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!

raspberry barley scones

this recipe is from "good to the grain: baking with whole-grain flours" by kim boyce. these scones were delicious; flaky, buttery, and not too sweet. i'm really excited to make everything in this cookbook.

dry ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp barley flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

wet ingredients:

4oz cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

finishing ingredients:

1/2 cup jam (i used raspberry)

1 tbsp melted butter

1 tbsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Rub a baking sheet lightly with butter. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bow, pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.

2. Cut the butter into 1/2" pieces and add them to the dry mixture. Use your hands to rub the butter between your fingers, breaking it into smaller bits. Continue rubbing until the butter is in sizes ranging from rice grains to flattened peas.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg until thoroughly combines. Scrape the buttermilk and egg into the dry mixture, and mix until barely combined.

4. Use a spatula to transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface. The dough may be too sticky to handle, if it is, dust it with flour and fold it together a few times. Divide the dough into two pieces. Flour your hands and pat each piece of dough into a disk about 3/4" thick and 7" in diameter.

5. Cover one disk with the jam. Top the spread with the second disk and press down gently. Brush the dough lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Cut the circle into 8 triangular wedges.

6. Bake the scones for 22-26 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Tops will get golden brown and jam will get bubbly.

7. Eat! They're best when they're warm.