Vegetarian/vegan Black bean and Barley stew, one of the best soups I ever made.

My favorite soup is Beef Barley, but my wife is vegetarian from India.  So she has never been able to enjoy this with me.

So last night I tried another soup experiment, just starting with an empty pot and what ever I had around in the kitchen.

What I came up with is a Black bean and Barley soup and it is so good. It is just as satisfying as beef barley and it's hard to believe there is no meat in it. My wife loved it.

Here is the recipe:

I started with an 8 Liter pot.

1 Cup of dry black beans ( 1/2 of a 16 oz bag)
1 Cup of barley ( 1/2 of a 16 oz bag)
3/4 cup of dry lentils. (from Indian grocery store, dried peas could possible work here too)
2  Telma brand Vegetable soup & seasonings cubes. (found in the kosher foods section of Albersons.)
1  14.5 OZ can of Diced Tomatoes
1 Table spoon of Smoked Paprika (from Costco)
1 Tea spoon of celery salt
3 Table spoons of Olive oil
3 Table spoons of Oregano leaves (from Costco)
3 Table spoons of Basil leaves (from Costco)
3 Table spoons of chopped Garlic cloves (from plastic bottle from Costco)
1 large onion finely chopped.
1 fresh jalapeno pepper finely chopped. ( you will not taste it )
1 whole bundle of celery finely chopped.
Approx 2 Cups of mixed frozen vegetables, (carrots,string beans, corn and beans from Costco)
Fill the rest of the pot with water.
Add some salt, maybe a table spoon or so.

Cover and simmer on low heat for 2 to 3 hours stirring occasionally till most of the water is soaked up and the barley and beans are soft.  Then add a little salt till it taste right.

This made a thick and hearty almost meaty gravy with the beans, lentils and barley, like a beef stew.

I could have used a slightly larger pot and a touch more water since my pot was completely full and it was almost too thick,  but it's super delicious.