Hearty Barley Stew
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 😉
haha “sorry i’m not sorry”. That’s funny. Well I think your pictures you took with the camera look great! I’m hoping to get a new camera for my birthday this year so I can work on my photography too. And I always take pictures of my lunch at work. The first time I did I got a, “uh are you taking a picture of your food???” with a very strange look. I guess they have gotten used to it now though bc no one says anything anymore. And I usually only buy natural raw almond butter. I don’t buy the organic one because it’s close to $20 and sorry…but I’m so not going there!
Hooray for the Rebel!! That’s great, girl!! And your soup looks so good!
Congratulations on the purchase! Having a good camera makes taking food pictures even more exciting! 😀
Ooooooooo yummy that stew looks mighty fine : )
OH that’s exciting! I can’t wait to see what pictures you come up with using the new camera! I’m jealous–I’d love a fancy camera. Maybe try finding a local SLR class? I know there are quite a few around here, and they aren’t too expensive. (And YUM, barley stew! A favorite of mine.)
Yay! Enjoy it. 🙂 I have no tips for you seeing how I’ve had my Canon Rebel since Christmas and haven’t figured out much of anything.
Haha I’m thinking I’ll have to take a class or two. So far, it’s been so fun!
Congrats on the new camera! I’m going to have to break down and get one some day. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on figuring out how to use it!
That soup looks awesome – I love the chewy grains!
Woo-hoo for the new camera lady! That’s super exciting. I’ve had mine for over 2 years and just recently went to a DSLR workshop. Now I finally know what to do with it. I would highly recommend checking out one of these workshops when they come back to Richmond! http://www.dslrworkshops.com/ OR you could just be smart and read the manual – something I didn’t do. haha
Also, Ashley from Edible Prospective does awesome photography tutorials. http://edibleperspective.com/photography/
Yay! New camera!!! Excited for you…and for me…because I love your food pics 🙂
Congratulations on the new camera! I haven’t had mine for very long so I am not much help on the whole how to work thing. I am still learning mine. I love the quality of pictues I get with it even as a novice!
The stew looks phenominal. I love a good hearty stew on a winter night. Unfortunately we didn’t have a winter her in LA 🙁