I’m so proud!  Thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Sarah, I have a new recipe that’s moving straight to heavy rotation, and that’s after only one try! 

The delicious and oh, so nummy comfort food of her family is Pastina --  basically a bowl of orzo or other small pasta cooked in chicken stock and then dolled up by turning off the heat at the end and cracking an egg into the mix with a big handful of Parm and stirring until creamy.  Mmmm... I made it last week and fancied it up a bit by sautéing some portobello mushrooms in a lot of garlic and butter and parsley and throwing some on the top of each bowl.  I thought it was victorious enough then since I got my husband to eat an egg in some other form than as a binder (those of you who know him can understand my profound sense of accomplishment).

So after thinking about it all week, I decided to take that principle an apply it to my son’s favorite dinner of all-time, Annie’s Mac N Cheese.  Without fail, he asks for mac n cheese for dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT OF THE WEEK.  Once or twice, I give in.  On the other days, he’s stuck with whatever makes it to the table that night.  I am having a great deal of success lately by just serving him whatever I am making totally un-altered, but also putting something on the plate that is a sure thing for him.  He seems to want to try new things when there is an old trusted thing in front of him that he knows he can eat no matter what.  He is, however, 3 and 1/2, so what’s true this week may be a bold-faced lie next week.... I hope that I am at least instilling a sense of value in trying new things and giving him a foundation for being an adventurous and healthy eater. 

But I digress!  Ok, so the big achievement for the week is that I made a batch of plain barley, but then I used the Pastina Principle to doctor it up.  I sent it to the table with a mound of mozzarella and grated nutmeg on top and low and behold, after a couple of sniffs and a nibble, my darling son pronounced this “new pasta”, “delicious” and proceeded to eat nearly the whole plate! 

So thank you, Sarah!  With your pastina as inspiration, I’ve found a great way to get a complex carb AND an egg into my boys without so much as a whine about it!  What can I figure out how to disguise next?!

BARLEY "PASTINA"

Mind you, this is not long on looks but it is strong on taste!  Serves 1.

* 1 cup cooked barley

* 1 egg

* 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

* 1/ 4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

* salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste

Heat barley in a small pan with 1/4 cup of water or stock.  Once it is warmed through and almost all liquid is absorbed, turn off the heat and crack one egg into the pan.  Stir the egg vigorously to create a creamy "sauce" and then add parmesan cheese and salt, pepper and/or nutmeg to your taste.  Dump this yummyness into a bowl and top with a handful of shredded mozzarella and grate some additional nutmeg on top.  Serve to one happy person.

Note: Nearly any veg would be a lovely accompaniment to this.  Use this basic recipe with any grain or pasta and any cheese combo you can imagine.  The options are endless!