Porcini Mushroom Barley Soup
The Italians, especially the Tucsons, use porcini mushrooms, fresh or dried, in sauces, risottos and stews. When you buy them dried, they have a very concentrated savory mushroom aroma. Because I could not bring home the fresh porcini, I was happy to bring home a few vacuum packs of the dried mushrooms as a souvenir of Tuscany.