barley lentil soup

I've been making this soup since last fall when I picked up Canadian Living's soups, stews, and casseroles edition. It's uber yummy, highly nutritious, and freakishly easy to make. Sometimes I add or omit vegetables. This time I made a half batch and added only 1 medium carrot, but also added about 1/2 of a large potato to make it a little starchier (believe it or not). I find diving 1/2 batch into two servings and having it with a teabiscuit or some veg w/ dip totally fills me up at lunchtime.


Ingredients:
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper
4 cups (1 L) vegetable stock
1 cup (250 mL) brown or green lentils
1/4 cup (50 mL) pot barley
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh parsley

Topping:1/4 cup (50 mL) low-fat plain yogurt 1 tbsp (15 mL) minced fresh parsley

Preparation:
In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; fry onion, garlic, carrot, celery, thyme, salt and pepper until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add stock, 2 cups (500 mL) water, lentils and barley; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until barley and lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes; refrigerate, uncovered, until cold. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days; reheat.) Stir in chopped parsley.
Topping: Top each serving with yogurt; sprinkle with parsley.

Servings: 4 to 6
Nutritional Info (per each of 6 servings): calories - 193; protein - 10 g; total fat - 3 g; sat. fat - trace, carb - 32 g; fibre - 5 g; cholesterol - 1 mg; sodium - 544 mg.