Serves 6

Feel free to substitute any type of bean and vegetable purée to better suit your taste.

1 teaspoon olive oil

¼ bunch celery

1 yellow onion

½ head romaine lettuce

1 cup puréed carrots

1 cup Basic Vegetable Stock (see recipe on page 106)

1 cup cooked kidney beans

½ cup cooked barley

3 sprigs thyme, leaves only

½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves

½ teaspoon chili powder

Fresh-cracked black pepper, to taste

• Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a casserole or loaf pan with the oil.

• Slice the celery and onion. Shred the romaine lettuce.

• Blend together the carrot purée and stock.

• In the prepared dish, layer the beans, celery, onions, barley, herbs, spices, and the carrot-stock mixture; cover and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Serve topped with shredded romaine.

Using Thyme

When using thyme for flavoring, remove the whole cleaned sprigs after cooking. If you wish to leave the thyme in, strip the stem of its leaves and add only the leaves to your dish. Or, you could even use thyme as a garnish.