keep your diet real

If you are looking for a way to add more whole grains to your diet, let me suggest this barley risotto recipe. If you are not familiar with barley it has a delicious chewy texture and it’s loaded with fiber and you can buy it inexpensively at most grocery stores and in the bulk section at Whole Foods. You can add pretty much any vegetable that you’d like….I added asparagus, but peas or mushrooms would work really well or even butternut squash. Let me know what you think.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of pearled barley
• 8 cups of vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 shallots (finely diced)
• 1 ½ cups of asparagus tips (diced)
• 1 cup of parmesan cheese (finely grated)
• salt to taste

Directions

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, heat the vegetable broth and allow the broth to sit over low heat.
2. In a large sauce man, melt 2 tablespoons of butter on low-medium heat.
3. To the butter, add the shallots and continue to cook for another 2 minutes until the shallots are translucent.
4. Next, add the barley and mix with the shallots.
5. Add a few ladles of broth (enough to cover the barley). Stir and allow some of the liquid to be absorbed.
6. Continue cooking and adding broth a few ladles at a time allowing time for the broth to be absorbed before adding more.
7. Continue this process until the barley is tender, but still slightly firm. (20-30 minutes)
8. Add the asparagus and cook until tender but still slightly firm.
9. Add the salt and parmesan cheese and stir.
10. Serves 6-8 people.

Kevin’s Comments Section: Corrine and I have been married for almost a year now. She has figured something out about me…don’t tell me what’s in it and I will pretty much try it. “Kevin try this smoothie.” So I try it….”hmm that’s an interesting (not in a good way) taste.” That is because she put Greek yogurt in it. Would I have liked it without the yogurt? Probably. But if she told me the yogurt was in there…chances are I would not have tried it. Same thing happened with this Barley Risotto…although she did not tell me about the green stuff in the above photograph. If she had told me the asparagus was in there, I would not have eaten as much of it as I did. I really enjoyed it though, ate the whole bowl she gave to me.

Sometimes I eat like a trash can. Take Wednesday night for example. I ate a bag of popcorn, a handful of chocolate chips, a granola bar, and 2 waffles with butter and syrup. I felt a bit shameful, but mostly I felt nauseated by the amount of sugar I consumed in less than 20 minutes.

I try not to make a habit of this, but sometimes I get lazy and forget that it doesn’t take much effort to make a decent meal. After that fiasco of a meal on Wednesday night, I decided that it is time to get off my booty and create some healthier recipes.

This recipe is foolishly simple to make and clearly healthier than the dinner I just described. To make, I simply rummaged through my fridge and cupboards and used whatever I found lying around. What do you have lying around your fridge?

I cooked some fresh long grain brown rice, used up a half eaten bag of baby spinach, an olde red onion, and some baby grape tomatoes and feta cheese that we had leftover from a gluten free pizza party (ps…I will be posting that gluten free pizza party soon!).

Eating well does not have to be fussy and expensive. Arguably, some of the least expensive foods in the world (i.e. beans, eggs, and brown rice) are also the tastiest, healthiest, and easiest to prepare!

Oh spinach. You make me laugh. Funny how 6 cups can cook down to basically a tablespoon.

I am somewhat fond of onions, particularly red onions. Although, they’re not as pretty when they are cooked. I can easily devour a whole cooked onion, right Mom? But, I’m not as wild about onions as some people. You may have heard of these people. They can eat onions like apples. How can this be?

Brown rice amazes me. It’s cheap AND good for you! Can I get an Amen for brown rice? When cooked properly, it should form little holes on the top, like this.

Recipe: Brown Rice Spinach Sauté

Ingredients

• 1 cup of long grain brown rice (dry/uncooked)
• 2 cups of water
• ½ teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
• ½ large red onion (sliced or diced or however you like them)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4-6 cups of raw baby spinach
• 1 cup of baby grape tomatoes (sliced)
• ½ cup feta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a medium size sauce pan, combine the water, salt, and brown rice.
2. Allow the rice to come to a boil (uncovered) on medium/high heat.
3. Reduce the heat, cover, and allow the rice to cook on low/simmer for 20 minutes or so until all the water has been absorbed and little holes form on the top.
4. In a medium/large frying pan, sauté the red onion with olive oil. Cook on medium/low heat stirring occasionally.
5. Place the rice in a bowl, topped with the spinach sauté, baby grape tomatoes, and feta cheese.

A little better than my dinner on Wednesday night, eh?

Where do I start….here looks good. This is actually Kevin…Corrine’s husband. Corrine asked me to create a post for KYDR. This meant all I had to do was take the photographs and type up the copy for the post. Then somehow have them make sense. If you are already bored you can scroll down and get the recipe. I will never know you did it.

Something you should know about Corrine is that she loves to ask questions. It is not to hear herself talk, it is because she loves answers. She likes to know how and why things work and how to problem solve. When she started KYDR I think I heard more photography questions in those weeks then I had in my life. The best part is…she did not need my help. She has had an eye for it since she picked up the camera.

Lately I have been asking myself some questions. For example why do some leftovers taste better than they did the day/night before? Take for example the Baked Ziti with Chicken Meatballs from this post. It was good when they came out of the oven..even the stove knew it.

It was somehow better for lunch though. Not sure how that happens. Maybe it is because the ingredients have gone through alot together and they finally get to relax and be themselves?

I thought I would add some behind the scenes photographs. Corrine cleaned as she went so you are not getting the full effect.

I know this post has kinda been jumping around…..so I figure why not cover some more ground. Ever notice food images are better in color than in black and white? See below.

I doubt you would send the black and white photo to a friend…well the color one either…but I believe you would send the color one over the b/w.

Are you wondering how I am going to end this jumpy post? With a photograph and some questions.

Baked Ziti with Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients

For the Simple Italian Tomato Sauce

For the Chicken Meatballs

Other ingredients for the filling

• 1 ¼ cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• ½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minced)
• 1 pound of ziti

Directions

1. Cook the sauce
2. Cook the meatballs
3. Cook the pasta until al dente.
4. Spread half of the sauce on the bottom of a greased 9” baking dish.
5. In a large mixing bowl combine the cheeses and parsley.
6. Pour 1 cup of sauce onto the drained pasta and pour into the greased baking dish.
7. Crumble the cheese mixture evenly over the pasta.
8. Add the meatballs on top of the pasta then top with the most of the remaining sauce.
9. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.
10. About 5 minutes before the dish is finished cooking remove from the oven and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese has melted.

What are your favorite leftovers?

What is the best question you have ever been asked?

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