Vegetable Barley Stew With Lentils - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup pearl barley
6 cups vegetable stock (low salt)
light vegetable oil cooking spray
1 cup onion, chopped (1 medium onion)
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (2-3 carrots)
1 cup dried lentils
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3 cups low-sodium V8 vegetable juice
1 cup zucchini, chopped (1 small zucchini)
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped (1 medium pepper)
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, chopped (1 small pepper)
1 cup celery, chopped (2 medium stalks)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can fire roasted chopped tomatoes (undrained)
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Tabasco sauce or hot sauce

Preparation

Combine the barley and 4 cups of stock in a medium saucepan and boil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, then remove the pan fro the heat and set aside.
Put a heavy stockpot over medium heat for about a minute then spray it with the vegetable oil. Add the onions and carrots and saute for 3 minutes.
Stir in the lentils, bay leaf, ginger, dried herbs and remaining 2 cups of stock. Bring the mix to a boil then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
Add in the vegetable juice, zucchini, peppers, celery and tomatoes. Cook over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
Pour in the barley with its cooking liquid, the mushrooms, garlic and soy sauce. Cook a further 10 minutes then stir in the chopped parsley and as much hot sauce as you like.
Remove from heat and let cool.
When cool, divide among 6 freezer-safe containers and freeze.
To reconstitute, take a serving out of the freezer and slip into a glass or ceramic bowl, defrost and reheat in the microwave.