http://imgur.com/gallery/KFRnNas

It turned out amazing. I'd invited my mom over to help me with an upholstery project and needed to feed her, my wife, and my brother. Was browsing through my Joy of Cooking and saw barley soup. Their recipe was just Barley in stock or water, but it gave me an idea. I sweated a mirepoix in brown butter, then removed the veggies and browned some cubed venison steaks I had(I think it was neck meat. Didn't label it real well). Dumped in the mirepoix, added a quart of my homemade deer stock and a quart of water, brought it to a boil and added a cup of pearl barley and a few chopped anchovie filets and some fresh thyme from my plant. Simmered 10 minutes and served. I am so happy with how it turned out. I've always liked cooking, but this is the first thing I've made that was entirely from my head.