Source: dLife

A mixture of mushrooms, carrots, celery, and barley give this very low fat soup filling and flavorful.

Servings

0.5 oz dried porcini mushrooms
6 cup cold water , boiling
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 cup fresh chopped onion
2 medium garlic cloves , minced
1 cup fresh chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots , peeled
3 cup fresh mushrooms , sliced
0.25 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 pinch ground thyme
0.25 tsp black pepper
0.5 cup barley, pearl
0.25 cup cooking sherry

1 In a saucepan, cover the dried mushrooms with 6 cups of boiling water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, warm the oil in a soup pot on low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the celery and carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the fresh mushrooms, increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring continuously, for about 3 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to release their juices. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3 Drain the dried mushrooms, reserve the liquid and chop the mushrooms.
4 Add enough water to the stock to make 7 cups of liquid. Add the dried mushrooms, reserved liquid, soy sauce, thyme, pepper, barley, and sherry to the pot of vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover for 45 minutes.

This soup tastes even better the next day and it freezes well, so consider making a big batch. If you plan to freeze it, reduce the amount of black pepper by about half since the flavor will intensify as it sits; then add pepper to taste when you serve it.