Healing Mushroom-Barley-Lentil Soup with Kale / By Katherine Miller, Kosmic Kitchen (Delicious!)

This is truly a one-bowl meal! And fast – try cooking the barley and lentils in a crockpot all day – the longer they cook the creamier they get. You can add the veggies at the beginning and let them cook all day, or add them after the barley and lentils have cooked, about an hour before eating. And here’s a bonus tip: Soaking the beans and grains together overnight and throwing away the soaking water makes them easier to digest and helps them to cook faster. 

---

This soup also contains the healing triad of onions, mushrooms, and greens, easily remembered as OMG! Cruciferous vegetables like kale contain compounds that have a variety of potent anti-cancer effects. They also work synergistically with compounds found in mushrooms and onions to remove carcinogens, reduce inflammation, neutralize oxidative stress, and kill cancer cells. So eat up! The portion below serves four. 

½ cup hulled or hull-less, not pearled, barley    
     soaked for 8 hours, drained and rinsed 
½ cup green lentils, checked for stones,  
     soaked for 8 hours, drained and rinsed
5 cups water or soup stock
1 tsp herb salt
1 three-inch piece of kombu, optional
2 cups mushrooms 

2 cups leeks, chopped
1 cup onion, diced
2 cups kale, chopped
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil 
1 tsp fines herbs, 1 tsp thyme, 
1 bay leaf, and ¼ tsp black pepper
Soy sauce, to taste 

Place soaked lentils and barley, the water or stock, salt, and kombu in a heavy-bottomed soup pot and bring to a boil, or use a crockpot on low for the whole day. Simmer one to two hours or until very soft and starchy (all day if using a crockpot). Sauté the veggies in the olive oil for 10 minutes, then add the herbs, sautéing a few minutes more before adding the Bragg or soy sauce. Add veggies to the soup or crockpot, simmer until tender, taste, and adjust seasonings. Serve garnished with fresh parsley and/or herbs, and toasted nuts or seeds.
     ~ Whole Foods for Healing classes are held regularly in the Kosmic Kitchen in Lee, MA. For more information contact Katherine Miller, Kosmic Kitchen, [email protected], www.kosmic-kitchen.com.