My favorite Mushroom-Barley Bake

I find nothing more comforting and delicious than a hot steaming bowl of barley. I love barley. It might be my favorite grain, next to millet. This recipe is so simple, only three ingredients. How could something so simple with so few ingredients taste so fabulous?

A Word About Grains

Soak them for a few hours before cooking with them. I realize not everyone has the time to do this, especially if you are anything like me and you don't always know what's for dinner until you start pulling out the pans. But if you have any notion at all when you get up in the morning, select a grain, measure it out, rinse it and then cover with filtered water. When it's time to cook, drain and rinse. Why go to this trouble? Soaking your grains makes them more digestible and reduces their acidity, something that is extremely important to the health of those suffering from autoimmune diseases. Soaking also begins the germination process and as we all know, living foods are so nutritious. Soaking also reduces the amount of liquid required in a recipe and reduces the cooking time. Score! You have so much to gain by soaking your grains! So, do it.

I cannot take credit for this recipe. I found it on the McDougall discussion board and it became a regular in my menu planning. Sometimes I keep it simple and other times I add carrots or peas or both, like today. Another note: I don't use quick barley, I use pearl barley. Sometimes I use unhulled barley, which is far more nutritious. Quick barley has it's place, but not here. If you soak the barley, reduce the amount of water you use down to about 1 1/4 cups but keep the cooking time the same.

Mushroom-Barley Bake

3/4 cup pearl barley
8 oz. of mushrooms, chopped
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix (or any vegan onion soup mix)
2 cups boiling water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and lightly oil a 2-quart casserole dish. Add all ingredients to the casserole dish and stir to combine. Cover with foil, top with a lid and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.