Spicy Beef & Mushroom Soup

 1 onion diced

 1 pound of wild mushrooms diced

 3 stocks of celery diced

 3 carrots diced

 3 cloves of garlic minced

 1/3 cup of barley

 7 1/2 cups of white or brown stock

 1.5 pounds of beef strip steak diced

 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

 3 tablespoons dried porcini mushrooms

 2 bay leaves

 2 teaspoons of herbes de provence

 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed

 1 teaspoon of ground cumin

 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper

 1/2 cup white wine

Add 1/3 cup of boiling water to porcini mushrooms. Set aside. Sear beef in batches in a very hot pan with a little olive oil and canola oil. Remove from pan add all the vegetables with the exception of the garlic. Saute until transparent. Add garlic and saute a minute or two. Then add white wine, strained mushroom liquid and stock to pan. Add barley, bay, cumin, red pepper, herbes de provence and fennel seeds. Cook covered for one hour on medium low.

Serve with home baked bread. This soup freezes well.