happy friday (and a compost barley salad)

so it’s that time of year again…the real start to summer…the time we all run to the beach…when the pool finally opens…when it hopefully stops raining for for 2 minutes so we can bbq and enjoy ourselves…

did someone say bbq?

oh yeah…that was me. it’s time to bbq if you haven’t done so already.

last year i posted a wonderful recipe for bbq sauce (see here). this year, i decided to go for sides…because after all, everyone always loves the sides (at least they do here).

what i really crave…the pasta salads. this year however, i am addicted to grains (and so are the boy and girl).

my love affair with grains hasn’t happened over night…i’ve always been a huge fan of wheat berries and recently (with in the last 2 years) quinoa. but barley…barley folks is a good one. barley in a salad, fabulous.

we had a great barley salad this previous weekend that really got me inspired. so inspired i went out of my way this week to hit the store that sold barley in bulk. the best part of this salad, you can play around with it, i like to call it…compost salad.

why you might ask would i want to call something compost salad? well for starters, i always seem to over buy produce. always. something comes up and we don’t end up using the cucumbers, or tomatoes for instance since i am the only one who eats them other then the girl on the occasion. you can throw anything you have in the house in this salad (including leftovers), hence, compost. got dry fruit? add it. have any extra lemon sitting around, juice it…have good olive oil you have been saving for a special occasion, use it.

this is a light salad that has everything you could possibly want in it. it’s good, it’s filling and you can serve it with anything. the best part, serve it instead of that same old pasta salad you serve at any bbq. take it with you to the beach or eat it pool side.

compost barley salad

1. in a pot boil 1 cup of water. add barley to the pot and bring back to a boil. turn off burner, cover pot, and let it sit (like cous cous) for about 5-10 minutes.
2. while barley is softening up get to work on the rest. mince up some onions, slice up some fennel, chop up some olives, open up a pomegranate and grab a handful of dried fruit.
3. mix everything together and add juice of one lemon and about 2 tbl of olive oil. add a pinch of salt and pepper. mix and taste.

serve along side of your favorite bbq item (chicken, steak, grilled portabella mushrooms). sit back and enjoy!

have a happy safe weekend (and make sure to eat well)!