Winter Barley Recipe

I made a nice barley side dish the other night, mostly because I had a third of a big can of whole Italian tomatoes with basil left over from a pot roast. This can easily be made parve by using parve "beef" or mushroom boullion.

3/4 cup of quick cook or medium barley (depending on how much time you have - I use the slow stuff)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
(one onion, finely chopped, if desired)
3/4 c beef stock or soup or boullion
3/4 c. canned tomatoes - any type you like
parsely
salt
pepper
lemon, if desired
garlic, if desired
Olive oil or butter

Sautée carrots, celery, (onion, garlic) briefly in small amount of oil, if you are using the slow cook barley. Cook until soft if you are using the 10 minute barley. Add parsley and barley and lemon and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, stock and spices and reduce heat for 45 minutes (for the slow kind) or 10 - 12 minutes for the quick barley.