Sunday, February 16, 2020

Barley for Breakfast

Several months ago I was in a cooking rut. I asked Hubby Tony for some suggestions, and he told me I should cook some barley.

I was all ready to include it in dinner that night, but my Google search for an appropriate recipe also included some hits for using it as a breakfast grain. When Tony got home that night I told him he would be able to eat his barley, but not until the next morning. Since that time I've made what I call Breakfast Barley every few weeks. I've modified the original recipe to make it my own, using a variety of ingredients. Each time I do it the results are a little different, but  it's always good.

BREAKFAST BARLEY (4 servings)
  • 1 cup pearl barley
  • 2 cups juice (Your choice. If using canned fruit juice you may want to decrease the sweetener.)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey (Or any combination adding up to that amount.)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (Or use any spice that would be appropriate in a sweet dish. Or use multiple spices.)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
  1. Place barley in medium saucepan with juice, water, sweetener, spices, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
  2. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30-35 minutes, until barley is almost tender. 
  3. Add cranberries and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, until mixture is thick and barley is tender. Stir in walnuts.
  4. Serve immediately, store in refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze in portion-sized containers. Reheat in microwave
      Ready to be stored for future breakfasts
Five years ago today: Not ME!

11 comments:

  1. Sounds good something different for breakfast.

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    1. Yes, sometimes I feel like I get in a breakfast rut.

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  2. I always liked barley as a child, never have cooked it as an adult. I cook oats like this, though, and just did so this morning. Dried cranberries, brown sugar, and sliced almonds are my go to add-ons. I used cinnamon for awhile, but Terry said he did not care for spice in his grain.

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    1. I eat oatmeal a lot, but always cook it from scratch (and keep quick-cooking steel cut oats in the pantry so it doesn't take too long).

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  3. That sounds interesting, especially adding the juice. Never thought of that.

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  4. What a great idea, barley for breakfast. And I love that your recipe leaves room for lots of options. I think I might even change up the cranberries for other dried fruit and the walnuts for other toasted nuts.

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    1. Yes, other dried fruit and nuts would be lovely, and if you make any particularly good substitutions I would be interested in knowing what they are. However, cranberries and walnuts are staples in my pantry.

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