro and kale soup had caught my eye because it looked rustic, simple, very Tuscan. My kind of potage. The problem was that when I looked at my farro stash I realized it was over a year old. Stale. And when I went to the store I couldn’t find any farro (side note: enough with quinoa already, instead of selling five varieties of quinoa how about one variety of the wondeful nutty whole grain farro?). They also didn’t have any kale! So I improvised. Bought swiss chard to substitute for the kale and barley for the farro. I love barley in soup
