Beef Barley Soup...again

Almost overnight the weather went from nice warm fall days and cool, crisp nights to gloomy, grey skies and steady rain.  I love the seasons here in the Northwest, and by the time fall arrives I'm ready to get my flannel quilt out of the cupboard and set out my Cinnamon Cookie and Pumpkin Pie Spice candles.  I love the coziness of a fire in the fireplace and the comforting smell of a pot of soup simmering on the stove.

I shared this recipe for beef barley soup in a previous post, found here, and it is such a delicious soup that it's worth posting again.  I changed the recipe a bit by starting with a rich vegetable stock made from bits and pieces of assorted veggies that I collected over the past month.  I keep a lidded container in the freezer and add  herbs and vegetables that don't get used up in the course of the week.  I always buy too much, especially at the farmers' market, and this way nothing is wasted.  I cooked what I thought was a lovely small beef roast over the weekend that turned out to be tougher than I like so I cubed the meat and added it to the stock along with the other ingredients in the recipe.   It was yummy and my house smelled wonderful as the soup simmered on the back of the stove.

My farmers' market wrapped up the 2010 season on Saturday.  It's one of my favorite markets of the year because many vendors and customers wear costumes and the little kids trick or treat from one booth to another.  I took the above photo half an hour before the market opened  and the street lights were still on and customers were just beginning to walk the aisles.  Our fall foliage is spectacular this year and the trees looked like they were lighted from within.

Quilting is my winter hobby and several years ago I made this flannel throw that I bring out every fall.  The pattern is very simple, and I love the rich colors and the adorable pumpkin family pattern that borders the center design.   Just like my recipe collection, I have more quilting fabrics stashed away than I could ever use in a lifetime.  And I just keep adding more.  It's a sickness.

My giveaway from Blog2Print is open until Thursday, November 4, so there is still plenty of time to enter.  If you would like the opportunity to win a blog book of your own just click here to return to that post.  Somebody is going to be a very happy winner.  I hope it's you.