Just about the heartiest soup ever made

Yikes, bold statement, but make it once, and you will agree with me. The soup is pretty easy, and unbelievably nutritious as well as tasty as all get out. To start, take a half cup of lentils, a half cup of wild rice, and a half cup of rye berries. Rye is very hearty and bold, so I thought it would go well in this mix. Feel free to use whole oats, wheat or barley. In a pinch, brown rice would work as well. Rinse, put in pressure cooker and cover with a quart of water, bring to boil and pressure for 20 minutes. Let cool until pressure drops, open cooker and pour all the stuff into a bowl. Put the cooker back on the stove and heat back to medium high and film with 3 tablespoons olive oil and then add two sliced leeks, 4 ribs celery sliced, a red pepper diced and 3 jalapenos seeded and diced. I also added a cup and a half of chopped smoked mushrooms. Not something everyone has around the house, I have them because I smoke a lot of stuff in my smoker (mostly my goat cheese that I sell) and so I often just slice up mushrooms and put out there. You can omit or just add regular mushrooms. They add just a nice faint smokiness that I find pleasant. Cook over medium high about 8 to 10 minutes, a little color on the veggies is fine and adds to the flavor. When getting a bit softened, dump the grains back into the pot. Now, here I added 2 packages of my Tuscan Sun Dip Mix for a fantastic seasoning combination. You know, not necessary to use that specific product, but if you want to try it, come see me at the farmers market or order online (upper right corner) or just add a bunch of your favorite Italian seasoning blend. And I mean a lot, at least two ounces or so. Then I added a bunch of fresh ground black pepper, brought the thing to a boil, then added four finely chopped Kale leaves. Add the lid to the pressure cooker and cook under pressure for about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from stove and cool to remove lid. Serve as is or with chopped parsley and a whole wheat roll on the side. 

You know, this was sooooo easy and it tasted fantastic. Even my son got up from his office (work from home day) and went out to the kitchen when he smelled the stuff. He had told me he wanted a burrito but ended up eating this. 

It makes a huge pot, and I imagine that tomorrow it will taste even better than today.  

Tomorrow I am going to take this thick soup, really a stew, and mix in a skillet with some cooked brown rice. Let the rice absorb all the liquid, let it cool and mix in some shredded cheese and stuff into green bells that I cored. I'll put them into another pressure cooker and cook under pressure about 8 minutes or so to cook the peppers through. More cheese on top to serve and I think the entire neighborhood will be knocking on the door cuz it will smell that good.

Yup