1/2 cup of barley
3/4 cup of lentils
6-8 cups of beef  broth
1 bay leaf
2 cups of cubed beef
1 cup of chopped onion
1 cup of chopped celery
2 chopped garlic cloves
2 cups of canned chopped tomatoes
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. of pepper
1 tsp. of salt

1/2 tsp. of thyme
1/2 cup cubed chopped carrots
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of frozen corn

Combine barley, lentils, and bay leaf in a sauce pan
Add water to cover and boil for 5 minutes
Remove from heat and let soak for 1 hour
Boil again for 30 minutes
Saute onions, celery, and crushed garlic
Add rest of ingredients
Simmer until lentils and vegetables are tender
If you would like dumplings in this soup, go to main dishes (Chicken stew with dumplings) for the recipe.
When I add dumplings to soup, I make into  1 inch balls.
You can substitute the beef and beef broth with chicken and chicken broth.
There is nothing like hot hearty soup on a cold day.

2 cloves of crushed garlic

3 fresh lemon grass or 2 Tbsp. of dried lemon grass

3-4 chopped hot chili peppers

1-1 1/2 lb. of cubed cooked chicken

1/4 cup of Thai sweet chili sauce

2-3 peices of galangal slices

2 tsp. of tamarind paste

1-2 Tbsp. of fish sauce

3 cans of coconut milk

2 packages of coconut powder

(you can use 2-3 more cans of coconut

milk if you do not have coconut powder)

2-3 cups of water if you used coconut powder
light soya sauce (optional)
sliced mushrooms
sliced baby corn
grated carrots
salt to your taste
1 small sliced zucchini

Brown the cubed chicken
Set a side in a bowl
Add rest of ingredients
Simmer on low