August 30

I eat all day long. Before, when I used to work out of an office I would want to eat all the time but was restricted by whatever I brought for lunch that day. Now that I work from home, I don’t tend to make myself lunch for the week because I just snack on whatever is available and easy to throw together. This usually results in me eating constantly, all day, but my food never actually resembles a meal. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but this past week I decided that I wanted to have something substantial and meal-like to have on hand.

When I think of weekday lunches I think that hearty salads are the best thing to have in the summer (and hearty soups in the winter). When I was in London last month, I had a delicious barley based salad chock full of fresh herbs and vegetables from a Middle Eastern themed stall at Broadway Market. It was incredibly simple but satisfying, so I decided to recreate it at home.

I think barley is a lovely grain to include in salads. I barely ever think of it, but hopefully this salad will be a reminder to myself to use it more often. Compared to something like quinoa it it much more textural, which I really enjoy. The herbs are fresh and bright. The roasted vegetables bulk everything up, are sweet, and are gently complimented by a dressing made up mostly fresh lemon juice, balanced with the nuttiness of the tahini and the sweet undertones of a touch of honey. The salad was delicious warm, right after it was made, but also held up just as much as I hoped straight from the fridge over a few days.