Hot Dish Review

I kept the bag of Bob’s Red Mill Pearl Barley from my mushroom barley soup recipe in the freezer for future experimentation. My nutritionist is vegetarian so she is a big advocate of barley, quinoa, any grain really. Combined with vegetables, fruit, and tofu, this is the basis of her diet.

So I thought I would give a vegetarian dish a try last weekend….a combination of the barley plus a veggie recipe I started making last year. A savory combo of zucchini, squash, onion, scallions, carrot, and poblano pepper, I cut the veggies julienne giving them a spaghetti-like texture and season them with black pepper, celery salt, and a dash of cayenne.

I made a batch of barley according to directions on the bag….3 cups of water to one cup of barley. It said to simmer for 50 to 60 minutes, however, after just 20 minutes or so I had to add more water, which I continued to do to prevent scorching, cooking it for a total of 45 or 50 minutes.

Then I divided it into four equal servings, the first of which I flavored with a few drops of hot sauce and a handful of cilantro. I spooned half of the veggies over the top…..tasty! I really like the toothsome quality of barley.

Remaining veggies made a satisfying lunch today with another portion of the barley. And a third portion will be a breakfast experiment!

What to do with the fourth serving?