Zuppa Verde Con Orzo — (green soup w/ barley)

Somehow, this soup reminds me of Italy 😃 so I gave it an Italian name. Zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach. It's all red, green and white - Italy's national colors. 

Simmer the barley for about half an hour until still chewy, but plumped up. Drain, rinse in cool water, to get rid of the excess starch off, then set it aside in the strainer.

• 2/3c pearled barley
• 1-1/2c± water

In a 5-6 quart pot, combine the following rough-chopped vegetables with the EVOO and simmer-saute, stirring often, for about a half hour. 

• 2-3T good quality EVOO
• 5 cloves sliced garlic
• 2 med. zucchini
• 1 sm. onion
  
• 2-3T sliced poblano pepper
• 1/3 lg. head of green cabbage
• 10-12oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
• celery heart (keep the greens for later)
• 1t fresh ground pepper
• 1T dried herbs and garlic
• 2T BTB chicken or vegetable soup base
• 6c fresh cold water - a little at a time

• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 3 green onions
• celery greens
• 6oz. frozen chopped spinach

At the end of the half hour, add the cooked-rinsed-drained barley, chopped tomatoes with juice, and the rest of the chopped-sliced ingredients. Bring again to a simmer, cover and remove from the heat.  Let the flavors blend 15 minutes before serving. This is so good! Perfect with some crusty, whole-grain Italian sourdough bread or Norwegian crispbread.

Mmmm!

It's Cold Outside ❄️ Perfect Soup Weather! . . Lin