vegetable barely soup

[Martha27]

how do you make it? I have pearled barely, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mushrooms and stewed tomatos and I am thinking this would make a good soup just not sure about the barely part...do I need to precook that or do you think i can just throw everything in the pot and cook for about an hour or so?

thanks :)

[Sol_y_Paz]

I just made a soup similar to this this week.  

Depends on what type of barley.  You can soak it before a few hours or overnight then cook.  Or you can cook it at least 40 minutes in the soup.  I would add some broth and spices to make it more flavorful and some beans.  Can you toss in some spinach or cabbage?  

[plantnerd]

Saute the veggies in olive oil first, it'll improve the flavor a lot.  I also use V8 or another veg juice as the base for the soup, cut with water.  Check the package on the barley.  I would cook it in the soup either way, but there is instant which only takes about 20 min to cook vs an hour or so for regular.