New Year-New Soup (vegan) Creamy Mushroom Barley…And A Lovely Family Ritual
Contrary to popular belief, January can be the calmest month of the year. If we intentionally allow it to be.
I’m all about easing into a new year gently with sweet connective family time, easy rituals that make happy memories, and warm, nourishing, cozy soups.
Combine all these things and I’m a happy mama!
At the start of every year my family spends a little time ritualistically thinking back over the passing year—reflecting, reminiscing and sharing our happiest moments. Then we take time together to create a vision and set intentions for the coming year. One of my favorite, done-for-you resources to do this with is Big Life Journal’s colorful New Year’s printables. They’ve got everything from a purchasable full fledged, multi-page annual goal setting kit to a free one page prompt sheet.
With the buildup of stress that’s come over the past two years of living through the global pandemic, I’m all about simplicity and enjoyment this month! So we opted for the one page of prompts to be enjoyed with this crazy delicious soup, laughs and love.
I’m working on my tendency to overdo and choosing the easier, quicker BLJ option was a good first step for this year!
As we set out with our adorable 2022 printables, I insisted that, given the state of the world and the amount of flexibility required to live in the now these days, none of us set humongous goals, make big promises or plans, set off to launch full force into homeschool just because “everyone else is going back to school and it’s expected”, or overachieve in any way this month. Which made our time spent filling in and sharing our answers extra enjoyable. There’s no pressure to be or do anything intense right now and that feels good. Instead, we’re focused on attainable, enjoyable personal endeavors that we can each realistically take on and support one another in completely.
We’ll leave our intention sheets up on the fridge for the whole month.
If you’re looking for a fun way to add a little mindfulness and connectivity to your family life with a sweet ritual this time of year, I highly recommend making a cozy meal (what’s cozier than soup?!), printing out BLJ’s prompt sheets and enjoying a little time visioning together as a family. Finish up by starting a puzzle while wearing your favorite pajamas, snuggled up with fleecy blankets and you’re in for the best start of a year ever. In my humble (hibernate-y) opinion.
Soup is always an easy favorite meal to prepare throughout winter because everything is enjoyed out of one bowl so clean up is a breeze and you can focus on what’s most important: warmth, ease and restfulness. Plus, doesn’t everyone always feel loved a little extra after a big bowl (or my personal favorite, a big mug) of homemade soup?!
This recipe is sure to nourish your whole family and have them asking for seconds. I hope you looooove it and all your new year family rituals like we do!
TIPS & TRICKS FOR MAKING THIS SOUP WITH EASE:
Before beginning to cook, always read through a whole recipe so you’re sure you have everything you need and set out all your ingredients so they’re within reach
Buy pre-sliced mushrooms to cut down on prep time
Cook barley ahead of time (it can be made hours ahead and then go into the soup to warm up just before serving)
Boil some water in your tea kettle to start by soaking cashews right in your blender so they’re ready when you need them
This soup is full of savory umami — rich, creamy and deeply satisfying!
Creamy Vegan Mushroom Barley Soup
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Dried Barley
3/4 cup Raw Cashews
1/2 cup Boiled Water
2 TBS Avocado Oil
1/3 cup Chopped Shallots
1 cup Bias Cut Halved Carrots (slice lengthwise then slice at a diagonal)
24 ounces Sliced Mushrooms (a mix of white button, shitake, baby bella, etc.)
2 quarts Vegetable Broth
3 Cloves Garlic — minced/pressed
Himalayan Salt — to taste
Ground Black Pepper — to taste
3/4 cup Cashew Milk*
1/4 tsp Dried Parsley — rubbed between fingers to crush into tiny bits
1/4 tsp Dried Marjoram — rubbed between fingers to crush into tiny bits
Cook barley in 3 cups water on the stove in a medium sauce pot by simmering on low heat for 75 minutes, covered. Turn off heat when just al-denti and there’s still a small amount of cooking liquid. Fluff with a fork or spoon, cover the pot again, and let sit until it’s time to add cooked barley to the soup (the cooking liquid will absorb).
Drop cashews and boiled water into the pitcher of a blender to soak for 15-30 minutes, while you begin preparing the rest of the soup.
Warm avocado oil over medium heat in a 6 quart soup pot/dutch oven. Once the oil is melted, sauté shallots, carrots and mushrooms until just tender. Add broth, garlic, salt, pepper and cashew milk. Stir well and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Next, add parsley, marjoram and cooked barley and bring to a boil.
While the soup is coming to a boil, blend the cashews and water on high speed to make a thick, pasty, creamy mixture, like a “slurry.” Scrape this slurry into a heatproof bowl and carefully scoop out 1 cup of liquid from the cooking soup. Use a whisk to thin out the cashew slurry in the hot liquid, breaking up any clumps. Lower the heat, then pour this mixture into the soup, mixing it in thoroughly.
Allow the soup to simmer 5 minutes more, mixing occasionally.
Scoop generous amounts of delicious soup into bowls and enjoy it hot.
*If you do not have cashew milk, any nutmilk will do, but cashew milk is easy to make from scratch and does give an extra creaminess to this soup. To make: Soak 1/4 cup raw cashews in boiling water for 30 minutes. Discard soaking liquid. Add cashews to a blender with 4 cups water and a pinch of salt. Whizz up until smooth and creamy, then strain through a nutmilk bag/pitcher-strainer (like this one). Store closed tightly in a mason jar in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
Nom-Nom-Nomastyay!
Maggie
