SOUP FOR SPRINGTIME!

I've been dying for the fresh veggies and fruits to make their way to my grocery store. It's been a long wait and while the up-and-down weather hasn't really been helping the situation, I've been craving some kind of freshness for too long. Early last week a recipe for barley soup with beans ended up in a Martha Stewart e-newsletter and into my inbox. Being in love with barley I eagerly clicked on the link and it brought me to this website, where I quickly scanned the recipe for ingredients. I didn't have the chickpeas, mint, parsley or dill on hand so I skipped the herb yogurt pesto part entirely but made the rest of the recipe. I also added a whole bunch of chopped spinach and used organic vegetable broth instead of the water. Here's the soup in all its "packed for lunch" glory:
I finished that batch of soup in about three days and went ahead and made another batch, this time following the recipe but still omitting the herb pesto part. I have to admit that I didn't really like it as much as the first batch. My first bowl of the soup was rather bland despite substituting water for veggie broth again. I ended up adding in some sliced mushrooms and some leftover sauteed ground pork and onions. It wasn't bad after the additions but I think I'll stick with just the canellini beans and barley. I think there's still something about chickpeas that I don't like or doesn't sit well with my stomach. Anyway, here's the second batch:
The following breakfast was made with all store-bought ingredients. Boo, I know, but it was mega tasty and I'm lucky I have all these ingredients at work. Otherwise my stomach would have been mega hungry come lunchtime.

Bowl of Surprising Goodness:
- 1 packet of Nativa Organics maple spice instant oatmeal
- several dollops of Liberte Mediterranee moka yogurt
- couple spoonfuls of Barbara's Bakery Cinnamon Puffins


So as bad as that all looks to you, it was surprisingly tasty! It's definitely a breakfast that must be eaten right away because otherwise, the Puffins get all soggy and I hate soggy cereal. Of course, being that I eat super slow, it's almost impossible for cereal to stay crispy when it's being eaten by me.