Barley

Chili is evocative food. The scent of a simmering batch transports me back to my youth in southern Ontario, when thermoses of my mother's steaming-hot stew came along on family ski trips to protect us against the Canadian cold.It wasn't until much later that I realized chili could be as flexible as it is fortifying. While the dish is always anchored by red chili, beyond that almost anything goes.Mom's chili, for example, was delicious but limited: ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes and chili powder.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Shopping ListWhat you'll need for this week's menus (consult recipes for exact amounts)

Films we loveSINCE everyone else is compiling a favorite-films list -- spurred by the American Film Institute's survey to determine the top English-language films of all time -- members of the editorial department were polled, too.It turns out the view from the Ivory Tower isn't all that different from the way AFI members look at the cinema. For the record, the top Sun editorial department film favorites were:1. "Casablanca"2. "Citizen Kane"3. "The Godfather" (Part I)4. "High Noon"5. "Gone with the Wind"6.

There's something magical about the Mediterranean.A mystique seems to pervade the golden sunshine, the salty sea air and, especially, the food. The way the Mediterranean diet fuses flavor and health seems almost too good to be true. Throughout the 16 countries that border the Mediterranean, death rates from heart disease are half to one-third that of northern Europe or the U.S. And according to a recent study in Lyon, France, there was a 76 percent reduction in heart attacks and related complications in heart patients who followed a Mediterranean diet compared with those who ate the American Heart Association diet.

Ever wonder how furniture designers get their ideas? Often they are inspired by furniture from past centuries.One popular furniture technique is a type of wood turning that first appeared in England and France in the 1600s. Furniture with spiral-turned legs or trim was known as "barley twist" or "barley sugar," probably because it resembled sticks of barley sugar used at the time.The twist was difficult to make of oak because that wood is brittle. It often was made of walnut or beech.At first it was cut by hand, then after 1660 with the help of a lathe.

Build your healthy eating plan on a base of grain foods that reaches beyond bagels, pretzels, pasta and popcorn. Variety is the No. 1 ingredient in your recipe for good health, according to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.So stretch a little. Experiment. Try something new. Or something old, like barley, which has been around since 7000 B.C. In fact, remains have been found of Stone Age cakes made of barely and wheat, according to Harold McGee, writing in "On Food and Cooking."Barley is a grain whose kernel is captured in a tough hull.

About 50 years ago, Marion Harless put up six heifers and a few horses as collateral to buy 62 acres in western Howard County. Today, that investment has grown into a 1,300-acre fortune of crops and livestock -- worth more than $500,000.Having accomplished that, he could now retire. But at 77, Harless -- one of the oldest, if not the oldest, working farmers in Howard County -- has no plans to give up his 200 head of cattle, 100 pigs or 200-plus acres of corn, wheat and barley.Many of his neighboring farmers and hired hands have passed away.

Walt Whitman would be surprised to know it came to this: Nancy Miller used his poems to name streets in Columbia's River Hill village.Alone in a library, with a stack of poetry books and a note pad, the Rouse Co. development representative pulled the names from the works of Whitman and other American greats.Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Sandburg and Nathaniel Hawthorne all have had a hand in creating the bookish blocks of Columbia.You think the Rouse Co. just invented names such as Liquid Laughter Lane, Apple Blossom Ride and Barley Corn Row?

On a 75-acre farm near Union Bridge, Clear Ridge Nursery is growing 60,000 plants, all "bay-friendly" and ready for use in conservation and forest restoration projects.The owners of the wholesale business have a lifelong respect for the state's forested lands, and for the benefits that residents and wildlife derive from native trees."Forests are a community of plants, woody trees and shrubs," said Joe Barley, who began the nursery last year with his wife, Sharon. "We are growing the more dominant components in the community."

What could be more comforting in the middle of winter than a nice bowl of steaming soup? New York cookbook author Teresa Kennedy thinks nothing could be better -- or simpler -- than a meal of soup. Just add a glass of wine, a simple salad, and a nice crusty bread.Here's a recipe from her new book "Simple Soups" (Crown Trade Paperbacks, $12).Cabbage-Barley SoupServes 66 cups beef broth, homemade or canned2 cups shredded cabbage1 large onion, coarsely chopped1 garlic clove, peeled and pressed1/2 cup barley1/2 cup ketchupCombine all of the ingredients in a large saucepan.

Conspicuous consumption may be down because of the economy, but at the Viva Italia car show in Harbor East Sunday it was far from out. On display were quarter-of-a-million-dollar Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Maseratis and other Italian marquee cars painted in bright yellow and bright red, and in the case of a 1936 Fiat Topolino, flames. The show was the fifth annual event in support of the Children's Guild, a nonprofit group that aids kids with emotional, behavioral and mental challenges. Eighty-two car owners and motorcyclists came from Maryland, Virginia, Washington, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to lend support, said Jeanette Scott, the event registrar and a committee member.

