Totally vegan roasted vegetable and barley soup

Okay, all you Lenten fasters. Here is a vegan recipe that is so filling and delicious, even the heartiest, manliest eater will be stuffed with one bowl! Do you have a blender? Good. Do you have lots of vegetables? Good, good. Do you have barley in your pantry? Let's get started!

Ingredients:

2 peeled and cubed carrots
1/2 bunch of steamed kale
1 bunch of coarsely chopped asparagus
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 yellow onion diced
12 crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of minced or pressed garlic
salt, pepper and olive oil to drizzle over vegetables
1 cup of barley
1 can of garbanzo beans
7 cups of vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you are not vegan)
Your preferred spices. I added oregano, basil, thyme.
**If you would like to use other vegetables, go ahead! This is just what I had in the fridge.

First things first, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roast vegetables on a large lipped cookie sheet or baking pan. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables, sprinkle salt and pepper, and mix lightly with hands. Roast in oven for 45 minutes, or until potato pieces are tender to a fork.
While veggies are roasting, cook 1 cup of barley with 2 cups of water over stovetop in large soup pot for about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. When veggies are done, add to soup pot. Add broth, herbs, kale and garbanzo beans to mix and simmer over medium/low heat for 30 minutes. Transfer 2 cups of soup to blender and puree. Add puree back to soup and stir. Taste test and add salt and/or pepper if needed. Should be a thick soup, perfect for these rainy winter days!