Happy National Soup Month

January is National Soup Month.

I know. I know. I just told you last week that January was National Mentor Month. I wasn’t lying. In addition to being National Mentor Month and National Soup Month, January is also National Black Diamond Month, National Blood Donor Month, National Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, and my personal favorite, National Bath Safety Month (proposed by the manufacturers of rubber bath mats, right?)

Back to soups.

Allow me to soupsplain you:

–The earliest archaeological evidence for the consumption of soup dates back to 6000 BC, and it was hippopotamus soup. (I did not extensively fact-check this one. Seems iffy.)

–The word restaurant (meaning “[something] restoring”) was first used in France in the 16th century, to refer to a highly concentrated, inexpensive soup, sold by street vendors, that was advertised as an antidote to physical exhaustion. In 1765, a Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specializing in such soups. This prompted the use of the modern word restaurant for the eating establishments. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

–Americans consume more than 10 billion bowls of soup each year.

–The most popular soup variety in the U.S. is chicken noodle. (Ho Hum.)

–And here, my friends, is a list of “notable” soups through the ages: from Aquadto, a green Peruvian soup (green is from cilantro) reputed to be a hang-over cure to zuppa pavese, an Italian broth into which fried slices of bread and poached eggs are placed.

This pro-soup post is an excuse to share my favorite hearty home-made winter soup: Mushroom Barley. It is very very simple—after you make the homemade stock. It’s the homemade stock that makes the soup. Mine is (chicken) bone broth. Place on the stove a big pot with carcasses from past roast chickens, two carrots, 2 or 3 stalks of celery, a small quartered onion, 3 or 4 peeled whole cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, kosher salt, grindings of pepper, water to cover. Let this simmer (covered) pretty much all day. Then strain, put in the refrigerator overnight, skim the fat in the morning, and voila.

Now comes the easy part. Simmer a cup of uncooked barley in 2-2 ½ cups of that stock. While that’s going on, slice a whole lot of cremini mushrooms (a pound, I’d say) and sauté in garlic-infused combo of olive oil and butter. (That is, sauté the garlic, and I mean a lot, first, then add the mushrooms.) In a big pot, pour 6 cups of the skimmed stock, add the cooked barley, transfer in the sautéed mushrooms. I add sherry. I don’t measure, but if I did, I think it would be 3-4 tablespoons. Try it and taste. More sherry? Probably a bit more salt. (Aren’t you glad I don’t write cookbooks?) (And yes, I know: The image above has carrots, and I didn’t say to add carrots. Don’t. I just couldn’t find a non-carrot photograph to use.)

For those of you reading this who live in Eugene, two words: Metropol baguette. May I also suggest an aged Gouda with that grainy mouth-feel. And a Fuji apple.

Bon Appetit. And Happy National Soup Month.

Now go out and buy that rubber mat!