HOMEMADE SOUP CHASES THE CHILL By Christy Rost   Word of this past week’s impending ice storm was all the motivation area residents needed to crowd into grocery stores and stock up on kitchen cupboard essentials. Television coverage showed supermarkets doing a brisk business as people checked out with baskets full of canned soup, bottled water, and snack foods. At this time of year, our weather can change from warm and pleasant to cold and dreary in an instant, so I keep ingredients on hand to make a big pot of fragrant, homemade soup. When the thermometer starts to plunge, my family knows it can expect a cozy and satisfying meal of hearty, homemade soup. This week’s recipe for Vegetable Beef Barley Soup is outstanding when it comes to warming up the body on a chilly day. The beauty of this soup is that it is made entirely of ingredients which many of us keep in our pantry, refrigerator and freezer, and substituting vegetables on hand for those called for in the recipe saves a last-minute trip to the grocery store – certainly a plus in my book! I generally keep a beef chuck roast in my freezer because it is such a versatile cut of meat. When the temperature starts to fall and local meteorologists call for nasty weather, I know it is time to defrost the chuck roast. Once cubed and browned, the chuck roast becomes the flavorful cornerstone for a soup loaded with aromatic fresh and frozen vegetables, and the old-fashioned goodness of barley. During these early days of March, when winter is reluctant to give way to spring, let it rain or sleet. You will be all ready at the drop of a hat with the ingredients for a delicious, family-pleasing, tummy-warming meal of homemade Vegetable Beef Barley Soup. Vegetable Beef Barley Soup Ingredients: 1 cup dry lima beans, soaked in cold water 1 hour 2 ½ pounds chuck roast 4 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups sliced carrots 2 cups sliced celery 1 medium chopped onion 3 quarts homemade beef stock or canned beef broth ¾ cup barley 2 cups peeled and cubed Yukon Gold potatoes 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen cut green beans 1 cup fresh or frozen kernel corn Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Sort through lima beans and remove stones and broken beans. Place lima beans in a medium bowl filled with cold water; soak 1 hour. Slice beef into 1-inch cubes. Heat a large stockpot over medium high heat; add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and swirl to coat bottom of pot. Add half of beef and cook, without stirring, 4 to 5 minutes until beef is very brown. Briefly stir beef and cook until brown on all sides; transfer to a clean bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pot and cook remaining beef, allowing beef to cook undisturbed for initial browning. When beef is brown on all sides, transfer to bowl. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to stockpot and swirl to coat bottom of pot. Add carrots, celery, and onion to pot and sauté several minutes until vegetables have softened. Return beef to stockpot and add beef broth. Drain lima beans and add to pot. Cover and bring soup to a low boil; then reduce heat to low. Spoon off any brown scrum which forms along edges of stockpot. Simmer 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, parboil cubed potatoes in enough water to cover, just until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. After soup has cooked 1 hour, add barley, and simmer 1 hour. During final 15 minutes of cooking, stir in green beans, corn, and parboiled potatoes. Check soup for seasonings. Serve soup when vegetables are tender. Recipe serves 10. Get more of Christy Rost's recipes in her archives. Click here. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com