Barley

Miso soup + barley and rice + beets with plum aioli.

“I think not taking care of yourself properly is a form of violence.”

Barley I think is my favorite “ancient” grain. I find it to be the most comfortable to eat out of all these grains with untapped potential to restore human and planetary health.

Above I mixed barley with brown rice. That way I enjoy the benefits of barley without committing to an unwieldy bowl of hardy starch. If you mix ancient grains — barley, millet, buckwheat, sorghum, etc. — with rice or ancient grain flour with wheat or all-purpose flour, you get the best of both worlds and no need for compromise.

I was inspired to write about barley after reading Butter, by Asako Yuzuki. It’s about murder, the sensuality of food, non-submissive women and more. All the photo captions here are quotes from the book. Within the pages luxuriating in the joy of eating, the author gives a shout-out to a humble, overlooked but powerful food: barley, which is served in prison to Manako, on trial for killing her sugar daddies.

Eating barley in prison is a huge step down for this woman. But the exchange below raises an important point:

“'Are you serious? Don’t people call prison food “rank rice”?’

‘I think that’s probably an outmoded perception, from back in the days when people thought anything other than white rice was an insult to the taste buds. The rice they serve in the Detention House is mixed with various types of grains. I guess people took umbrage with that. Nowadays, all of that stuff -- barley and millet and what have you -- has undergone a reappraisal, and is seen as very healthy. My guess is that they eat far better than you or I do.”

I wouldn’t be shocked if the average Japanese prisoner ate better than the average American (me included).

Here’s a simple meal featuring barley. Perhaps a meal like this would be served in a Japanese prison? If you know, tell me -- I’m very curious!

"The first step would be to boil some rice, and combine it with miso soup and an easy side dish."

Components are:

• Half cooked barley, half cooked brown rice sprinkled with furikake

• I learned from Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook the way to prepare miso soup is to first heat a pot of water or broth, then take out a ladle of the heated broth. Mix a spoonful of miso into the ladle, then pour this umami paste back into your pot and mix again. (Side note — I went to a talk by the author, Nancy Singleton Hachisu at Archestratus→paigelipariisland a while back and it was great fun!)

• Steamed beets with plum aioli: To make the aioli, combine grated garlic, umeboshi paste, lemon zest and mayo. Thin out a bit with rice vinegar if needed/desired.

  

  “The more I come to know about all the different flavours out there, the softer I become on myself. I don’t really mind any more if people call me lazy or fat. I feel like I’m going just to keep going until I’m satisfied.”

Newsfeed:

The Washington Post is not just a national institution, the paper that broke Watergate. It’s the daily for a huge region and international economic hub due to the presence of the federal government. I used to live in DC and remember reading the Post regularly. I distinctly remember hearing the news that Bezos bought it — it felt ominous. The New Yorker lays out “How Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post.” It will anger you, especially if you live in the DC area. It’s almost like being successful in one type of business does not mean you have the skills and wisdom to make a different type of business succeed. It’s the fault of these billionaires and their unhinged egos, but it’s our fault too, for enabling them with such little resistance.