Three recipe ideas for Barley

I've been cruising on whole grains all week; barley, millet, oats and quinoa (thanks for your previous quinoa post!). The feature grain of my spring pantry is a big jar of pearled barley. Here are three favorite ways I made it this week.

Breakfast Cream of Barley

This is a hot cereal recipe for one serving. Double or triple for a crowd.

1/3 cup pearled barley

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup milk of choice (I prefer rice milk, but could also use almond, soy or dairy here)

plus extra milk for blending

a sprinkle of sweet spices (your choice, any combo cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves)

a small handful of dried fruit, soaked in hot water 10 minutes (raisins, or cranberries, or tart cherries)

maple syrup, to taste

Rinse the barley in a sieve under cold water. Combine barley, 1/2 cup water and 3/4 cup milk in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover partially and let barley simmer until soft 20 to 25 minutes for pearled barley (double the time for hulled barley). Puree the cooked barley with your handstick blender or a regular blender (keep the lid open just a tad for blending hot liquids) adding extra milk to achieve an easy-blending consistency (texture should be similar to cream of wheat). Stir in your soaked fruit, and top with maple syrup.

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The following two recipes are inspired by the Eating Wisely piece on whole grains in the March Yoga Journal.

Cranberry Herb Barley Salad

1 cup pearled barley

3 cups water

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the barley in a sieve under cold water. Place in a medium pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat 20- 25 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together in a medium bowl the olive oil, vinegar, cranberries, chives and parsley. Drain any excess liquid from the cooked barley, fluff with a fork and stir into the cranberry mixture.

Barley Bowl with Asparagus

Note: the original recipe is a soup, called for 6 cups of veggie broth. I prefer this dish thicker, like a rice bowl. Feel free to adjust the broth addition to our preference, more broth to make it more like a soup.

1 cup pearled barley

3 cups water

Sea salt

2 cups veggie broth

1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut on the diagonal in 1/2 inch pieces

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup miso paste

chopped fresh parsley

Rinse barley under cold water. Place in a medium pot with 3 cups water and a pinch of sea salt. Boil for  20 to 25 minutes (twice as long if you are using hulled barley). When barley is cooked through, add the veggie broth to the pot, and spread the asparagus on top. Cover with a lid, bring it all to a boil again and cook long enough for the asparagus to steam and turn a bright green. Remove from heat. Dissolve the miso paste in a bit of warm water, and stir into the pot with the barley and asparagus. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Stormy Saturday Morning

I have a lot of homework to do this weekend. So I'm taking this gloomy Saturday morning to lounge around before errands and reading dominate my day.  I don't have real weekend cooking plans, but a few weekly menu meals got pushed out of the week due to busy schedules and an unexpected dinner invitation so I have the soup and the pasta left to make. 

However, last night, I had a flash of inspiration to make scones.  I didn't know it was going to be a gloomy morning, but now, as it rains and thunders, and I catch up on internet browsing (Food Gawker, Pinterest, Facebook, Bon Appetit.com, etc.) they are perfect.  Especially with some homemade strawberry jam and lots of coffee.

My Chia frog, who is trying to grow his seeds, looks a little jealous.

This make the dough ahead trick comes from my dear Kitchen Table Friend, Cara.  One Saturday morning, when I was visiting her in Denver Colorado, she magically produced warm scones (I believe they were lemon and currant!) out of the oven.  When did you make those? I asked, delighted.  She had prepared the dough the night before for a warm, morning breakfast surprise.  Yum.  Cara makes the best scones. 

I am improving, by practicing when the mood strikes, the Joy of Cooking recipe for classic scones with dried cranberries. I leisurely made the recipe last night and stored the dough in the fridge.  Then this morning when I woke up, as the coffee was brewing, I preheated the oven to 450, brushed the top with egg, and 20 minutes later, voila! Breakfast. 

My husband just popped in from working on something in the garage to get one and said "yuuuum!"  so I think I've done a good job this time around. 

Now, as I finish writing this, it seems the rain is clearing up... so that means I should probably get to work!

Gingery Cranberry Breakfast Quinoa

Its spring and while I love hot cereal for breakfast in the morning, I'm so over the same old oatmeal I've been eating all winter long. This morning I switched it up with quinoa with cranberries, spiked with crystallized ginger. It was so nice I thought I'd share it with you.

 Ginger Cranberry Breakfast Quinoa

1 cup red quinoa, rinsed
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup crystalized ginger, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
honey, to taste
splash of milk of your choice (almond, soy, rice or dairy)

Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Add ginger and cranberries, lower heat and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until quinoa is soft and 'splits' open. Serve with a splash of milk (I love it with almond milk) and a drizzle of honey.

Do you have any Easter plans? I'll be spreading my kitchen table with some of my favorite spring foods, rhubarb and asparagus. What are you cooking up for the weekend?