tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post6054024670082468828..comments2024-03-28T18:57:20.920+01:00Comments on Living the life in Saint-Aignan: Turkey & barley soupKen Broadhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-38756485585931821322009-01-09T15:25:00.000+01:002009-01-09T15:25:00.000+01:00Hi Susan,One fairly local product we love is wheat...Hi Susan,<BR/><BR/>One fairly local product we love is wheat berries — Ebly is the brand name. They cook up in a short time and they swell and change texture with long cooking the way barley does.<BR/><BR/>Judy, we just assume that the Thai barley we bought is really pearl barley. We read that raw barley (with husks intact) takes many hours of soaking and cooking before it is edible. Pearl barley cooks up in about 45 minutes, which is how long we cooked the Thai barley we bought at the Asian grocery in Blois. I forgot to look when I went to Intermarché yesterday to see whether or not they stock pearl barley on their shelves.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-83706029471877332282009-01-09T13:39:00.000+01:002009-01-09T13:39:00.000+01:00You've inspired Simon :-) He's making turkey'n'ba...You've inspired Simon :-) He's making turkey'n'barley soup for dinner. Barley is one of his favourite things.<BR/><BR/>Wheat as an alternative to barley seems to be quite traditional in the Touraine, and I have some local recipes that I must try, including a dessert.<BR/><BR/>Judy – barley swells and spreads a lot, and goes sort of gelatinous and spongey.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06472449597146519943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-3090722109666297272009-01-09T09:20:00.000+01:002009-01-09T09:20:00.000+01:00Judy, I guess that particular winter's weather has...Judy, I guess that particular winter's weather has faded from my memory, but I do remember about Bob P.'s travel problems now that you mention his trip. I also remember that I had miserable colds and sinus infections for a good part of that winter. That's how I remember Paris winters: wet feet, a wet head, cold gray weather, and frequent head colds.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-37559164932799568572009-01-09T08:26:00.000+01:002009-01-09T08:26:00.000+01:00Cheesecloth works but I think I like CHM's method....Cheesecloth works but I think I like CHM's method. I have one of those big mesh tea balls too and I sometimes use it to keep allspice berries, black peppercorns, bay leaves and other spices and herbs from floating freely in a broth or stew. It works really well.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-12202663277587689742009-01-09T04:59:00.000+01:002009-01-09T04:59:00.000+01:00I use a large mesh tea ball infuser with a chain f...I use a large mesh tea ball infuser with a chain for dried thyme, peppercorn, bay leaves, etc. and it works fine. Don't have to strain the liquids.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-31745686689067337512009-01-08T21:28:00.000+01:002009-01-08T21:28:00.000+01:00Ken, is that a special kind of barley? It looks li...Ken, is that a special kind of barley? It looks like the size of a chick pea--or maybe I'm looking at the wrong ingredient? I think of barley as more like rice size. <BR/><BR/>In any case, the soup looks so good. By the way, my mom always put her spices like peppercorns into something like a little wrap of cheesecloth, so their flavor would seep into the soup, but she could remove them more easily.<BR/><BR/>Hey, you were mentioning in one of your responses to your yesterday's post, about how bad the winter was around the year of our Alma program. I remember that actual year (which would have been late '81, early '82) there were big problems with ice around the time of Christmas. It seems like Bob P. tried to fly home to Atlanta and had a terrible time with his flight leaving London, because of big ice issues. I remember it being all over the news that ice was hitting terribly in Europe. I know that back home in St. Louis, they had a horrendous snow storm where about a foot and a half fell over the period of a couple of days, and schools were closed for almost 2 weeks. It was an extremely harsh winter. But, then, so was either that next year, or the one after... we had -13 FARENHEIT on Christmas Eve, and it NEVER gets that cold in St. Louis. <BR/><BR/>Weather! Yikes! I know you must be glad to have that huge wood pile you've worked so hard to put together!<BR/><BR/>JudySeine Judeet (Judith)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07407353544376132484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-29167821050255617892009-01-08T18:43:00.000+01:002009-01-08T18:43:00.000+01:00Evelyn, take the allspice berries, bay leaves, and...Evelyn, take the allspice berries, bay leaves, and peppercorns out of the broth with slotted spoon, or strain all the broth through a colander, before you put in the turkey and vegetables for the short final cooking. That radically changing weather is hard for me to take. It was like that in eastern N.C.<BR/><BR/>TB, I don't envy you the snow-blowing task. I went out today to buy some groceries and I was surprised at the state of things. The road from our house to Saint-Aignan hadn't been plowed and was pretty slippery. People didn't seem to understand that they can't drive right down the middle of the road just because there is snow on the sides. And the supermarket parking lot had been left as it was, and was pretty slippery. It was hard to roll a cart from the ... what's the word ... place where they keep the carts, into the store across the rutted, icy pavement. Oh well, at least the store wasn't crowded. It's supposed to be –8Cº, cold again, in the morning.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-72501426842668827832009-01-08T15:05:00.000+01:002009-01-08T15:05:00.000+01:00It's cold again in Alabama, so I'm planning on mak...It's cold again in Alabama, so I'm planning on making some chicken soup soon. I love barley and will use some. <BR/><BR/>How do you retrieve those allspice berries from the stock? <BR/><BR/>I think we have Dan's weather here in Anniston. It goes from high 60s to 40s in a day's time which makes it difficult to decide what to wear.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the soup, I can almost taste it here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18071407.post-59260456846176659352009-01-08T14:51:00.000+01:002009-01-08T14:51:00.000+01:00KenYou are right - it is so good to have soups dur...Ken<BR/><BR/>You are right - it is so good to have soups during those cold days. That's what we had in between festivities during the holidays and i wished I had one going yesterday . It averaged -8C during the day but since we had another snow storm ~ 20/25 cms, I was out three times to clear the blowing white stuff because hubby just had an ACL surgery on his knee. <BR/>I may do a turkey soup -got some frozen legs - tonight :-) Thank you for the idea and recipeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com