​As I sit writing this column, a cold front is moving in and the wind is blowing some of the leaves off the crab apple tree just outside the window.

It’s amazing how quickly things change. It seems that it was just yesterday that the leaves were all green, but now there’s a mixture of green and yellow-orange leaves with tiny red crab apples hanging onto the branches.

Some leaves have already fallen off, and the deer enjoy picking at them.

​My appetite changes with the seasons. During the heat of summer I was satisfied to eat salads, but now, with the cooler weather, I’m craving something hot and more “substantial.”

It has me searching my recipe books and files for soup and stew recipes. So, for a change of pace, this week’s column features a satisfying soup recipe. 

​The recipe calls for beef stew meat, but of course you can cut up a chuck roast or other cuts of beef. It also calls for shredding the cooked meat, but bite-size cubes, such as in stew, are good, too. Add bouillon and seasonings to taste.

Beef Barley Soup

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 pound stew meat, cubed

• 8 cups water

• ½ cup hot water

• 2 beef-flavored bouillon cubes (or more to taste)

• 14-ounce can stewed tomatoes

• 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced

• 1 cup sliced celery

• ¼ cup green pepper, chopped (optional)

• 1 cup or more chopped cabbage  

• 1 cup chopped onion

• ½ cup barley

• 1 ½ teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon parsley flakes or celery leaves, chopped up

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the beef and cook it, stirring often until browned.

Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for an hour or so until the meat is tender.

Then, with a slotted spoon, remove the meat to a bowl and shred the meat. Dissolve the bouillon cubes in the hot water.

Add it to the liquid in the soup pot. Taste the liquid. You may need to add more bouillon. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Stir in the meat.

You may need to add more water. Cover and simmer for about 1 ½ hours or until vegetables are tender. Serve with a fruit salad and hot rolls, if desired.