Foods/Recipes

In my late teens, I lived at a 500 member, “New Age” commune for a short time, where I chose and prepared the dinner menu on occasion as my assigned weekly chore.  Later, as a young adult, I sometimes organized an entire meal for twenty at various weekend workshops in order to obtain a financial discount.  (My favorite was making breakfast as I love to crack eggs to relieve stress!) I've been asked many times for this soup recipe: In an eight-quart soup pot, fill two-thirds with water.  Add (finely chopped) any combination of:  2 large onions  1 lb. of mushrooms  6 cloves of garlic  1 green pepper  2-3 stalks of celery (with leaves left on)  4 carrots  4 peeled potatoes, cubed  ˝ bag frozen kernel corn  8 oz. (1/2 package) of dried lentils (green, red, or yellow)  8 oz. (1/2 package) of dried barley or brown rice  2 bouillon cubes (preferably Knorr vegetable or chicken)  1 can (6-8 oz) of mushroom soup  4 bay leaves  1 tsp. of dried oregano  1 tsp. of dried parsley  1 tsp. of dried basil  Pepper to taste Bring to a full boil.  Then, lower heat to simmer for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally so it won’t stick. Afterwards, let cool, remove all the bay leaves, and then freeze as much as you don’t want to eat in the next week – it will last for months that way. --October 1, 2010