Hearty Vegetable Barley Soup

It's that time of year again when everybody and their mother is getting sick or just plain feeling run down as all get out. The weather is flip flopping around from cold, to not-so-cold, to frigid; people are coming down from their holiday high's, and the winter blahs are settling in. Right now, I fall somewhere in between run down and sick, while many of my co-workers aren't as lucky and are firmly stuck in the SICK category. So. What's the best thing to make everybody feel better? Soup, of course! I made a big ol' pot of this hearty vegetarian delight to bring to work tonight to share, so here's hoping it's just as good as the proverbial Jewish Grandmother's chicken soup to cure what ails us. ;)

Hearty Vegetable Barley Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced (1/2 a can of diced tomatoes would work if you don't have any fresh ones on hand)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. Italian herbs (or just use oregano- dealer's choice)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
8 cups of liquid (I used veggie stock to make it vegetarian, but go ahead and use chicken stock if you want)
1 cup of pearled barley
1 (15.5 ounce) can of beans, drained and rinsed (dealer's choice)
2" piece of parmesan rind
8 ounces of frozen mixed vegs (yes, straight from the freezer)
1 Tbs. soy sauce *optional (I like this because it adds a salty savoriness you really can't get with just plain salt)

Directions:
In a large soup pot over medium-low heat, saute the onion, celery, and carrots in olive oil for 3-5 minutes before stirring in the tomatoes and all spices. Continue to cook until the vegs start to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Pour in your liquid of choice as well as the barley and bring the soup to a boil. Stir in the beans and parmesan rind, cover the pot, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45-55 minutes or until the barley gets nice and tender and fluffy. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add in the frozen vegs and soy sauce (if using), and adjust seasoning as desired.

Enjoy!