When I was young and single, I rented part of an older lady’s house for many years. She had children who had become vegetarians, and was always hunting for something meatless but special to make for holidays. One Christmas she made this Dilled Vegetable-Barley Soup, from Molly Katzen’s ‘Enchanted Broccoli Forest’; it became one of my favorite recipes, and Katzen’s book one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. If you aren’t averse to the wine, add it, as it really brightens the soup; but the recipe is still very good without it. I’ve never used the fennel in this recipe, but...