Whole grain salad a healthy addition to your diet

BY

Betty Williams

Do you ever wish that you could visit with old friends that you rarely get to see? Or friends that live in another part of the world? I’ve always wondered what it would be like to attend a high school class reunion.

I’ve never gone to any of mine. It seems like they would be slightly awkward, especially if you hadn’t kept in contact with anyone.

There are some friends I would love to see just because we were such good friends in school, but then we went our separate ways after school was over.

I got the chance last week to catch up with a friend from junior high school. Someone I hadn’t seen since we attended Dededo Junior High School in Guam together, 35 years ago.

We did see each other briefly while in college. It was about 25 years ago at the airport in Austin, as she was leaving Texas, bound for England. She’s lived in the U.K. now for over two decades. In the old days, we wrote letters. But now, we’ve got Facebook.

My friend Laura, along with her husband and son, came to the U.S. to visit extended family on both the East and West Coasts. I was excited to see their pins on Facebook showing all the sites they were visiting in Southern California and how close they were to Canyon Lake.

While they were visiting San Diego, we had the chance to have dinner together at a groovy little Indian restaurant in the Gaslamp District. The food was delicious, albeit not as spicy as the Indian food they serve in the U.K. And we all had a laugh that the menu described “masala” as the national dish of England!

Several hours went by as we chatted about everything. Her husband joked that we barely came up for air. It was fun getting re-acquainted and sharing about what our lives are now. And she was really hilarious. I remembered why we were friends in school. Laura has always made me laugh.

So what does this week’s recipe have to do with my visit with my old school chum? Nothing, really. Except that this week’s recipe from Cooking Light magazine contains whole grains, which are a healthy addition to our diets. And eating them may help us all live longer, and hopefully have more opportunities to visit with long time friends.

Sesame Barley and Teriyaki Tofu with Greens

3 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided
4 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced and divided
6 cups thinly sliced Swiss chard (about 1 bunch)
1 (14-ounce) package organic extra-firm tofu, drained
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Cooking spray
4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a medium, heavy saucepan. Add barley; reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until barley is tender. Drain and cool slightly. Combine vinegar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger, and 1 garlic clove in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add chard and barley; toss well to coat. Cover and chill one hour.

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut tofu crosswise into 5 (1-inch-thick) slices. Place tofu slices on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 20 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Cut each tofu slice into 1/2-inch cubes.

Combine remaining 1 teaspoon sesame oil, remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 1 teaspoon ginger, remaining garlic clove, and pepper in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Add tofu; toss to combine. Let stand 10 minutes.

Arrange tofu in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until tofu is browned on all sides, stirring three times. Divide barley mixture evenly among four plates, and top evenly with tofu. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and onions.