Barley Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup regular barley beans
• 1 small fennel bulb, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 8 large cabbage leaves
• 2 8-ounce cans low-sodium tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

-Rinse wild rice with cold water; drain.
-In a medium saucepan combine the 1 3/4 cups water and the broth.
-Bring to boiling.
-Stir in rice and barley beans.
-Return to boiling; reduce heat.
-Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
-Stir in fennel, carrot, and thyme.
-Simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes more or until rice and barley are tender; drain.
-Meanwhile, fill a large casserole dish with water.
-Bring to boiling.
-Cut out center veins from cabbage leaves, keeping each leaf in one piece.
-Immerse leaves, 4 at a time, into the boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes or until leaves are limp.
-Drain well.
-Place about 1/2 cup of the rice mixture on each cabbage leaf; fold in sides.
-Starting from an unfolded edge, carefully roll up each leaf.
-For sauce, in a medium bowl stir together the tomato sauce and brown sugar.
-Spoon about 3/4 cup of the sauce into a 2-quart square baking dish.
-Place cabbage rolls in dish.
-Spoon remaining sauce over cabbage rolls.

This recipe comes from my mother’s side (Europe), it is a classic Ukrainian dish, which is often made for the Ukrainian holidays, whether it would be Christmas or Easter. This dish is rather time consuming and long to prepare. It requires a lot of work throughout the cooking process and if the cabbage leaves are overcooked or aren’t drained properly the recipe will not turn out well. Following the directions carefully is very important and minding the time requirements are also crucial as overcooking any food item might ruin the dish. The smell the cabbage produces is one negative aspect in this dish. The house smells for quite some time! I shared this dish for dinner with my family. I felt nervous preparing this dish because I’m not great at making meals. I’m also a person who needs to the follow the recipe step by step or else the meal will be a total disaster. As I got closer and closer to the end result I was happy that I didn’t ruin or mess up any of the steps. Once the dish was complete I was very relieved to have successfully completed this recipe. I felt good sharing the dish. When you make a meal, you are more willing to appreciate what you are eating because of all the hard work and time that you had put into it. Cabbage is an excellent source of minerals, vitamins, especially vitamin C, as well as fibre. Cabbage is also relatively inexpensive, very easy to grow and is grown in almost all countries. Although cabbage is a great green vegetable for our bodies, it isn’t so good for the environment. Insecticides are used in order to for the cabbages to grow without any problems. The toxins in these insecticides are not good to the environment, as they will and continue to pollute the air. The ingredients are easily found at any grocery store or market.