Barley Vegetable Soup

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.  Today is Day 3 of my Pledge to Be Veg Challenge and Boston Marathon Training.  So far, so good! 

My marathon training plan starts off pretty easy so I have just been enjoying it.  Tomorrow I have a 5 mile tempo run so I am excited about that.  A few weeks ago I got fitted for Orthotics because I do not have good arch support in my feet.  This lack of support was the culprit of the foot pain that I have been experiencing since August.  So I am thrilled to finally have a cure.  I’ve only ran with the orthotics twice, but so far they feel great!  🙂 

Tonight I cooked up a veggie-friendly pot of deliciousness!  I absolutely LOVED this soup.  Definitely a recipe to keep and to make again and again.   I based the recipe off of Anna’s Barley Vegetable Soup.  I adapted it slightly, so here is the recipe I used.

Served with my favorite Seeduction Bread.

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 bag of baby spinach

4 cups vegetable broth

~1 cup water

~6 button mushrooms

unmeasured amounts of  rosemary, thyme, & salt

1/2 cup barley, uncooked

grated parmesan cheese to garnish

Directions:

In tbsp. of olive oil, cook onion and garlic for about five minutes, until soft.  Add celery,  carrots, & mushrooms.  Add thyme, salt, pepper and rosemary.  Cook about 5-10 minutes.  Add barley and stir until it is incorporated in the mixture.  Cook for a few more minutes, and add vegetable broth.   Bring soup to a boil, and then reduce heat to a low simmer.  During this time I added the bagged baby spinach to the pot along with about a cup of water (the water is optional depending upon the consistency you are looking for).   Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until barley is fully cooked.  Top with parmesan cheese.

Holly is also having an awesome giveaway…so head over there and enter!!