Scarlet Barley

Feeling a little creative? I like interesting looking food. I feel that how my food looks impact strongly on how satisfied I really am with what I eat. That can sometimes mean long complicated preparation, and sometimes not!

This is a recipe I tried recently and I really enjoyed, both for its simple taste and its funky look! It will come out brightly colored by the beets, it's supposed to! I served that with white fish which I steamed in a bamboo steamer with broccoli and zucchini.

Note about the source: This recipe is from Isa Chandra Mosowitz's cookbook "Appetite for Reduction". I have 3 of her cookbooks now: Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance and Appetite for Reduction and I love every single one of them.

All of her recipes are Vegan (which I'm not really, but I do eat vegan meals quite regularly now) but far from the usual "fake meat eater food" you find in many vegan cookbooks, her recipes tend to be very inventive, tasty, and often very simple and frugal (cheap! I love it!).

If you like to cook and are feeling adventurous, give her a peek, you might just love it!

Scarlet Barley
6 servings, 3P+/serving

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
2 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 tsp salt
1 beet (about 3/4 pound), grated
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Fresh dill, for garnish (optional)

Preheat a 2 quart pot over medium heat. Saute the garlic in the olive oil for about 30 seconds. Add several pinches of pepper and the bay lead. Add the barley, broth, and salt; cover and bring to a boil. Once boilingm stir and lower the heat to low. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When most of the water has absorbed, mix in the grated beet. Cook for about 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, mix in the lemon juice, and taste for salt. Cover and let sit for about 10 more minutes. Remove the bay lead and serve topped with fresh dill.

Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz 2011, p. 69