Barley and Black Bean Chili

Barley and Black Bean Chili


olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic
1 T chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced - a little goes a long way! To taste
1/2 lb black beans, soaked and cooked
1 28 oz can tomato...crushed, pureed,or mini dice
2 cups cooked pearled barley
1 c cooked wheat berries
dash sugar
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle to taste, water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through.

I loved this stuff! Mmmm.....

Barley Salad Version Two

I love barley and there is a salad a like a lot but I wondered if I could make something I liked as much if not more. I think this has potential but do NOT add garlic. I did, and the flavor is too overwhelming but if it wasn't there, I think I'd love this salad totally and completely.


Basil and Barley Salad

1 c. dry barley, cooked and cooled
3/4 c chopped pecans or other nuts
1/3 c olive oil
1 c basil chiffonade
2 c frozen corn
1 large tomato diced (more would be better but I just had one)
Lemon juice - about 1/4 c or to taste
Salt to taste

Cook the pecans in the olive oil until lightly browned. Cool. Mix all the ingredients together. Do NOT add garlic, particularly two finely minced cloves even if they're small. It's possible that onion would be good in this.

Tomato Barley Soup

We've gotten frozen tomatoes in our share a couple of times and they were building up a bit in the freezer since I hadn't been inspired to make anything tomato based in awhile. I'm not a huge fan of tomato soup since it's pretty bland but most people seem to love it and I know that it's a favorite of Ben's so I gave it a try. Without a recipe of course.

I pulled them out, ran them under hot water to peel the skins right off and then stuck them, whole, in the oven to thaw and roast. I'd say I had about a dozen tomatoes in all.

Here's the kicker though, I also had some frozen leftover barley that I'd cooked with chicken so I got to be really lazy with this soup but it was also a good reminder of why I freeze things for future use, even if I don't know what that use will be at the time I freeze it. I love reinventing leftovers into something completely different.


Tomato Barley Soup

12 tomatoes, roasted
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
Butter or chicken fat
Cooked barley - about four cups
Salt & pepper to taste
Basil to taste
Water or broth if necessary

Saute the onion, celery, and carrot in the fat. Add the tomatoes and any juice that may have accumulated in the tomato pan while roasting. Puree the mixture and return to the pan. Add the barley and season to taste.

Serve with a little grated parm


What did we think?

Me: It's a little bland but I guess tomato soup is supposed to be bland and tomato-y. It's ok.

Ben: I don't think it's bland, I like it.

Sam: I took a no thank you bite and I don't like it.

Pork, Veggie and Barley Soup

I had dinner at some friends the other day, Pasta e Fagioli. It's terrific stuff and it inspired this variation of the soup to include things I have on hand. In the tradition of using leftovers, the pork chops had been baked over the barley a few days prior.


Pork, Veggie, and Barley Soup

2-3 cups cooked barley
2 cooked, diced pork chops
1 large onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 large stalk celery, diced
Butter
2 large carrots, diced
2 large parsnips, diced
1 can drained dark red kidney beans
1 large can diced tomatoes with juice
1 small can tomato paste
Any other random veggies
Water
Salt
pepper
Approx. 1 T dried oregano
Approx. 1 T dried basil

Saute the onions and garlic in butter. Add everything else, simmer to desired level.

Rating: Excellent!

Cooking on New Years Day

Roasted Root Veggies

Roasted at 400 on jelly roll pan covered with foil for about 45 min:

Carrots
Cabbage (about half a cabbage)
Onions
Rutabaga (I think)
Parsnip (there was just one of them)

Sprinked with olive oil and salt.

Grade: So so. Had a funky smell to it but tasted ok, not terrific.

Possible changes/Add'l thoughts: Skip the cabbage in future roasts


Chicken & Barley

Bake 400 about an hour

Toss a couple of cups of pearl barley in the bottom of a pan. Add some onions, carrots, salt, thyme, pepper & whatever
Dot with butter
Place chicken pieces, with bone and skin, over the barley, salt pepper whatever pieces.
Pour boiling water over the barley to give it a head start cooking

Bake about an hour

Grade: Excellent


Sweet potato and Barley soup

Bake sweet potatoes (3 large in this case) until soft.
Allow to cool.
Sautee onions in butter
Use blender to puree sweet potatoes and sauteed onions- add water as necessary
Return mixture to pan, salt and pepper to taste
Mix in all the leftover barley from the chicken and barley recipe above and heat

Grade: Excellent!