Skillet Mushrooms with Chard and Barley

"Mushrooms, Barley and Chard! Oh my!"

Call me crazy, but I just can't get enough of these amazing, healing, delicious foods!

Combine them all together in one gorgeous dish and I am in heaven! So, you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon a recipe including all three that I just have to share with you!

I'll get to the recipe in a minute. I want you to be as enthusiastic as I am about it so I need to rant and rave a bit about mushrooms, barley, and chard.

Mushrooms:

A Vegetarian's dream come true. Why? Because sometimes tofu, veggies and brown rice just doesn't cut it. We need to sink our teeth into something meaty, thick and juicy. Enter the mushroom. They're pretty good raw but even better when marinated and grilled. Toss them into salads, rice dishes, soups, and stews. Mix them into home made macaroni and cheese or add a layer of grilled mushrooms to lasagna. YUMMY!

Portabella mushrooms are my personal favoritet! I take whole portabella mushrooms, cut off the stems, brush the mushroom caps with a bit of olive oil and grill until tender. Then I place them on whole grain buns with all the fixin's. They're thick, tender, juicy--better than hamburgers! Honestly.

Did you know mushrooms are the only natural source of Vitamin D? Except for the sun, that is. I know so many people diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiencies.  So they start taking supplements.  Why not do it naturally, instead? Get 10 - 15 minutes of good, old-fashioned sunshine every day and eat your mushrooms!   

Barley:

A grain and good one. Often neglected,  barley is a nutritional powerhouse and perfect for those with diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, barley is on the list of low GI foods. In other words, it doesn't increase your blood sugar levels as quickly as white bread, potatoes, or other carbohydrates. 

Barley is rich in fiber, naturally cholesterol-free and low in fat. A 1/2-cup serving of cooked pearl barley, a typical grain serving, contains less than 1/2 gram of fat and only 100 calories. Barley also contains several vitamins and minerals including niacin (Vitamin B3), thiamine ( Vitamin B1), selenium, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and copper.

Chard:

Commonly know as Swiss Chard and sadly, another often ignored powerhouse of vitamins and minerals. Chard is an excellent source of Vitamins C, E and K, carotenes, chlorophyll, and fiber. It also contains several minerals including potassium. magnesium, iron and maganese.  And let's not forget Vitamin B6, protein, calcium, thiamine, selenium. zinc, niacin, and folic acid. Simply stated, chard is one of the most powerful anti-cancer foods you can eat. So buy it, cook it, and eat it- OFTEN!

Combine all three ingredients in one dish and you have the most glorious, powerful, healing, life-giving meal.

And now....... the recipe:

Skillet Mushrooms with Chard and Barley

Enjoy and let me know how it turns out!  I would love to hear from you!

GO BACK TO CYNFULLY GOOD LIVING

Skillet Collards and Winter Squash with Barley



Photo: Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

My father was born and bred in the South so I am well acquainted with collard greens. Collards are a staple vegetable in every Southern kitchen.  My family still prepares them exactly the way my grandmother did and her grandmother before her-- simmered on the stove for hours and seasoned with fat-back, lots of onions, salt and pepper. Sometimes they toss in a few potatoes and some crushed red pepper. They come out soft and soggy and a light, translucent green. Serve with hot home-made biscuits to sop up the juices and you're in heaven. Pure heaven.

I used to eat them that way all the time.  Since becoming a vegan,  I must now say no to the big bowl of collards passed around the table at every family gathering. I just can't bring myself to eat anything cooked with fat-back, even if it's just a scant amount. And I really prefer my vegetables a bit greener and not quite so well-done.  But I still love collard greens. I've just had to have find healthier ways to cook them.

Collards are green, leafy winter vegetables. They're rich in Vitamin C and fiber and contain multiple nutrients with anticancer properties such as diindolylmethane and sulforaphane.  A quarter of a pound has about 46 calories so they're the perfect food for weight loss. Toss them into soups, steam them lightly and season with lemon or vinegar and crushed red pepper, stir fry them with garlic and oil, or boil them up with potatoes and a dash or two of Liquid Smoke for a long-simmered, smokey flavor. 

I stumbled across the perfect recipe in The New York Times: Skillet Collards with Winter Squash and Barley. This dish is gorgeous and bursting with life: gorgeous green collards, bright orange butternut squash and pretty little pearls of barley. It's a meal in itself or a good side dish to serve to the carnivores in your family with grilled fish or chicken.

Here's the recipe:
Skillet Collards with Winter Squash and Barley

If you've never cooked collard greens before,  I encourage you to try this recipe.  And let me know how it turns out. I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy.