Roasted Garlic, Barley and Vegetable Soup

Everyone knows chicken soup is good for you. But this soup has a whole lot of things going on!

8 cups chicken broth (or more)
2 onions, sliced
olive oil
4 heads of garlic
4 carrots
1 celery stalk, with leaves
1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup black beans
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup barley
bay leaf

Prepare your roasted garlic first. Here's how to do it.
Then set aside.

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/12/roasted-garlic.html

Heat a couple of tbsps olive oil in a soup pot.  Add onions and cook until lightly browned.  Remove to a bowl.  Add the broth and garlic.

Purée in a food processor in batches, putting the purée back in the soup pot as you go. Add bay leaf.

You could have the soup at this point and call it Roasted Garlic and Onion Soup, but let's add more stuff.

Add sliced carrots, celery, canned tomatoes, and black beans to the purée.  Heat to boiling and add barley. Cook as per package directions.  Mine cooked in 45 minutes.
Remove bay leaf. Add peas.

As it cooks the soup really thickens up.  If you don't want it quite so thick just add more broth.

Nourishing barley is supposed to be good for your blood pressure as well as digestive complaints.

Garlic helps to boost your immune system so great to ward off colds.  And this is something else I read about garlic.  
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Cancer Prevention

Consumption of roasted garlic may offer some protection against cancer. Aside from the antioxidants present in garlic, the sulfur compounds it contains also act directly on carcinogens and toxins, helping the body remove them before they can cause damage. In addition, these compounds induce cancer-cell self-destruction, a process called apoptosis, in cell culture experiments and animal models, explains the Linus Pauling Institute.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/350760-roasted-garlic-health

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Note:

If you are cooking garlic in any recipe you should chop or crush it, then allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes before cooking. Apparently this allows it to keep it's healthy compounds intact. So for roasted whole bulb, press down to slightly crush the bulb.

The basic garlic and onion soup recipe was found here:

http://www.freshbitesdaily.com/garlic-soup

Hearty Chicken Barley Soup

Here's a hearty meal-type soup that, as they say, will put hair on your chest.  If you don't want it quite so thick and hearty, just add more chicken broth.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
2 - 900 ml containers low sodium chicken broth
bay leaf
3/4 cup pearl barley
1/2 - 1 cup chopped spinach
2 carrots, cubed
2 celery stalks, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped

2-3 chopped basil leaves
1-2 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, lightly brown the chicken breasts in a couple of tbsps olive oil.  Add the broth and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil and add the pearl barley.  Turn down the heat to medium low and simmer 1 hour.

Remove the chicken and cut into cubes or shred, then add back to the pot along with all the vegetables.  Bring back to a boil, then reduce and simmer another 1 hour. Remove bay leaf.

Add lemon juice and basil.  Salt and pepper only if you really feel the need to.  It's quite flavourful without.

Make some to freeze and you'll have it on hand when cold and flu season strikes.