Linda's Veggie Beef Soup (using cole vegetables and no legumes)

Linda's Veggie Beef Soup (using cole vegetables and no legumes)

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot combine the following.
2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 lb. extra lean stew beef, trimmed and cut into small bite size pieces (Den really is death on animal fat so I try to keep it as lean as possible in deference to his likes and I like the pieces on the small side)
Brown the meat over a medium heat, stirring often to brown all sides (this releases the flavors of the beef be caramelizing the juices a bit as well as sealing in the bulk of the juices)

Begin adding the soups vegetables and seasoning while the pot is still on the heat and stir it often. This allow the flavors to begin to meld.
1/8 tsp. more or less to taste, fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. more or less to taste, sea salt
2 bay leaves (if you do much cooking that calls for bay leaves it is worth using good ones. I get mine from Penzey's Spices by mail order and have shared them with friends. They tend to be more flavorful than the ones off the grocery store shelf.)
1 tsp. Emerl Essence
1/2 tsp. sweet basil ( this is a pretty plant and easy to grow in a pot in doors or in the garden. We use quite a bit it fresh on pizza and Caprisi, and such.)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 turnip, pared and diced
1 lb more or less small potatoes, washed and diced (I like to mix them up as each kind of potato offers it's own quality to what you are cooking, this time I used red, russet and Yukon golds)
1 garlic clove, minced (about 1 tsp. from the jar)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 C. frozen whole kernel corn
2-3 ribs of celery, chopped (remember, I keep this and the onion chopped in the freezer ready, 2-3 ribs would be 1 cup more or less)
2 C. carrots, washed, pared and diced (about 4 medium carrots)
1 medium broccoli top, stemmed, washed and loosely chopped
5 flowers from a head of cauliflower, washed, stemmed and chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. Beef Soup Base (again the base that I use comes from Penzey's Spices. You can pay $30. for the stuff that William Sonoma offers but Penzey's is just as good for less. You can also use the soup base sold at the grocery store but it has MSG in it and there are lots of folks that are sensitive to MSG)
2 C. more or less of beef broth (I add enough to cover what is in the pot and just a smidge more)

Reduce the heat to simmer, cover and simmer for about 1 hour.

Now to honest, I love veggies of all kinds but due to Den's bodily reaction to legumes I have to stay away from them. That being said if things were other wise, I would have used a can of green beans and some frozen peas in this as well.

I would suggest that if you would like, through in 1/2 C. barley to pot in the last 30 minutes of cook time and it will thicken things up.
I tend to like my soups hearty and served with a slice of homemade bread.