Barley Pilaf

I decided I wanted to see if I could make BARLEY PILAF in the rice cooker, and it sort of worked out. This also could be made easily in a saucepan, though.

Ingredients

1/4 cup — almonds, chopped

1 — small onion, chopped

1 tblsp. — olive oil

2 cups — hulled barley, rinsed

4 cups — water

1 tsp — tamari

 

Method in Rice Cooker or Pan

In a rice cooker, saute a quarter cup of chopped almonds and a small chopped onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add two cups of rinsed hulled barley.

Hulled barley is not as polished as pearl barley, and it requires a longer cooking time. Cover and wait a minute or two until the button pops up, which I took to mean it was time to add a little less than four cups of water and a teaspoon of tamari and press the button down again. Cover and cook past the button popping up for an additional fifteen to twenty minutes.

Granola and Soy Milk

 

At the risk of making a mockery of myself, I offer a GRANOLA RECIPE and HOMEMADE SOY MILK RECIPE. It is easy to make and cheaper than buying boxes of cereal, and it makes your house smell good. Also, you can hide all sorts of nutritious ingredients in it and design it around your own dietary restrictions and taste requirements.

I use a large stainless bowl both to mix up the granola, and later to dump the toasted cereal in before transferring it to a large metal tin. It is also necessary to have on hand a couple of flat baking sheets with edges. I use two cookie sheets. Other than a large spoon, that is the only equipment needed.

Greek Vegetables

GREEK VEGETABLES don't take long to cook and use up a lot of garden produce. Thank you to my Greek father-out-law for showing me how.

Ingredients

2 cups — string beans, cut into pieces

6 — medium potatoes, cubed

2 — medium zucchini, cubed

2 — medium carrots, sliced

1 — large onion, chopped (or use onion and garlic powders)

3 — garlic cloves, minced (see above)

1 tblsp. — olive oil

2 cups — water

Small handfuls — fresh basil, oregano, parsley, chopped (or tblsp. of each dried)

1 cup — tomato sauce (or fresh tomatoes if you have them)

1 tblsp. or so — more olive oil 

Salt to taste

 

Method

Wash and prepare to chop about two cups of string beans, six medium potatoes, two medium zucchini, and a couple of carrots. Chop them all into half-inch to one-inch-sized pieces.

In a large pot saute one chopped onion and three minced garlic cloves in a tablespoon of olive oil. In the winter or if you have people who don't like the texture of onions and garlic, you could use a tablespoon of onion powder and a teaspoon of garlic powder and just add it with the water and other seasonings. However, if you use an onion and garlic, add the other vegetables after a minute or two, and add two cups of water.