Breakfast for a Winter Weekend

Today, I am celebrating (or, as my husband might say, desperately clinging on to) my last day of being 30. And by celebrating, I mean moping around the house with a stupid sinus cold that now has fluid sloshing around in my ears.

It started with coughing so violently, I was convinced that my lungs were springloaded and ready to project themselves out of my esophagus, hit the wall across the room with a splat and slowly slide down.

Picture that with a squishy sound effect.

Well, thankfully that stage ended on Thursday and I'm into the head cold/sinus congestion/general malaise stage.

I'm pretty cranky about the whole thing, can you tell?

On top of that, the little team I happen to be cheering for this year in football (English football, not American) lost this morning in a very exciting match.

Of course, if I didn't have a yearly ritual of choosing a newly promoted team to cheer for each season, I'd probably be less disappointed by the losses. Anyway, Blackpool gave it a good shot and I still love them. I just wish they'd win more often.

So there.

In spite of my current state of crankdom, I did start the morning off right with a hearty bowl of... erm... oat.. no...

It's oatmeal.

Except without the oats.

It can't be called oatmeal without the oats, can it? Can it?

Because barleymeal sounds really stupid.

Anyway, it's topped with roasted pistachios, dried apricots and dollop of New Zealand Manuka honey and some dark chocolate shavings.

It's not breakfast if it doesn't have chocolate or bacon in it. I'm pretty sure God said that in the bible somewhere.

If He didn't, then I'd like to lobby for its inclusion.

Martha Stewart's Hot Cereals for Breakfast

2½ cups water
½ tsp salt
1 cup barley (remember, pot has more fiber than pearled)

Toppings

3 dried apricots, chopped
¼ cup shaved dark chocolate
¼ toasted pistachios, chopped
¼ honey
1 cup milk
¼ cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Bring water and salt to boil in small saucepan over high heat. Add barley. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 -60 minutes or until tender and water is absorbed.

2. Divide barley between 4 bowls. Pour milk and cream over barley. Top with apricots, pistachios, honey and chocolate.

3. If you expect to have an especially bad day, add more chocolate.

Beef and Barley Soup

For the past 2 years, practically every Tuesday night I have eaten alone. Phil usually has a class that night, and so I am left to my own devices.

Confession: when cooking for myself, my own devices usually involves the jar of peanut butter and bread.  Or crackers eaten directly from the box.

Or if I'm really feeling like I want to cook, then scrambled eggs.

I do not like cooking for myself - not because I don't like cooking, but because I hate cleaning up after.

Last night, as I walked home through the downtown core, the windchill brought the temperature down into the negative double digits. I knew peanut butter was just not going to work for me.

So, I braved the thought of creating a mountain of dishes and decided to make soup. Of course, I didn't have all the ingredients I needed for either my beef barley recipe (I only had ground beef) nor my dutch meatball soup (no leeks or egg noodles). In the end, I created a hybrid. And, if I do say so myself, I think it turned out pretty well.

Using dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid infuses an earthy flavour to the soup.

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
½ large onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp thyme
½ tsp sage
½ package dried porcini mushrooms
7 cups water
1 beef boullion stock cube
½ cup pot barley, rinsed and drained
2 bay leaves
2 tsp tamari soy sauce
3 tbsp dry sherry
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot covered with cooking spray, sauté beef until just brown over medium heat. Remove from pot with slotted spoon and leave in a bowl while you prepare the vegetables.

2. Meanwhile, cover dried mushrooms with 4 cups of boiling water. Let sit, while you prep the remaining ingredients.

3. Sauté onion, celery, carrot and garlic with thyme and sage until soft, about 5 minutes.

4. Remove mushrooms from liquid (be sure to save this) and coarsely chop.

5. Return beef and its juices that have accumulated in the bowl to the pot. Add chopped mushrooms, their soaking liquid and the remaining 3 cups of water along with the bouillon cube and the barley and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes until barley is tender.

6. Just before serving, add sherry, tamari, parsley. Taste and then add salt and pepper accordingly.

Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich, and you're set for that brisk winter night!