Baked Barley and My Chinese Covered Casserole Dish

My hot plate is no more. Ever heard of slow-browned beef? I hadn't either, until my hot plate shut off 15 minutes after I started browning some stew meat. The pan and the burner were still hot, but pretty soon I figured out the heat was no longer coming and the beef was barely turning brown (though it was trying!). I gave up on the browning and continued with the recipe. Six hours later, I tried again with another pound of stew meat (this is what happens when you're making a meal for someone and preparing for a potluck too), and the hot plate did the same thing. So I gave up on it again. My landlady is now looking for a new hot plate, preferably something that works this time. :-)

In the meantime, I needed to cook another batch of barley for more barley salad. I decided the barley salad didn't need any more flavoring, and I liked it so much I wanted more of it. Since I couldn't cook the barley on the stove, I searched the net for other ways to cook barley, and I found a Food Network recipe for Baked Barley. But it needs a casserole dish covered with aluminum foil and a lid, and I didn't have anything to suit the purpose, until I searched my cabinets and came up with my Chinese Covered Casserole Dish:

 

I remembered that some of my bowls and plates are oven-safe, so I put one of each together. That's a picture of it inside the toaster oven. I can't help but think it looks Chinese. It doesn't have the foil on it yet because there was no barley inside it yet when I took the picture.

The casserole dish worked wonderfully, and the baked barley came out fine, so here's my version of the recipe. I think this is easier than cooking it on the stove. I left out the butter and salt, since I was going to add feta and other yummy things.

Baked Barley

Combine 2 cups boiling water and 1 cup pearled barley in a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with lid. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and put the lid on top. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour.

Note: Make sure the lid is oven-safe before you put it in the oven.