In The Beginning There Was Barley

Hey Everyone-

Welcome to A Brooklyn Kitchen! I guess I should start off by introducing myself. I'm your typical North Westerner who moved to NYC for undergrad and hasn't managed to leave quite yet. Currently I reside in lovely, hipster-overrun Williamsburg and have a 9-5 in Midtown. In many ways cooking is a beautiful escape, a catharsis from the grind, the commutes, the humidity, the stresses of the past and the looming future. I do some baking here and there, but cooking feels more experimental and freeing.

SO! The plan for this here blog is to post about my adventures in cooking. There will be trials and errors, experiments, and some tried and true recipes. There will be lots of dinners w/ leftovers to bring into the office for lunch the next day, brunches hosted, and the occasional party. Maybe it will morph into something else, but for now off we go...

Vindaloo Spiced Barley w/ Lots of Green Things and Pork Chops w/ Crushed Pepper and French Herbs

3 boneless pork chops
Salt
Freshly crushed black peppercorns
Provencal herbs
1 tbs vegetable oil (or any other oil w/ a high smoke point like sesame, coconut, sunflower, etc)
A dutch oven (or any pan that can also hang out in the oven for a bit)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Let the pork chops come to room temperature (about 20 minutes) and pat dry. This will create a better sear on the meat. Sprinkle a good amount of salt, freshly crushed black peppercorns, and Provencal herbs onto each side. Make sure to press the seasoning into the meat before turning it over to season the other side.

Here's my tried and true method for cooking pork chops. Pretty soon I may try something else for kicks, but for now it's been churning out great chops on the regular.

Heat oil in the dutch oven on medium high/high heat until a drop of water sizzles and immediately evaporates on contact. You want the surface to be hot enough to get that nice brown sear on the meat. Transfer the seasoned pork chops to the pan, making sure to give each piece some room to cook. Then DON'T TOUCH THEM for 5-6 minutes. Trust me, let the oil and heat do their job. Turn each pork chop over and place the dutch oven into your preheated oven for approx. 10 min. Let rest for 10 min.

Note: Cook time will vary depending on the thickness of your pork chops. It should reach an internal temp of 145 degrees after resting.

1/2 cup barley
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tsp Vindaloo
1 cup frozen edamame
1 tsp coconut oil
Juice from 1/2 a lime
A few sprigs of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 avocado, diced
Handful of nuts/seeds (I used sunflower seeds, but I think pine nuts would be great here too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt/pepper to taste

In a pot w/ a lid (or a small plate that you've cleverly decided to use as a lid when you couldn't find the right one) combine barley, chicken stock, and Vindaloo spice. Bring to a rolling boil, turn to low and leave covered for 10-12 minutes. You can strain out any excess liquid and fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine edamame (cooked according to instructions, I just heated them up in a pan w/ 1/2 inch water until they were done), parsley, avocado, lime, garlic, and coconut oil.

When the barley is done add it to the bowl. I stuck the whole thing into the fridge while I finished up the pork chops since I'm not a huge fan of super warm avocado, but this is optional.