Barley with Chicken and Rapini

Barley deserves a more prominent place at my table. Chewy and slightly nutty, it works in casseroles, salads, stews, or anywhere else you need a grain with some texture. This recipe was easy and turned out perfectly. If you use regular, instead of low-sodium stock, it won't need any extra salt. And the bitter rapini will balance the flavours.

Barley with Chicken and Rapini
Serves 2

4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 rib of celery, diced
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1 cup pot barley, rinsed
3 cups water + one chicken bouillon cube
or
1 cup of water + 2 cups of chicken stock
2 cups chopped rapini

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and celery and sautee until soft. Add diced chicken and cook until browned slightly. Add barley and the water + stock or bouillon cube and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the barley is tender, but still slightly chewy. (You may have to add a bit more water...check part way through cooking.) In the meantime, sautee the rapini in a separate pan. When the barley is cooked and all the water absorbed, add the rapini and stir. Season with fresh ground black pepper to taste. (optional: serve with plain yogurt on the side.)

Blackberry Walnut Muffins

Springtime at last and blackberries are appearing by the truckload at local grocery stores. I can't just leave them there...all plump and juicy and on sale! I must take them home...by the bucketload...I'll figure out how to eat them all later. I could gorge myself until I have a stomach ache and permanently stained blue lips. Or, perhpaps I'll make some muffins...

Blackberry Walnut Muffins

Makes 12 small muffins

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of flax seeds, ground*
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
6 tablespoons of grapeseed oil (or another neutral flavoured oil)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of low-fat plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups (1-6 oz container) of fresh blackberries, each berry cut into threes
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped

*Flax seeds can be ground in a blender.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Stir in flax seeds. In another bowl combine oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and yogurt. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring until combined. Gently fold in blackberries and walnuts. Spoon the batter into muffin tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, until muffins start to brown. Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes, and then turn onto wire rack.