Mid day week, went to the gym and did some squats. Now my legs don’t work lol. The weather is finally getting around to being somewhat pleasant. It’s been above zero for a few days and the sun has decided to show us it’s pretty face. Philip was chatting to his boss at work about her recent vacation in the Dominican Republic, oh so jealous. She was telling him that some days she feels she would give up the 9-5 Monday to Friday routine and big house life style all for a quiet small place somewhere hot. Only if it were that easy!
We both want a dream similar to this and we want it soon! Some people just “Do it” and some people just dream, at the end of the day it’s what makes you happy I guess. We’ll get there eventually I’m sure of it. But in the mean time I made this excellent Vegan Vegetable Barley Stew. It’s a very thick hearty stew that will fill up and keep you going all day.
Barley is a wonderful cereal grain, it has a nut like flavor and a chewy consistency which makes it great for both soups and stews. Barley is a good source of dietary fiber and vitamin B1. Barley also helps lower cholesterol levels. Barley also comes in a flour which can be mixed with other flours to make breads and muffins. Chilled barley goes great in salads with other vegetables.
- 1½ cups uncooked barley
- 2 cups spinach leaves
- 1 cup cooked black beans
- ½ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 2 carrot, chopped
- 3 stick celery, chopped
- ½ orange bell pepper chopped
- ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- In a large pan sauté onions and garlic until soft.
- Add all the other ingredients to the pan.
- Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to a simmer.
- Cook stew for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 mins. Until the vegetables are soft and the barley is cooked if stew becomes to thick for your liking you can add more vegetable broth or water.
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