"Janet Bostwick" wrote:
>
> Yesterday I made beef barley soup. It was so bad, so tasteless, that I
> threw it out. I have no idea what was wrong. It tasted thin, no flavor
> at all.

Why pray tell did you throw it out... thin and tasteless coulda *easily*
been fixed... add a couple more handfuls barley, and herbs/spices/veggies,
and 'shooms natcherly, and even a couple beef bouillion cubes is excusable.
If you had no more barley a handful small pasta works
(orzo/ditali/pastina/alphabets), and if desperate, rice, even a couple diced
spuds. I wouldn't have thrown it out... my beef barley never turns out too
thin, too thick is usually my problem because I'm so generous, but very
easily fixed... can't tell yoose how many times I had to transfer an overly
generous soup to a larger pot, add more liquid, and adjust seasoning.

No law says barley has to be cooked to death so it looks like gloppy
porridge, I prefer to *see* the barley and to have some flavorful broth...
herbs, spices, and veggies add lots of flavor, even added a red bell pepper
to this one (visual is important). Started with 3 lbs of diced, seasoned,
browned chuck, 4 onions, half bunch celery, 1 lb carrots, black pepper,
white pepper, parsley, dillweed, marjoram, 'shrooms of course, and 2 lbs
barley, salt to taste... no garlic with barley... I add some msg... and
[secret ingredient] I like to add a bit of blade mace to soups:
http://i44.tinypic.com/e123px.jpg