Snowday in the Frosty Apple

Tune of the Moment: Barbra (it looks very odd without the extra "a") Streisand singing "Make Someone Happy" (by Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green) from the album produced by Diana Krall ("Love is the Answer").

It's a(nother) snow day in New York. Apart from wearing four pairs of socks and a pashmina, this means no school, which is a fabulous reason to stay indoors, waste countless hours on the internet, and start this blog.

I know what many of you are thinking. Or I shall be so bold as to assume I know what you're thinking. "Another (add expletive) blog?!" "What makes her think anyone will be interested in her musings and drawn-out descriptions of food and music?"

Well, to be quite honest, I am writing this blog because I find writing (emails, facebook stati, hypothetical hate notes to the passport control officers at JFK) extremely cathartic. And it didn't cost me money to setup this blog. Also, several people (read: my doting father and two voice teachers) have told me I'm an okay writer so I thought I'd take that praise and go with it.

I had a discussion with my cousins in London about blogging and blogs in general. They are called MF and BF (for this blog, of course).  Anyone can blog, and everyone basically does (tweeting counts as a form of abbreviated blogging), so one really needs to weed out the bad from the good. My criteria for blogging is based upon one simple thing. Can the blogger in question use "to" and "too" correctly? I know several bloggers who are unable to get this right, and, in my opinion, they should hang up their blog-hats and stick to grammatically faulty oversharing on facebook.

Anyway, now that I've vented that gripe I feel better, lighter, and ready for lunch. On the menu is leftover mushroom barley. I'll make it more interesting by adding leftover lima beans, grated cheddar or gruyere cheese, and steamed tenderstem broccoli (broccolini for the Americans). Cousin BF says there must always be something green-and she's quite right! Life just doesn't feel balanced without that splash of grass-green, healthy-looking "something" on one's plate.

I posted a blurred picture of the barley on my facebook page and found several people asking for the recipe despite the hazy visual. So, here is the recipe sans the image. It comes from a website called Weelicious (www.weelicious.com) which is run by Catherine McCord. The site was initially a forum for baby food recipes, but as Catherine's children grew older, the recipes became adult-friendly too. However, with the popularity of the baby food diet (thank you celeb trainer Tracey Anderson), one could happily use this site for pureed, mashed up inspiration.

With that, I'm off to chew my lunch.

Mushroom Barley (Serves 4)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Small Onion, diced

1/4 Tsp Sugar

1 Cup Mushrooms, chopped

1 Garlic Clove, chopped

1 Tsp Salt, divided

1 Cup Pearl Barley, rinsed

3 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes or until onions start to caramelize.

4. Remove the onions to a plate and add the mushrooms, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt to the pot. Cook for 3 minutes or until the water from the mushrooms start to evaporate, then remove to a plate and set aside.

5. Add the chicken stock into the same pot and bring to a boil, add the barley, 1/2 tsp salt, reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes or until tender.*

6. Add the onions and mushrooms to the pot to combine and cook until heated through.

7. Serve.

*Cooking in the same pot allows all of the flavors to combine.