Beef and Barley soup (Zen)

[Booko]

Here's what I made for dinner the other night:

BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP

1-2 lbs stew meat
1 med onion, diced
2 c. beef broth
1 c. carrots, sliced or diced
1 c. celery, diced
1/2 c. green beans, cut (fresh or frozen)
1 can diced or stewed tomatoes, or 1 c. fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. barley
1 t. marjoram
1. t. (savory)
Salt and pepper to taste
(garlic lovers: add crushed garlic)

Begin by sauteing stew beef in really large pot (like a dutch oven or small stock pot) in some olive oil. Stir occasionally. While that's cooking, prep the veggies, starting with the onions.

When you're done dicing the onion, throw it in the pot with the beef.

When the beef is cooked, but not especially tender, add the beef broth, carrots, celery, tomatoes, barley, salt and other seasonings. Add enough water to make it sufficiently "soupy."

Simmer approx. 30 minutes. Add green beans. Simmer another 5-10 minutes until beans are done. Serve with salad and good whole wheat bread.

If you want to make a huge batch, it freezes well. And like most recipes of this sort, it's actually better the next day.

Vegetarian version: Add cooked beans instead of beef. Add lima beans if you've got 'em. It's worth it for the color alone.

NOTE: I use Pacific brand beef broth. It comes in a cardboard box and around here is found in the "health food" section. Unlike the canned broths, it doesn't have MSG, and boy does it taste better than any of the canned stuff anyway. But if you're in dire straits, you can use a few beef bouillon cubes and water instead.

[Willamena]

Sounds marvelous, though personally I would use more barley (a lot more --I like barley).

...and dill. I put dill in everything.