Spinach Mushroom Barley Soup

We got this one from the Whitegrass Cookbook  - our "go-to" cookbook for healthy cooking in our home.

Make sure you have:
All of the ingredients and a soup pot


Ingredients:
3 Tbs. Margarine or butter
3/4 cup dry pearled barley
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
10 cups of water
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable broth powder.  (I can never find this, so I substitute vegetable or chicken broth for 1/2 of the water)
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 lb. fresh spinach, washed and torn in pieces.  Kale is good too!  sometimes we do 1/2 kale and 1/2 spinach


In a large pot, melt butter and add barley.  Toast barley until golden brown (this makes the soup richer).  Then add onions and garlic, saute 4 minutes or until tender.  Add mushrooms and cook 3 minutes.  Add water/broth and seasoned salt.  Cover and let simmer until barley has swelled and thickened, about 45 minutes.  Then add soy sauce, sherry, broth powder and spinach.  Adjust seasoning and serve.  Note: the longer this soup cooks, the thicker it gets.  Serves 4-6