On August 25, 2009, JASON L. BARLEY; beloved son of Jack K. and Joy A. Barley (nee Radakovic); loving brother of Jodie A. Barley; dear grandson of Emelia Radakovic and the late Marko Radakovic and Lewis and Juanita Barley; uncle of Zachary Barley and Cole Rzepnicki; dear soulmate of Tracy Kodesky; dear friend of Anthony Rzepnicki. Also survived by aunts and uncles. Funeral service will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue, on Friday at 10 AM. Interment Christ Lutheran Cemetery.

Olives and pine nuts give this 20-minute veal stew a rich, Mediterranean flavor. It's based on delicious meals I enjoyed on trips to Italy. Pine nuts are also called pignoli. They may be stocked with the spices, the other nuts or in the gourmet section of your market. Store leftover nuts in the freezer. Mediterranean Veal With Orange Barley -- Makes 2 servings olive-oil spray 1/2 pound veal stewing meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch cubes 1 cup diced yellow onion 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 cup low-salt, no-sugar-added canned, crushed tomatoes 3 to 4 cups broccoli florets ( 1/2 pound)

The Wind that Shakes the Barley shoots straight into your system like a fever in the blood. This tale of two Irish brothers who battle the British together in 1920, then fight each other in a civil war, doesn't pause for exposition or local color or to let its characters catch their breath. The dialogue comes at you in staccato bursts, the way the bullets do. Even the brothers' relationship has a brass-tacks reality that cuts deeper than any therapeutic psychodrama or archetypal Cain-and-Abel story.

Given the circumstances and the choices, I think I would rather be remembered for planting fields of barley than building an obnoxious mega-development near a wildlife refuge on the Chesapeake Bay - not only because it's an environmentally touchy-feely thing to do, but because there's a pretty good future in barley. Of course, that's me. I'm not Duane Zentgraf. Duane is the prime developer of the 2,700-home Blackwater Resort south of Cambridge on the Eastern Shore. His vision consists of hundreds of houses, roads, driveways, a retail center, a hotel, a conference center and a golf course where there are now farms and wetlands, in the Blackwater watershed.

On February 2, 2006, MARY BARLEY-SLEZAK (nee Bena); beloved wife of the late Ferdinand Barley and Frank Slazak; devoted mother of Raymond Barley and the late Romain, Donald, Charles and Howard Barley. Also survived by four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A Catholic Burial Service will be held at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue on Monday at 11 A.M. Interment Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. Friends may call on Sunday 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M.

On November 19, 2005 BETTY J. JORDING; beloved wife of Robert F. Jording, Sr.; loving mother of Beverly Barley, Robert F. Jording, Jr., Selena Layden, Karen Jording and John Barley; loving grandmother of 18 grandchildren and four great grandchildren; devoted sister of Raymond Branham and Johnny Branham. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the SCHIMUNEK FUNERAL HOME, INC., 9705 Belair Road (Perry Hall), on Monday from 6 to 9 P.M. and Tuesday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M., where funeral services will be held on Wednesday 11 A.M. Interment will follow at Oak Lawn Cemetery.

I have come across several recipes that call for quick-cooking barley but have been unable to find any in local stores. Any ideas where quick-cooking barley is sold or who the manufacturer is? Mother's sells a quick-cooking barley that tends to be found in health-food stores and in the health-food sections of supermarkets. You can order directly from Mother's at mothersnatural.com (call 630-595-8919). Frankly, I had never heard of quick-cooking barley, so this question gave me an opportunity to learn something.

Crop insurance programs signup deadline is Sept. 30 The Carroll County Farm Service Agency in Westminster reminds producers that Sept. 30 is the deadline for signing up for two programs. They are: Crop insurance for wheat barley and oats. Current small grains policyholders must make any changes to their coverage. Price elections, per bushel, for the 2006 crops are wheat, $2.80; barley, $1.85; and oats, $1.33. Crop insurance on forage production. Changes to the current policy must be made to existing contracts.

On July 1, 2005, ROLAND G. FIFER, formerly of Baltimore, son of the late Roland Fifer and Nancy E. (nee Myers) Sheets. Also survived by 3 sisters, Debra L. Dickson, Cheryl A. Fifer-Hann and Sandra L. Bishop. Funeral services will be held 7:00 P.M. Tuesday July 5 at J.J. Hartenstein Mortuary Inc., 24 Second St, New Freedom, PA. Friends may call at the Mortuary on July 5 from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to Margaret E. Moul Home, 2050 Barley Road, York, PA 17404.