I've solved our dependency on foreign oil

In my attempt to keep cholesterol at bay I'd read about the health benefits of barley. Seems like barley is beneficial in any form, from whole grain to flour. My soup repertoire contains a great Beef Soup that includes barley, and was enjoyed by my family, so serving it as a side dish seemed logical.

Barley doesn't have much flavor on it's own and is better cooked in broth, I choose chicken. For this dish I used:

• barley
• pile of chopped fresh spinach
• smaller pile of grated Parmesan cheese
• smallest pile of chopped parsley
• Mrs. Dash

This was mixed together and I felt the top was lacking so about the same amount of cheese mixed with breadcrumbs on the top and dotted with butter. Into a hot oven covered with foil for about 15 minutes then foil off for about 10. This pleased my dearly beloved, he loves spinach, and I felt it was quite tasty. Some of the barley got a bit crunchy on the top. Crunch/cheesy, fits my requirements for food.

Let's have a bit of back story on barley and caution, I will use big scienc-y sounding words.

The reason it's so good for lowering cholesterol is it feeds the "good" bacteria in the lower intestines. When these helpful bacteria ferment barley's insoluble fiber, they produce a short-chain fatty acid called butyric acid, which serves as the primary fuel for the cells of the large intestine and helps maintain a healthy colon. Whew, stay with me. Also, the sugar in barley is what ferments in beer making those lovely bubbles, burb. Excuse me.

Did ya notice I used "ferment" a few times in that last paragraph? Well that's what those lovely little pearls of barley do, ferment in your body and barley doesn't care if you are making beer or just eating better, it's gonna make gas, and lots of it. Forget ethanol, use barley! I think I'm switching to barley flour bread, it's safer.

All kidding aside, barley is good for fighting colon cancer. If you'd like to see some other health ideas, visit Mele Cotte's Event, Fighting Cancer. The deadline is April 9 so watch for some yummy recipes and ideas by the 13th.