After spending much of the day cutting wood, I decided to enjoy the fruit of my labors by cooking vegetable beef soup on our woodstove. Seemed like no better way to beat the system than to heat the house and cook supper at the same time. I'm certain there are far better ways to beat the system, but I'm satisfied with this approach for today.
I had never messed with soup bones in the past, but ended up with around twenty pounds of the things when we had one of our steers butchered last fall. A few weeks ago I roasted two pounds worth with chopped onions, celery and carrots for a couple of hours. Then I simmered the concoction for six hours. Next I strained the stock through a colander. After refrigerating overnight and skimming the fat off the top the next day, I poured my homemade stock into containers and froze them.
After letting one of the containers thaw yesterday, I added a little water, seasonings, salt, pepper, barley, carrots, celery, onions and diced tomatoes in an old crock-pot. After some searching I found a lid that kind of fit, and set it on the woodstove.
I'd love to say that everything in the soup, with the exception of some of the seasonings, were raised on the farm. But alas, only the beef and the stock came from here. My previous post may give insight as to why this is so.
Even if my soup adventure does not turn out, seeing that crock-pot on the woodstove and smelling thyme, beef and onion in the air gives me the warm fuzzies. A food review will follow tonight's meal.
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