Lemon Barley Pilaf

Just as the recipe said, it made us wonder
why we don't cook with barley more ~
Per Nana:

This recipe brings back memories of Hubby and I when

 we were newly married. When I was growing up, my mother did 

the cooking in our house  and being young,  I had more important 

 things to do than learn to cook. Six months into the marriage,

 I was really sorry that I did not pay attention.

But, way back then, we knew it all......

In any event, I bought a box of barley, and prepared it  according

 to the instructions.  Not only did the barley spill over onto everything

 while cooking, we had so much barley   we ate it for a week.

  (Back then, we didn't throw food out)

It was many years before I considered cooking barley, but

 I have since learned a few  important things about cooking

 rice and other grains. That said, I have actually prepared a

 wonderful beef barley soup that turned out quite well.

This recipe was good, a bit al dente, but I think it could use a little

 bit of a kick for flavor. I plan to use the leftovers in chicken  broth

 to soften it more, and to add cooked chicken for a nice

old fashion chicken barley soup.

All in all, this was a nice recipe and I can't wait to see how

 the rest of the Doristas enjoyed this one.

Per Tricia: 

Once again Nana hooked me up with some ingredients. 

I included a shot of the barley box to show how well loved it 

looks after making back and forth across the yards.  And with the 

success of this dish it may be getting more play.

This was a very simple recipe and with the exception of my not 

usually having barley in the house- the rest of the items were 

standard fare.  The prep time was minimal and most of the cooking time

 was spent with little to no interaction from the cook. My kind of recipe :)

My husband liked it and was very surprised at how "sweet" he thought it was.

 I didn't find it too sweet but did like lemon zest influence. 

It really made the dish, in my opinion, and I would not necessarily have 

added lemon to a barley dish unless Dorie told me to.  Good thing she did. 

 The boys liked it and agreed they really liked the lemon flavor, but were 

otherwise a bit lukewarm.  They can't all make it out of the ballpark.

Happy French Friday. Hard to believe we are staring down August......