Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Specifically for this soup I used 2 large turnips, 2 medium sweet potatoes, 1 carrot, & one medium white potato which was approximately 5.5 lbs. Chop all the root veggies, spread out on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinke liberally with salt and black pepper. Roast until the outside is slightly crispy and inside of veggies are soft.

While the Veggies are roasting start cooking the stew meat. Mix the flour with 1/2 tsp each of salt and black pepper. Drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven or any soup pot. Cover each piece of meat with the flour mixture, than cook on each side until the meat is brown and slightly crispy.

Remove the meat from the pot. Melt another 2 tablespoons butter in the dutch oven, saute mushrooms in butter for about 3 minutes. As stated by Julia Childs, "don't crowd the mushrooms."

Add about a 1/4 cup of broth, stirring to scrap up any brown bits from the bottom of the dutch oven. Add diced onions and cook until soft, add minced garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add meat and mushrooms back to the soup pot along with the 2 cups water, 1 cup red wine, the remaining broth, springs of rosemary and thyme, and 1/2 cup barley. Simmer for one hour. If you don't want to use wine, just add an extra cup of broth.

Once the root veggies are done roasting, add to the soup pot. Continue simmering soup until the stew meat falls apart easily when pierced with a fork. You have to simmer the soup for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Since this soup does take awhile to put together. Double the recipe and make it on the weekend and it will provide a couple meals for your family. You could also make it in the afternoon, but than just reheat it for dinner.