Greetings cheap eaters!

Today's recipe is based on a potato corn chowder from the Clean Food, Dirty Girls food blog.  Molly's recipe calls for non-dairy milk for thickness and the whole "chowder" vibe; to cut down on price (non-dairy milk is usually twice the price of dairy milk where I live, and making homemade is pretty up there as well), for you lacto-ovo cheap eaters, you can use regular whole milk.  This one depends on barley and to an extent, red lentils.  The lentils are a bit pricey compared to regular brown ones but they're totally worth it.  With the lentils and barley and either the corn or quinoa, all 8 essential amino acids are in one recipe!

I use an Instant Pot for this recipe.  Stove-top instructions are at the end.

Smoky red lentil and barley stew

Spice mix: 

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried dill

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp hickory smoked salt (or 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke)*

Veggies:

1 small white onion, diced.

3 cloves garlic pressed

3 med potatoes, cut in 1” dice.

1 cup diced (1” dice) turnip or rutabaga
1/2 lb green beans, topped and tailed, snapped in 2" pieces
3 large carrots, trimmed and chopped

1 cup diced tomatoes, fire roasted if you can get/afford them

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

1/2 cup of quinoa, rinsed

1/3 cup barley flakes*

1 quart vegetable broth (free veggie broth!)

To finish:

1 cup frozen corn (optional)

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 Tbs nutritional yeast

black pepper to taste

Measure out all the spices (including the salt if using salt and liquid smoke) in a small prep bowl and set aside. Prep and measure out the vegetables. (Use trimmings for your next batch of broth, though hold off on the turnip/rutabaga trimmings.)

Press the saute button on the Instant Pot and let the pot heat up for a minute. Add the onion, saute for 3 minutes, add garlic and saute for 1 minute more, stirring frequently and adding a bit of water when needed to keep the vegetables from sticking.

Turn off the IP and add the spices set aside earlier and stir. Add the next 9 ingredients (potatoes through broth plus liquid smoke if using). Lock the IP lid in place, making sure the nozzle is set to seal. Set the timer for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the pot and NPR for 15 minutes then QR the rest of the pressure.

When all the pressure is out, take off the lid and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add the frozen corn if used, parsley, yeast and black pepper and stir until well combined.

*if you can't find barley flakes, use 1/3 cup of hulled barley, precooked.

Stovetop instructions:

If using hulled barley, cook in 2 cups of water for an hour and drain before adding to the stew.  (use the cooking water for your next batch of broth; store in freezer along with veg trimmings).  Proceed with measuring spices and veggies.  Saute as above, add the spices and the next 9 ingredients to a soup pot.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender.  Add the rest of the ingredients (the "to finish" list) and stir until well combined.