Barley Mushroom Risoto "the Feast Hall" Everything Seasoning

It is not uncommon knowledge that I cook lunch for my husbands office every Wednesday. What would be less commonly known is that one of the people in his office is diabetic. I have been wanting to explore the glycemic index for a while and this gave me the perfect opportunity. I found a few great tidbits of knowledge, as they pertain to grains and diabetes: Whole Wheat is always better than White, and enriched is better than plain When looking at whole wheat pasta you want the Durum Wheat not Semolina Long grain rice, like Basmati and Doongara, especially if it is the brown varieties are in the mid 50's on the glycemic index Rye, Pearled Barley and Quinoa are low on the glycemic index This last one is the most important for the sake of this dish, because it was before I discovered that not all rice was taboo. I served this dish to a few diverse audiences and it was declared a winner by all. CATEGORY: Starches Recipe Name: Barley Mushroom Risotto (low glycemic index) Ingredients: 16 oz pearl barley 1/2 lb bacon 4 lb mushrooms, sliced 1 qt water 3 qt chicken stock 4 T Everything Seasoninghttp://www.thefeasthall.com/our-spice-rubs.html 4 T butter 8 oz parmesean, grated 1 red onion, diced Steps: Keep pan over medium heat for the entire process!!! * chop bacon up then cook until rendered and crispy * add pearl barley and cook, stirring regularly, until it starts to brown * pour in 1 qt water and stir regularly * in a separate pan slowly cook mushrooms with butter, onion, and Everything Seasoning * when the pearl barley is almost dry (think of a cooked oatmeal consistency) stir in 2 c chicken stock and stir occasionally, repeat this step until risotto has soaked up all the chicken stock * by the time all the chicken stock is absorbed the mushroom mixture should be cooked down and somewhat dry * mix the mushroom mixture, and parmesean into risotto * serve NOTES: This dish reheats great in the oven. I have yet to do a smaller batch, but I would make this size batch and freeze portions of it for later use.