My name is Yelena and I want to learn to cook

Hi everyone, I'm Yelena and I am a novice at cooking. However, I have made it my New Years Resolution to cook more so this is a perfect blog to help me stick to it! I have a feeling I will mostly be reading about all of your masterpieces, but I will try to not be shy and submit my cooking attempts as well. In fact, I started off my resolution last week by making Beef Barley Mushroom Soup


I grew up on Jewish/Russian cooking which tends to be mild and characterized by slow cooking on the stove. I'm always telling people I cook for that they are going to want to add their own salt and pepper because apparently the amount of salt I put in isn't enough, but that is just the Russian way. This soup is an elementary version that my grandmother might make, but hey, I'm just starting out! The soup was yummy, but it would have been better had I not put too much barley in there (I ended up putting in like 3 times the amount the recipe called for because it didn't seem like enough). It was a good lesson to stick to the recipe, at least while I'm starting out. In the cold weeks we've been having though, this was a perfect way to get a hardy meal and warm up at the same time. I look forward to trying new things and getting ideas from you guys!

This recipe was from Allrecipes.com :


Ingredients:

• 1 pound cubed beef stew meat
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 3 large carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 6 cups water
• 3 cubes beef bouillon cube
• 1/4 cup pearl barley
• 1/4 cup sour cream

1. Brown small cubes of stew meat in vegetable oil over medium heat until juices become a rich brown color. Add 2 cups water, and simmer meat while preparing the vegetables.
2. In a large soup pot, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Saute carrots, onion, garlic, celery, and mushrooms.
3. Add meat, 6 cups water, bouillon cubes, and barley to vegetable mixture. Cook until barley is soft. Adjust liquid and seasoning as desired. Remove from heat, and stir in sour cream. Serve immediately.