Navy Bean and Kale Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup dried navy beans
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 tsp fresh savory chopped
2 tbsp fresh oregano chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
dash Tamari soy sauce to taste
5 cups kale, stems removed, chopped
1/3 cup pearl barley

Method:

Put navy beans in a large pot. Sort and rinse. Add enough water to cover the beans by an inch.

Bring the water and beans to a boil. Stir. Turn off heat and cover. Let the beans sit for an hour.

Add the stock to the pre-cooked navy beans and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and add all ingredients to the beans except for the kale and barley.

Simmer beans, stock and vegetables for 1 1/2 hours, adding water if needed to keep the beans covered with liquid.

Add the chopped kale and the barley to the simmering beans and add salt and pepper to your taste. Cover and cook for 20 min.