Warming Stew

I'm back in the Northeast and I'm cold. So, I made a wild mushroom and barley stew for dinner. In addition to the barley I added wild and red rice, dried porcini mushrooms, carrots, onion and spices and a can of cannellini beans.

The cannellini beans are low fat and filled with fiber. They have twice as much iron as beef! Studies show that they can reduce cholesterol and provide a boost of energy. They are known as an Italian white bean and I often substitute cannellini beans for most white beans.