Terrifying Tuesday: Barley with Curry, Carrots and Almonds

(obviously I'm not a food stylist -sorry!)

I'll post the recipe for this one. It's pretty simple. I got if from a cookbook of mine "Superfoods, Cook Your Way to Health" by Jyl Steinback.

Barley with Curry, Carrots and Almonds

1 1/2 cups nonfat chicken broth
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup quick-cooking barley
3/4 cup chopped carrot
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 Tbsp. sliced almonds, toasted

Combine chicken broth, water, barley carrot, onion powder and curry in medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 12 to 15 minutes until barely is tender. Remove lid and cook 3 to 5 minutes; stir in toasted almonds and serve.

Serves 4
calories: 153
total fat: 1g
dietary fiber: 6g
sodium: 361 mg

my adjustments:
I don't have or know where to get quick cooking barley. I had pearled barley, so I increased the simmering time to 35 minutes. I had slivered almonds on hand, instead of sliced and I dumped in the rest of what we had which was just over a tablespoon. The more the merrier! Everything else I kept the same.

The results: 3 thumbs up, 1 thumbs down from Ryan. I think this was Ryan's first time with the curry flavor, so it will take him a while to adjust. We will deem this one a keeper. Maybe not a regular, but I'll definitely make it again.

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In other news... today I had an MRI - my follow-up from my abnormal mammogram. Ugh! It had been a couple of years from my last one, and I'm already dreading next years! I did fine, but near the end I was getting close to a freak-out. I started getting warm and was breathing warm air. I was starting to sweat. Sweating will make you claustrophobic for sure! No, the closed in-ness didn't bother me a bit. It's the not being able to move for over an hour that gets you. Everywhere there was a pressure point, it hurt. My forehead, my right shin - well, those were the only two that bothered me. Then my left shoulder - oy! I was about to scream about that! They had me laying there in a superman pose - with my arms stretched out front. Which was fine for the first half hour. When they finally got me out of the tube, my shoulders were frozen. It was hard to get up. Our bodies just weren't designed to stay in one position like that. We are designed to MOVE!

Before the MRI I prayed that I would be given calmness, and He was faithful. I actually almost fell asleep a couple of times. But then the noises would start up or would change and almost startle me. I really don't know how long the thing took, but it was at least an hour. Let's see, I was changing clothes and looked at my watch and it was 10:38, and then after I walked out of the MRI place to the bathroom it was 12:18. You have to factor in a little time for waiting, not much, time to change clothes and time to get the i.v. and then get all situated. So I think that leaves at least a full hour for scan time.

Today I put the boys into a spring break "program" at the school, so I would have plenty of childcare time without worrying about them. They were going on a field trip to one of those places that has all those big blowup bouncy things. I'm sure they are having fun and I will pick them up in about an hour or so.

I have a dentist appointment this month (plus Ryan needs to get a filling) and also have the "thing" cut off my face on the 17th. Medical month. Blah. What I really need is to get my hair cut again.

***** edited to say my doc just called with MRI results - hey I wasn't supposed to get those for 3-4 days! this is same day! everything is normal - I've got simple cysts - yeah, we knew that - and my implant is intact! *whew* big sigh of relief! Next!