Chipotle Black Bean Soup

I love this soup! It's from the greensmoothiegirl. www.greensmoothiegirl.com. I highly recommend downloading her book. I love her recipes. Here's a taste of what's in there.

2 cups dry black beans
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 small onion
2 carrots
2 medium green bell pepper
2 cloves
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
3 dried chipotle chilies
2 tsp. hot chipotle sauce (I didn't use this)
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup barley (hulled is you can find it)
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Soak black beans overnight, drain and rinse well. Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, peppers, carrots, and garlic; saute for 1 minute. Reduce heat and add oregano, cumin, chilies and sauce; saute for 1 minute. Add water, bay leaves, beans, and barley. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until beans are tender. Stir in cocoa powder, cinnamon, orange juice, cilantro, vinegar, and salt; simmer 5 minutes uncovered. Remove dried dried chipotle peppers before serving (either throw them away, or puree them with a bit of soup and add them back in.) I removed the chilies because it was spicey enough for me.

Serve optionally with corn bread or whole-wheat biscuits.