Not that beef and/or barley wouldn't work in this soup, especially for gatherers who are not gluten sensitive. I'm still tired of beef, and of course, don't eat barley. Job's Tears (aka Hato Mugi) make a great gluten free alternative. When cooked thoroughly (after a good overnight soak), they taste like a combination between barley and hominey.

I had already cooked the Job's Tears, so you'd have to do things differently and start earlier if you were cooking them in the soup. (that would probably be beneficial as the broth from job's tears is known for health benefits on it's own right, just pick them over, rinse and soak well before cooking, and it takes at least 30 minutes to cook)

Olive oil (2-4 Tablespoons)
1 onion, chopped
4-8 stalks celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 pound ground bison or beef
14 ounces or so of beef broth
2 cups cooked hato mugi.
2 tsp. red wine vinegar or ume plum vinegar or lemon juice,
salt to taste
Fresh cilantro and taco seasoning, optional, if you want more of a taco soup (Gluten Free Pantry makes a good taco seasoning without wheat or corn)

Saute the onion and celery in olive oil until soft and translucent, add garlic and carrots, once the garlic begins to cook, add the ground beef or bison. Cook through, then add broth and cooked grain. Simmer until carrots are tender. Season with vinegar and salt.

I haven't had beef n'barley soup for a decade, and found it very satisfying. My husband and kids liked it pretty well too!

Pneumonia isn't something you get over in a day, or a week, but I am feeling almost normal again. My lungs sound clear to my doctor, and I haven't come down with anything new for two weeks. I think something I'm doing is helping.

My doctor did allergy scratch tests on me, and didn't turn up anything major that has to be treated, but I do have the option of starting homeopathic allergy drops. I think I may, just to lighten the allergy load on my immune system. I am slightly allergic to western trees (juniper, olive, ponderosa pine), cats and dogs. My food allergies were interesting when compared to the results from a different clinic a few years ago. Back then I was mildly allergic to wheat and soy, but nothing showed up for anything else. This time a corn allergy showed up fairly moderately, wheat showed up about the same, soy not at all, and peanuts showed up mildly. They didn't test for horses, pistachios or rosemary, my other known allergies.

I'm thinking the corn fraction, or serum, or whatever they use to do the test, actually included the parts of corn I react to, whereas last time it didn't. In any case, corn is not an allergy I want to develop any further...corn is hidden in so many things that I really don't want to deal with a serious corn allergy. It is best to avoid it very strictly, rather than risk it worsening to the point that a drop of natural flavoring could require an epi-pen. Same goes for peanuts, though they were a very mild reaction. It was interesting to see changes, but food allergies can and do easily change.

He ran some tests to screen for vitamin deficiencies and general health. I think just avoiding milk, intolerances, allergens, avoids and toxins, is doing me very well now. The supplements and vitamins I'm taking are also being quite helpful. I need better sleep and less stress, and I think things will continue looking up around here. I made it to taekwondo again, thanks to some help from my husband, today, and that felt good. It's a great way to manage stress, socialize, and express myself.

My main issue is eating enough. I only want healthy foods, but I don't eat enough of them lately. My appetite just isn't what it used to me. I probably need to make myself a chart and check off my fruits, veggies, proteins, good fats, etc. throughout the day. I made a nice veggie/turkey chili tonight, and that was good.

I agree that something has to be done to boost confidence in the economy and stop more bank failures. I don't agree that it will take 700 billion dollars to do it. Instead, Dave Ramsey's plan sounds like a winner.

Basically:
1. Insure the sub-prime loans, only 7% of which are in foreclosure, rather than just buying them all.
2. Make it easier to sell or pay off a home, by eliminating prepayement penalties and taxes on their sale.
3. Eliminate Cap Gains tax altogether. This doesn't just benefit the rich, it stimulates the economy, which is good for everyone, and will benefit the stock market (and everyone who has retirement and other funds tied up in it).

At a pricetag of $50 million, it's a whole lot better than the tax hikes that will be required to fund the 700 Billion bailout. How can the government keep social security secure when it's throwing gobs of money at problems that don't require so much, or problems that weren't real problems at all?

Check out daveramsey.com (I didn't want to cut and paste the whole plan), and if you agree, send his plan to your senators and representatives today!

There are so many in the press that are fear-mongering, and the politicians are all blaming each other, rather than accepting any responsibility and looking for real solutions. Both sides have made significant mistakes that led up to this.

That's all got to change. Start voicing your opinions, accept that it is serious but solvable, and start voting some of these clowns out of office.

I've been meaning to get into the eye doctor for a couple months because my glasses weren't working quite right. I felt like they were too strong, but couldn't tell for sure.

Today I finally made it in, and my prescription has changed, and I am slightly less near sighted. My stigmatism changed too, not better or worse, just different.

My eyesight had been steadily, slowly getting worse, so it's nice to see some change in the other direction. Now I just need to pick out and order my new glasses.

As far as my pneumonia recovery goes, I did overdo it a bit over the weekend. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have done the belt testing, I didn't get to nap afterward, and I probably should have gotten a substitute for my primary class. I did get a nap on Sunday, however, that was very helpful. After that nap and sleeping in a bit today, I'm feeling better again, but by body did remind me to continue taking it easy. I took my last antibiotic today, and am now doing just the natural remedies. Hot lemonade is one of my favorites, as well as the immunity pack from NAP, astragalus, and just recently Olive Leaf extract (which I recommend getting a doctor's advice on before taking, and starting with a very small dose). Hopefully, with these tools, my immune system will take care of anything the antibiotics left behind. I'm also taking my multivitamins (Exakta) more religiously. I started getting sick the second I weaned my youngest, a few months ago, and I suspect it could be because I started forgetting to take my multi.

I'm considering trying acupuncture, as my immune system seems out of balance. I've had a pretty high bit of stress the last few months, as I've been trying to change so many things about myself and how I do things. It's a stressful time for many people right now, and some extended family are getting particularly hard hit by the economy and health challenges combined. I can't complain too much about my personal challenges, but haven't been letting myself rest like I used to. That can hit the immune system pretty hard, and I think acupuncture would be helpful in bringing things back into balance. If anybody has recommendations for acupuncturists in Utah, please comment!

In a miraculous turn of events, well actually with a lot of persistence and indomitable spirit, I actually did make it to Taekwondo belt testing yesterday morning.

It was a lot of fun! I didn't make it to see my son do his first testing, so it was really worthwhile to see him this time. The little ones went first, so I got to take pictures of him, and he got to get kind of bored while the white and yellow belts did our routines. It got him a little more excited to advance to the next class, to see what they do. I didn't get any pictures of myself, but maybe next time it will work out to get some. (My husband had strep throat, so he and my youngest son slept in all morning).

I barely squeaked through all the preparation work with one review class on Friday night (after missing two weeks of classes). Even so, I felt prepared and confident. I enjoy performing, even though I'm more timid in most situations. I even like tests, it takes the boredom out of a routine.

It was not as strenuous a workout as the regular class, so I don't think I overdid it. A little more sleep would have been nice, but I'm about to catch some of that soon.