Barley??

How do you cook hulled barley? I have always made my own baby food and tried to make some by using a food processor to make it into a powder but it did nto work so tried to cook it and cooked for ever but still was hard:(

[gracefromHHP]

maybe the barley you had was old?  I've never had a problem getting barley to soften up when I've thrown it into soups. if it's like beans, the older it is, the harder it is to get it to soften up.  I'd cook it first and then process it for a baby.  it'll have more taste if you cook it in vegetable broth or chix broth if you are serving it rather plain.

grace

[swampcritter]

Swampy finds that barley is chewy when cooked, and takes between 45 and 50 minutes.

Basic way to cook it is like rice, but with more water (just add a little water to it if it becomes dry).

An old comfort food is barley pilaf -- barley with olive oil, dried parsley, onion powder, salt, pepper, a little oregano, and slived almonds. Combine ingredients to taste, and cook until barley is done.