Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup salsa, thick and chunky
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cover and simmer
20-25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Serves: 5

Preparation time: 10-15 min.

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 1/2 cup dry shiitake mushrooms
• 2 large yellow onions
• 6 stalks celery
• 6 carrots
• 1 pkg Quaker Quick Barley
• 8 cup water
• 2 tablespoon vegetarian chicken style seasoning
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Directions:

Shiitake mushrooms have the perfect chewy texture to go with the barley. Even
die-hard beef stock folks won’t miss the meat.

Rinse the shiitake mushrooms and set them aside to soak in plenty of water.
They will need about an hour to soak. Chop the onions, celery, and carrots.
Put the vegetables and the seasoning in a large stock pot with the
water. When the mushrooms are soft, snip them into smaller pieces (approx. a
square inch each) and drop them in the pot. Bring the pot to a boil, turn
down to simmer. Cook until the carrots just start to soften. Add barley and
simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Taste the broth occasionally while cooking,
add salt to taste and more of the seasoning if needed.

Note on Shiitake mushrooms for those of you new to dried Shiitake mushrooms:
These guys are sandy, so rinse them WELL in a colander to start. More sand
will fall out of them as they expand. I like to soak them in a mixing bowl
with lots of water to keep them floating well above the bottom. I even turn
the gill sides down. Always remove them from the soak with a slotted spoon
without sloshing the bowl around, don’t dump them through a colander.

You can then ladle some of the soaking water into the soup, if you do it
carefully and don’t disturb the bottom. I’m sorry to state the obvious to
people who already know, but I learned this a little at a time, and would have
been nice to know the first time!

Serves:

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 2 cups water
• 3 small tomatoes (or 2 large), chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 of an onion, or 2 scallions, chopped
• Dash of red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons bazil
• Several mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Directions:

Bring the water to a boil and add chopped tomatoes and
onion. Bring to a boil and cook until tomatoes are soft.
Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm. Puree in a
blender (if you have a small blender, puree in two batches)
until smooth. Return to pan and bring to a boil. Add the
grated carrots and the spices and basil. Add the sliced
mushrooms 5 minutes before serving, or use as a garnish on
top with a sprig of parsley.
Per serving (2 per batch):
Calories: 79.8 Protein: 3.185 Fiber: 7.72 Carbohydrates:
18.345 Fat: .53

Serves: 2 large, 3 small

Preparation time: 1/2 hour, tops

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/3 or so of a red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 8 oz package seitan, chopped bite size pieces
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 teaspon saltfree seasoning
• salt to taste, if you must
• 3 - 4 cups water

Directions:

Dump all except peas into 2 quart sauce pan, bring to boil, then lower
to simmer for about 30 minutes. Add peas, bring back to simmer, 5
minutes or so.

Serves:

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 46 oz. tomato juice (1 large can)
• 21 oz. coconut milk (1 1/2 cans)
• 3 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 4 cloves minced garlic (or to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a gentle boil
over medium-high heat. Simmer over medium-low heat for
25-30 minutes. Serve.

Serves: 6-8

Preparation time: 35 minutes