Fall Food

I was catching up on some blog reading in my Google Reader today when I came across the post for Mandarin & Maple Spiced Quinoa with Cranberries, Apricots and Almonds on Oh She Glows. The recipe really caught my eye because of the wonderful fall flavors and because it seemed really simple.

I was so set on making it for dinner that I even stopped at the store on the way home from work to pick up mandarin oranges, dried apricots and dried cranberries. (Also because I didn’t have any other plans for dinner! I’ve been really slacking on my meal planning the past couple of months.) When I got home I started assembling ingredients immediately because my stomach was already rumbling. Much to my dismay I discovered I was completely out of quinoa. How did that happen? I was sure I had a full jar of it in the cabinet. I even made Benzo look through the cabinet to make sure I wasn’t overlooking it and he couldn’t find it either. 😦

While standing in front of the quinoa-less cabinet, I spied a half full jar of barley. I decided to improvise and substituted the barley for the quinoa. I reviewed some easy barley-cooking instructions and got to work.

The dish turned out wonderful! I served it with refrigerator biscuits. I hadn’t had those in forever and forgot how nice and easy they are! Here’s the meal:

It might not look like much but the barley dish really filled me up. Oh and a second biscuit helped I’m sure. 😀

For the recipe please click here:

Mandarin & Maple Spiced Quinoa with Cranberries, Apricots and Almonds

To make with barley follow these instructions:

Substitute 1 cup barley for the quinoa. Use 2 1/2 cups water instead of 1 3/4.

In a saucepan bring the 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Then add 1 cup barley and the cinnamon, nutmeg, mandarin orange juice and sea salt from the original recipe above. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 25 minutes. Then add the chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries and almonds as directed. Cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until barley is tender and most of the water is absorbed. Stir in the remaining ingredients as directed.

I definitely want to make this dish again with quinoa. I think that either way it would make a really nice side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. I may just bring this to my family gathering! With the protein in quinoa it could serve as a main dish for vegetarians.

HAPPY