Chocolate from God . . .

Day 13 of the Food Stamp Challenge
Once in a while God knows what you are craving, needing, and gives it to you.  In my case, I was craving chocolate.  Good chocolate.  You know, the kind that you spend $3-4 dollars to buy a bar of at the grocery store.  But chocolate is not on my shopping list, especially expensive chocolate.

I walked into the church office this Wednesday to drop off some papers, and check my mailbox.  And there was a fair trade chocolate bar.  Dark chocolate with caramel crunch in it.  Salty and sweet all at the same time.  I forced myself to wait hours to open it, and I have only eaten 4 squares so far.  

Chocolate from God.  Or, as my daughter informs me later, from T. who bought it for me Sunday when they were selling fair trade chocolate at church.  A small little treasure that I savor more than normal, because usually I can just buy chocolate if I want it.

Meanwhile, back in my kitchen . . . 

So having salvaged my sweet potatoes, I have to talk about the soup.

My soup usually has celery in it--but this week I went a couple dollars over budget to ensure I had olive oil.  So no celery for me.  You could use rice instead of barley, or noodles I suppose, but I like barley best.  And barley is amazingly cheap for a bag--less than a $1 usually, but I never use more than 3 or 4 tablespoons in a soup, as it tends to expand.  Which makes it filling.

Soup is one of those things you can make and fill up on cheap.  I learned to make it 23 years ago when I was poor for real.  I never peel carrots or potatoes if I can help it.  The skin is high in fiber and in the case of the potato, high in vitamins.

This is my simple soup--Vegetable Barley.  About 10 minutes of work for me, and an hour of simmering before I can eat.  

Vegetable Barley Soup:
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-5 cloves of garlic (depends on how well you like garlic)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz (1 container) sliced mushrooms (I prefer brown to white, but whatever you like)
2 cups sliced carrots
4 cups diced potatoes
1 32 oz carton vegetable broth
3 tablespoons dry barley

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.  Add mushrooms.  Saute until the mushrooms get a little color.  Add carrots, potatoes and broth.  I usually wash out the broth container with a cup of water and add to the soup.  Bring to boil, then simmer for about an hour.

Wash barley.  Cover with water in small saucepan, cook for about 30 minutes.  Add to soup.  

This makes a ton of soup fairly cheap, and it is low fat.  The mushrooms give it a meaty flavor, and a nice hit of fiber.  Sprinkle grated Parmesan Cheese over top, if you can afford it.