7 bean and barley soup

We have this store called Sunflower near us. It's awesome in my books. They have the best vegetables and fruits and lot of unique organic and healthy stuff too. The one thing that I found unique ( which I haven't noticed in stores in NJ ) is that they have open groceries for lentils and flours, pasta, and what not. It's like a traditional Indian market, where they have jute bags full of goodies for you to pick the quantity you want.

They had these different kids of things for soups and stuff. Beans, Chili Mix, Vegetable stock powder and all. So I picked up the 7 bean and barley mix.

- I usually add elbow macaroni to my soups but this time I didn't add pasta to the soup. Instead I picked up some rice vermicelli from Asian store. What I did was this? Add some raw vermicelli in the soup bowl and pour hot soup on it. Wait for 30 seconds and the noodles will be perfectly cooked and it gives you time to cool the soup own. You don't want to burn your tongue:).

- You can also play with the kind of veggies you want. I usually add spinach and mushrooms too if it's just for me.

Ingredients:

7 beans and barley mix - 1/2 cup soaked for 4 hours minimum in water
Onions - 1/4 cup diced small
Carrot - 2 chopped roughly into medium size pieces
Celery - 3 chopped roughly into small pieces
Green beans - 12 cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Vegetable Stock - 14 oz can
Water - 2 cups
Red pepper flakes - 1 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Garlic Powder - 1 tsp.
Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp.

Procedure:

Pressure cook the beans for up tp 2 whistles. If you do not have pressure cooker, soak the beans over night and cook them in a stock pot with enough salt.

Heat oil in a pot. Add chilli flakes and Garlic powder. Stir for 20 seconds. Add onions, carrot, celery and saute till soft with enough salt. Add the stock and water. Add the cooked beans and barley . Add green beans ( that way they are not too mushy). Cover and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with noodles.

If you are going to add spinach, do it close to turning the stove off. That way it stays bright green.