Mushroom Barley Soup & Broccoli Quinoa

Apparently I'm on a Broccoli Quinoa salad kick, because that's all I seem to be craving recently. I think I like this one better than the last though. I'm a bigger fan of the classic dijon, balsamic, olive oil dressing instead of the broccoli pesto that went on the last one. I think throwing some acid in either a salad or soup (aka vinegar or lemon/lime juice) really just punches up the flavor a lot. So I happily ate this salad two nights in a row, once with this soup that my lovely sister brought over (which is really good, incidentally), and then next night with a soup that I made (recipe below).

Quinoa, Roasted Broccoli, and Arugula Salad with Feta from The Moveable Feast:

Contrary to her directions, I made all kinds of substitutions and changes. I roasted both broccolini and fennel (with salt, pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes, coriander, & olive oil), and then I also chopped up some green bell pepper and threw it into the salad raw to add some more crunch. I didn't have a lemon in the house, so after contemplating and then rejecting using a lime, I just used a mix of white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar in the dressing, made with dijon mustard instead of a grainy mustard. I also wanted to make a larger batch, so I used 1 1/2 cups of raw quinoa (cooked in 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt). And with all that, it turned out great.

I think quinoa salads are really quite forgiving. You can pretty well throw anything in there, and it tends to work out quite well.

Before heading out to a concert with some friends, I threw together some soup as well, to make a whole meal, along with some delicious rosemary bread from Trader Joe's.

Mushroom Barley Soup with Rosemary Oil from The Yellow House:

I only had one shallot, so I used that and one onion. I didn't have quite enough mushrooms for the recipe, so I threw in some chopped celery with the shallot and onion, and then sprinkled the chopped celery tops over the soup with the rosemary oil at the end, to add some more green. All in all, it worked out as a nice little dinner before heading out for the night.

Fennel Week

Apparently I am now on a fennel kick.

I had also been craving roasted broccoli and quinoa, so I made this 101 Cookbooks recipe.

Double Broccoli Quinoa from 101 Cookbooks:

You cook broccoli and then puree half of it into a pesto, and then toss it with quinoa and the rest of the broccoli. I added some fennel and roasted the broccoli and fennel instead of steaming it as the recipe calls for. I wish I had had some ripe enough avocado to throw on top with the feta and almonds because the think the creaminess of the avocado would be a nice addition, but all of mine were rock hard.



Now I also want to try this recipe, Spicy Roasted Broccolini Quinoa Salad, from Gaby Dalkins via Design Sponge.

I also fell back on an old favorite this week. While I don't always enjoy smooth soups, this one is just so good. I eat it both plain and with some avocado thrown on top.

Carrot-Fennel Soup from Orangette:

The flavors are really lovely, and the splash of orange juice added at the end really brightens the whole soup. I didn't have any creme fraiche and so went without this time, but it is a nice addition if you have some on hand. I had some fresh thyme in the fridge, so I threw that in when I added the broth, and then just fished out the stems before pureeing. The whole recipe is pretty quick and easy, especially if you have an immersion blender.

Pre-blending:

All photos mine.