After giving birth to my daughter several years ago, my good friend Paula visited us in the hospital and came armed with delicious goodies. After 30 hours of labor with no drugs, I was certainly ready for some nourishment, hospital iceberg salads and jello notwithstanding. Indeed, Paula brought a healthy and insanely comforting meal--homemade soup, homemade multigrain bread, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (to boost lactation!). Paula passed along her soup recipe a while back, and I finally tried making a batch of my own. The flavors are subtly tasty, the veggies cook down to the perfect softness, the lentils provide a punch of protein, and the barley brings a nice chewiness to round things out. Of course, my favorite part in making this dish (and sharing it with my now two year old!) was the nice, warm feeling I got while having it again, which went far beyond the actual taste of the soup.
Recipe from Epicurious: www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/231578
