Potato Soup, second draft

I really thought I had it, but upon eating a bowl of it I had to demote it to second draft <sigh>. I think I know now (sure) how to improve it. I'll try again a few weeks from now.

In the meantime:

Ingredients:

5-6 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
4-6 mushrooms, thinly sliced
4-6 strips turkey bacon, cut in small pieces
1/2 onion, sliced or chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 liters chicken broth
1/2 cup dry wine
1 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon fine herbs
1/2 teaspoontarragon
1 teaspoon corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.

In a soup pot heat the olive oil then add the bacon. Fry until it's about halfway crispy. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms begin to brown. Add the potatoes and saute, while tossing them about, for a couple of minutes. Reduce the flame to half and add the wine. Toss everything around for a minute or two, making sure it all gets exposed to the wine.

Lower the flame to low and add the chicken broth. You know what comes next, right? Bring to a sow boil.

When the soup boils, add the fine herbs and tarragon. Stir well. The potatoes will take long to cook, say about an hour. Keep checking on them. When they're nearly done, add the milk and corn starch dissolved in water. Stir well. When the potatoes are tender, you're done.

I do like it, but it's not quite right. Not to me. So I'm thinking to either skip the wine or the corn starch next time.

Kathy's Lentil and Barley Casserole

I'm not really sure if this qualifies as a casserole, but I like the sound of it.

Again, this is an original recipe. Mostly I took what i found in the fridge, plus lentils. I like how it came out.

Ingredients:

1 Cup lentils
4 Tablespoons Barley
1 Cup of rice cooked to taste (the cup refers to pre-cooked measurement)
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 Green Bell pepper, diced
4 Strips of turkey bacon, sliced
4 Turkey sausages, sliced
1 Cup soybean sprouts
1/4 Green cabbage, chopped
1/3 Teaspoon ground cummin
1 Teaspoon oregano, crushed
A pinch of fine herbs, crushed
1 Teaspoon vegetable oil (any kind)
1.5 Liters of water

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a pot and add the bacon. Cook for two or three minutes, then add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and the sausages, and cook until the cabbage begins to soften.

Add the water and reduce the heat to minimum. Add the lentils and barley and stir well. When the water begins to warm, add the spices and stir well. Let the water come to a boil, stirring occasionally. Keep boiling until most of the liquid is consumed or the lentils are tender. At this point add the cooked rice and stir well to mix everything together. let the whole thing sit on the flame for a bit longer, then let it cool and serve. You want as little iquid as possible, but if some remains that's not a problem.

"Dry" Lentil and Barley Soup

In Mexico it's customary to serve a "dry" soup, either instead of soup or in addition to it. This recipe works for both the "dry" and regular kinds of soups.

Dry Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 Cup of green lentils
3 Tablespoons barley
3 Strips turkey bacon
1 teaspoon olive oil (or any other vegetable oil you like)
1/4 Onion, chopped
1 Clove of garlic, minced
1/3 Teaspoon powdered cumin
1/4 Teaspoon fine herbs
Ground black pepper to taste

For "dry" soup use 1.5 liters of water (that's six cups) and 3 Chicken bullion cubes, low-fat, low-sodium
For regular soup use 2.5 liters of water (that's ten cups) and 4 Chicken bullion cubes, low-fat, low-sodium

Preparation:

Soak the lentils in plain water for a couple of hours. Drain and set them aside

Put a soup pot on high heat on the stove. When it heats a little, add the strips of turkey bacon and fry them only until they begin to release some fat. Add the olive oil, carefully, and saute the onion and garlic along with the bacon.

When the onions begin to turn translucent, reduce the flame to low heat and add the water carefully. The hot pot will tend to boil the first of the water fast, so be very careful. Add the lentils and barley and bring the pot, uncovered, to a slow boil. When the water begins to boil, add the bullion cubes, cumin, fine herbs and black pepper. Stir well until the bullion cubes dissolve completely.

Simmer covered for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the lentils are tender.

Let it cool a bit end serve.