After my first child was born, my husband Chris and I moved down to a little town up in the San Jacinto Mountains where Chris had a teaching job at a boarding school. The town had a population of about 2000 people, many of whom owned vacation homes in the area; most people came up on weekends, making it pretty quiet during the week. There was no mail delivery— collecting the mail at the post office was the social event of the day. I started looking forward to 11a.m. and hands down my favorite days by far were when I opened my box and saw Gourmet magazine waiting for me. The writing was fantastic back then, with articles from authors like E. Annie Proulx, Edna O’Brien and Paul Theroux, to name just a few. Anthony Burgess (“A Clockwork Orange”) wrote an article about oranges!

I spent many hours poring over the magazine. I always started with the table of contents, then “In Short Order” (uncomplicated recipes for two), Sugar and Spice(recipes sent in by readers), then back to the beginning for a more thorough read. If Laurie Colwin had an article in the magazine I went straight to her. I could imagine that I was sitting at her kitchen table drinking coffee while she talked about lemons, stuffing, potato salad or bread. Like me, she had a young child and cooked for her family; like me, she had a passion for cooking. As soon as I saw her name, I just knew there would be a recipe of hers I would make. Her beef, leek and barley soup is one of those recipes I have been making for years. Sadly, Laurie Colwin died suddenly at a young age, but you can still find some of her cookbooks (used) online. They are well worth the effort.

I know in northern California we have pretty much the best climate in the country so I’m not complaining, but with this cold wet weather I can think of nothing better to make or eat than a big bowl of hearty soup. As you make this recipe, the howling wind, dark clouds and rain will dim into the background as the kitchen warms, the windows steam, and the smell of broth and mushrooms fills the house. Just throw everything in a pot together and put it on the back burner over low heat for a couple hours while you read a great book.

Beef, Leek and Barley Soup

adapted from Laurie Colwin