Wait, first off, I have an important announcement…

I finally purchased a DSLR camera!

After much deliberation, I went with the Canon Rebel T2i. (Uh, if anyone wants to help me figure out how it works? That’d be cool.) So I’ll be spending lots of hours in the future trying to figure out how it works 🙂

Anyways, there was a winter storm warning here in Richmond, and I didn’t need to see snow flakes to decide it was the perfect excuse to spend the day in the kitchen.

I whipped up a huge pot of what was initially going to be a vegetable soup, but it turned into more like an italian stew. This recipe had a mind of its own. Thankfully, it turned out well.

Hearty Barley Stew

Makes about 6 cups
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup marinara sauce (or just more diced tomatoes)
  • 1 cup uncooked, pearled barley
  • 1 tbsp italian seasoning
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup fresh spinach

Start by sauteing the carrots and onion in the olive oil, over medium heat until soft. Add cumin and stir. Pour in your diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, marinara sauce and barley. Turn to high, and bring to a boil. Stir in the rest of the seasonings, and continue to cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the barley is cooked. Just before serving, stir in the spinach so it’s just barely wilted.

I didn’t do the exact “analysis” on this, but each serving is about 200 calories, and that’s for a pretty big serving. (Over a cup.) The barley is super filling, and you’re getting lots of veggie-packed goodness in each serving!

Forgive the photography… I don’t know my settings on my camera yet 😉

Anyone have DSLR tips for me?

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