Why the Hell can’t I find Quick-Cook Barley?

I woke up at a little after 6:00 AM on Saturday. Since the cats were absent, I stripped the bed and threw the bedding into the washer. I had a cup of coffee and watched some of the news. Then I got busy on breakfast.

I am making that egg dish I mentioned yesterday. Amy called it “Sunrise Squares.” So I cooked a pound of pork sausage in a skillet and drained the grease. Next I got out my 9x13 layer cake pan. She didn’t mention this, but I sprayed it with canola oil (for easier cleanup). Then I opened a 8-count tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls and pressed them into the bottom of the pan.

I added the pork sausage, a cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and the “optional” 1/2 cup of diced green pepper. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. and then whisked seven eggs, two cups of milk, a 1/2 teaspoon salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard together.

I poured that in the pan and stuck it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. I took it out after 35 minutes as the exposed crust was getting brown. I let it set for a bit to rest and then cut out a square.

It was very good (although it could have used a little more salt, but that’s probably just me). It tasted like I remembered and also a lot like a dish Lu and I had for breakfast years ago when we stayed at a Mennonite Bed and Breakfast in Illinois. I ate two more squares (with a little salt sprinkled on top) before I was done.

The I ran through my daily rituals to get ready for an 11:30 AM dentist appointment. I grabbed my jacket (winter is upon us, here) and left just in time.

The cleaning wasn’t bad (especially because this dentist uses more modern stuff than just digging away at your teeth with a little pick thingie). But, making the first impressions for my bridge (oh yes, I will need a second set done later) were just as bad as I remembered. Imagine somebody sticking a wad of clay (or whatever the hell that horrible tasting stuff is) on a tray and stuffing it in your mouth, pressing down on your lower teeth and holding it for like five minutes while you try desperately not to gag.

Then they do it all over again for your upper teeth. Finally, (and this was new) they squirt some kind of silicon or something on your teeth (a LOT of silicon or something) and ask you to bite down and hold it for, well, forever.

They finally remove it and then try to floss and take all the little stuck-on blue bits off and out of your teeth with gauze pads. I told Lori, the girl who was working on me, that she had just ruined a perfectly great teeth cleaning. She apologized, but said it had to be done.

It takes like two weeks for the results from the lab, and the only opening they had was on Joe’s wedding day, so my next appointment is on October 30th (Amy’s birthday). I needed a few things for the weekend and was dreading driving across town to my Kroger’s, when I passed one on Ford Road. A quick u-turn and I was there.

Again, I was faced with the annoying problem of NOT being able to find any “quick-cook” barley. Almost every recipe I recently have found for soup (and it’s definitely a soup weekend) calls for “quick-cook” barley. But, no matter where I go, all I can find is regular pearl barley, which you have to cook 45 minutes BEFORE you can add it to soups. So, I passed on buying more (I have two bags in the cupboard, already – one unopened). I got the rest of my stuff and checked out, then headed home.

I treated the cats, unpacked the groceries and changed clothes. I started what I hope will be the last load of laundry: the bathroom towels and my bath robe.

One of the main items on my weekend ToDo list is to get both new planters into a safe place for the winter. So, I got Jake’s short ladder and rearranged the garage shelves a bit (the ones in the northeast side of the garage). That way, I can put the two planters and the porch rail bird houses in storage on the top one.

I had hoped to put them side by side, but the shelf isn’t wide enough, so one has to sit on the other. They seem safe enough, though (see photo). Please note: I did NOT rearrange all the shelves (that would have taken all weekend, lol!)

I also was torn about the two hanging birdhouses. One the one hand, I did attach them with fishing lure snaps so I could get them off and take them down. On the other, they are really under the porch where rain, sun, snow or anything else can not get to them and I have no where inside to put them. So, maybe they just winter out there. Hmmm... I’ll have to think about that some more.

Back inside, I washed up, put the laundry in the dryer, made up the bed, all while I was simmering a cup of barley in two and a half cups of water and a little salt. When it was done, I dumped it in a sieve and let it drain and cool (I plan on making the soup on Sunday).

It was after 4:00 PM and had already been a long day, so I decided to take a nap. So, I did.

When I woke up, I was hungry, so I warmed up three more pieces of the Sunrise Squares and ate them watching a DIY show. When I was done and it was over, I went back to the shelf lining project. Now I was working on the cupboard over the dishwasher (that one has four shelves). I used my trusty step and started at the top one.

But, first, I put the barley in a container and into the fridge. I washed out the pan I used so I can make soup in it tomorrow and let it air dry. Finally, I refilled the humidifier (it was empty and my nose was stuffy when I woke up from my nap). Then I moved the cutting board and cleaned off the counter directly under the cupboard, so I can set the things on it.

I did it the same way I did the other shelves: Took everything down in order and put it on the counter; brushed off the shelf (with my workbench brush – if you ever want a brush that gets everything, go buy a workbench brush) into the bathroom trash basket (it’s small and easy to hold one-handed), washed each shelf with antibacterial spray and paper towels, and then measured, cut down and installed the new liner. Then I put everything back up in order again (again, see photos). Because they were on a roll, they are a little curled up, but they do lay flat after a day or two, I’ve learned.

As with the rearranging the garage shelves, the only “hard” part was going up and down the step (or in the garage shelf project, the ladder). That was killer on my knees.

But, I was very pleased with the results. I still need to do the cupboard over the fridge and the one over the stove (although I am unsure if the heat from the microwave hood vent will maybe melt the liner – I’m still thinking about that one).

But, I am out of shelf liner now (except for a bunch of too-short scraps). I am thinking I will use them into the silverware drawer, which I also lined each little compartment with the weave stuff.

But, it was already 10:30 PM, my legs hurt and I decided enough was enough for today. I put everything away (tape measure, scissors, framing square, etc.), threw away the trash and washed out the bathroom trash basket.

I went in the bedroom and took off my clothes and watched a little more TV (with a snack of pretzels and Williams cheese spread) until going to sleep.