Heart Healthy Garlic, Mushroom & Kale soup (with barley)

If you live on the West Coast like I do, it's hard to think of making soup in September, unless you happen to love soup like I do.  Soup is so soothing, and easy to make.  I had gone to Sprouts market and bought some mushrooms and kale last Saturday.  On the bus ride home, I was looking up recipes for kale on the Vegetarian Times website.  They had a recipe for garlic kale soup (different from this) but that's where I got the inspiration for this soup.  It came out great.  I ran the points on the WeightWatchers site and a good size portion, which is about 1.5 cups is only about 3 points...and very healthy for you. Mamajan (my mom) has been staying with us and is always surprised that she doesn't miss the meat, because the recipes are so flavorful.  This is a heart-healthy soup because so many of the ingredients are good for your heart:  kale, garlic, whole grains, mushies!!!  Enjoy! 8 cup(s) vegetable broth                                                                             3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used plain ol' mushrooms, but it would probably be great with a mixture of different types) 20 cloves large garlic cloves , peeled and sliced 2 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 cup rice vinegar 2 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes 1/4 cup pearl barley 1 bunch baby kale (regular is fine too) Salt and pepper to taste Cook barley in 8 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups water. (You can use vegetable concentrate broth or vegetable bouillon, or broth in a carton) Cooking the barley will take about 20-30 minutes til tender. Cover your pan while cooking and use low heat to avoid bubbling over.  In a nonstick pan, add oil and cook sliced mushrooms turning with a spatula. Cook about 10 minutes until the mushrooms are brown and glazey looking. Add sliced garlic and cook another 10 minutes. Your pan will have all this nice brown sauce stuck on it. Add 1/2 cup rice vinegar, and using a wooden spoon, loosen all that sauce, stirring, and then allow the vinegar to evaporate out.  Add the mushrooms/garlic mixture to the broth/barley mixture. Stir, cover and simmer for about 10-20 minutes allowing all the flavors to come together. Add the chopped kale and cook another 10 minutes until tender. (If you're using regular kale, cook a little longer).  Serve hot. with a little parmesan cheese grated on top.  Add more water if broth absorbs into the barley. Season with salt/pepper to taste. Good with a squeeze of lemon too. Makes 8 good-sized servings. 3 Weight Watchers points plus per serving