Beets & Barley with Orange Dressing

This recipe is perfectly nourishing for a chilly fall night. Both the Barley and Beets take some time to cook but the recipe is not labor intensive. You can certainly multi-talk while making this dish.

Beets:
Scrub well – chop off any greens – wrap them up well in a couple layers of aluminum foil and bake at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes or until fork tender. Once Beets are tender and cool enough to handle, run under cool water and slide the peel off the beet. Chop into bite size pieces.

Barley:
Cook 1 cup of Barley according to package directions. This will take about 25 minutes.

Dressing – Combine ingredients:
1/4 cup Olive (or other mild) Oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed Orange Juice
2 tsp. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Vinegar (I’m using Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar
Drizzle of Agave or Honey

Toss your warm salad:

• Add 1 – 2 cups of Chick Peas to the Barley to warm them through.
• Add dressing and stir to combine.
• Add Beets and gently fold in. Folding the Beets in will color the rest of    the salad – limit stirring to keep everything from turning pink.
• Tonight, I topped the dish off with some chopped Walnuts and would have added a bit of Spinach if I had any at home today.

Namaste and Enjoy!