Tradition!

Tradition in our family boils down these days to soup. Many of the old traditions have gone by the wayside and new ones are being formed among the extended family. But one of the oldest still survives - the Christmas Mushroom Soup.
For over 100 years in this country, and who knows how long in Slovakia, this recipe has been served at Christmastime. Originally it was served only on Christmas Eve, but now it’s served on whatever day the Slovak clan gets together for the holidays.
Years ago, I followed my mother-in-law around the kitchen as she prepared the soup and wrote down everything she did. So, here it is: THE RECIPE for THE SOUP.

8 quarts water

3 cups sliced carrots
1 ½ cups sliced celery
2 small cans sauerkraut juice (7.5 ounces) or same amount of juice drained from kraut
3 Tbsp salt,
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 med potatoes, cubed
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 ½ sticks butter (¾ cup)
½ cup flour
1 box barley cooked separately according to package directions.

Put water, carrots, celery, kraut juice, salt, pepper, and thyme into a large kettle. Cook until vegetables are almost done. Add potatoes and continue cooking. Sautee onion and mushrooms in butter until tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions and mushrooms from butter and put in soup. Add flour to butter and stir constantly until flour browns. Quickly add 2 cups soup to thin the flour mixture. Stir until smooth. Add this mixture to soup pot and cook until soup thickens slightly.

To serve, we put a spoonful of barley into the soup bowl and ladle the soup on top.