Creamy Turkey and Barley Soup

It's amazing what a little rain can do. In addition to its life-giving force, nourishing our plants, freshening our rivers and lakes, and creating the best afternoon nap environment ever, it also does a darn good job of clearing out a street fair.

Most years, the annual Bismarck downtown street fair looks like this: 

But this year, the rain poured on Saturday and there was almost nobody there. Well, a few hardy souls were there. Including me, by myself, in the rain, on a mission to find one thing: the street fair turkey leg. 

Turkey legs are not my fair food of choice - I'll take a fry bread taco instead any day of the week - but my dear husband adores them. He went hunting this weekend, so missing out on the downtown fun, I wanted to get him a turkey leg for his return on Sunday. 

With my rain jacket wrapped around me, I skipped over as many puddles as I could, knowing that my child would love to jump in every single one, and found my guys: the Lions Club booth, home of the best street fair turkey legs. 

"Ten for $10!" the guy at the booth yells out as I approached. "Ten what?" I asked. Turns out, the turnout was so poor on Saturday, they just needed to get rid of the turkey legs, meaning selling me ten meaty legs for $10. 

Deal. 

Carrying my heavy bag of turkey legs in the rain, I then decided, hey, let's go shopping. Only in Bismarck can you enter a hip boutique clothing store, rain-soaked wearing your husband's too-big rain jacket with a plastic sack full of turkey legs in hand, and still get a warm welcome. 

This is the soup I made with a couple of the turkey legs. It is delicious, simple, and hits a perfect note as summer quietly closes and the chill of autumn approaches. 

Creamy Turkey and Barley Soup
Adapted from Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland by Minnesotan Lucia Watson. It's one of my all-time favorite Midwestern cookbooks. I bought it in Medora years ago. The binding in my copy has worn to the point that pages are now at risk of falling out from so much use. How's that for a cookbook recommendation? 

2 Tbsp butter
2 c peeled, chopped onions
2 c peeled, diced carrots
2 c diced celery
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 medium potatoes, diced
½ c barley
6 c low-salt chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
½ c white wine
½ c heavy or whipping cream
2 c cooked turkey (or chicken) meat

In a large stockpot, melt butter and saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until soft. Add the potatoes, barley, stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, partially covered, for 1 hour (adding more broth if desired), then add the wine, cream, and meat to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.