[Macky]

Originally Posted by abh5e8

i would LOVE recipes for these 3 soups...they sound wonderful!!! thanks

Beef with Barley Soup

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1.5 lbs stewing beef, bite-sized chunks
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
6 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, sliced
1/2 cup barley, rinsed if necessary
500 ml tin (roughly 17 oz) of diced tomatoes or 1 lb fresh (not in original Harrowsmith magazine recipe)

In a large skillet or soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Dredge meat in flour using a bowl or plastic bag (shake 'n bake style), as you're used to; shake off excess. Saute beef in batches until well browned. Transfer to a bowl.

Saute onion in same skillet/pot until softened. Add garlic and saute for half a minute or so. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until mixture turns a dark rust colour, a couple of minutes.

Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping the brown bits off the bottom to add flavour ("deglazing" the pan, only without taking the onion/garlic/tomato paste mixture out). Add the beef back to the pan along with the stock and herbs/spices.

Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Skim any scum that may come to the surface.

Add carrots and barley and continue to simmer until tender, roughly 30 minutes.

*This recipe doesn't have the variety of veggies I usually like in a soup. We still really like it, though... it's like a simple soup/stew cross. In case you're wondering why you need to finely dice the onions, it's so that over the course of simmering and stirring, they dissolve to flavour the stock; you don't see them in the finished soup (good for kids who avoid onions like the plague). I've often wondered if adding some peas or green beans might be nice.


Thought I'd take a look at the Taste of Home website for the other two since they were from that magazine... low and behold, the recipes are there, so I don't have to type!

Split Pea and Ham Soup
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/S...a-and-Ham-Soup

Garlic Butternut Bisque
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/G...tternut-Bisque

... and because we're at the Taste of Home website and I just made this soup a couple of days ago and LOVE it so much...
Mushroom Potato Soup
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Mushroom-Potato-Soup

I've got a cauliflower in the fridge right now that will be ending up in this recipe...
Curried Roast Cauliflower Soup
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/...uliflower-soup
The photo here does not do the soup justice. I've brought this to pot luck meals and even people who (say they) don't like curry like this soup. DH's grandmother went for seconds and she was a bland, meat and potatoes type of cook. Adjust the quantity and type of curry powder to the crowd your feeding. You can make this mild but complex or hot and spicy. I also add 1/2 a cup of heavy (whipping) cream because my hubby prefers cream soups, but it really can stand on its own without.