Barley risotto

My favorite aisle in the Lund's across the street from me is the frozen food one, due solely to the fact that the frozen food aisle is where they stash their cart of "sale" items. What a bounty I've found in this ever-changing cart: organic apple juice-sweetened dried cherries (I bought 15 packs for $1 each!), sunflower butter, fancy pasta sauce, and on and on. It seems like many of their more obscure items (often organic/"natural") end up in this cart, making it the first place I go when I'm at the store. Anyway, about 9 months ago, I bought cartons of this broth, never having used mushroom broth before and not really knowing what I'd do with it...but it seemed like such a good deal (I think they were $1 each) that I put them in my basket and figured I'd come up with something later.

Well, the other day I decided to clean out the cupboard and realized that they were set to expire on July 27, so I made two batches of this vegan risotto (from Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet cookbook)--it's simple and delicious.

1/4 c. dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup very hot water for 20 minutes
4 c. mushroom stock
1/2 c. white wine
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. minced shallots
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 c. pearl barley
2 c. chopped cremini mushrooms
2 t. minced fresh marjoram leaves (first time using these--such an amazing scent!)
2 t. minced fresh parsley leaves
2 t. minced fresh chive
Salt and black pepper

1) Drain the porcinis, reserving the soaking liquid. Chop the mushrooms and set aside.

2) Combine the stock, reserved mushroom liquid, and wine in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

3) In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and slightly softened. Add the barley and both kinds of mushrooms, and stir until covered with oil.

4) Add 1/2 c. of the hot liquid and simmer, uncovered and stirring frequently, until the liquid is almost absorbed. Continue adding the stock mixture 1/2 c. at a time, until the barley is tender, about 30 minutes.

5) About 5 minutes before the risotto is finished, stir in the herbs and salt and pepper.

Serve hot!