Barley with sausage and potatoes

**This is not a gluten-free recipe and was posted before I eliminated gluten from my diet. Brown rice would be a great substitute for the barley for a gluten-free option.**

This recipe provided a great meal, but also taught me an important lesson: ALWAYS sort through your grains. I normally make a point to look through my grains for rocks or other small objects, but of course this was the time that I forgot. Sometimes I find some rocks (particularly in brown rice, for some reason), and sometimes I don't, so I was hoping that I would luck out and have a batch without any "impurities." But, as I was enjoying my dinner, I heard a loud crunch and thought that part of my tooth might have fallen off (luckily this was not the case). I then discovered a small rock in my mouth... and apparently I have a strong jaw because I managed to break it in half. I really hope that this was the only one, but I'll probably be more careful when I eat the leftovers. And I will DEFINITELY remember to sort through my grains next time.

Barley with sausage and potatoes (adapted from 80 Breakfasts)

1 1/2 cups water

pinch of salt

1/2 cup barley, sorted and rinsed :)

1 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, sliced thinly

1 large Russet potato, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

8 oz. smoked sausage, sliced

Bring water and salt to a boil, then turn off heat and add barley (barley has a tendency to boil over). Bring back to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 min. Drain barley, return to empty pot, cover, and let steam for 10 min. While barley is cooking, heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Add onion and potato and cook until they start to brown (about 10 min). Add garlic and thyme and cook for another minute. Stir in sausage and let cook until it browns. Finally, stir in the barley. Serves 3-4.

I really liked this... even with the extra crunch. I'm not a huge fan of most meats, but sausage is an exception. I brought this back from Tallahassee, and I'm convinced that people from North Florida/South Georgia know how to make the best sausage. Perhaps I'm biased (and I've never conducted a thorough double-blind taste test), but I'm fairly sure of this belief. And that taste test is sounding tempting... anyone want to join me?