Fail Not, Risotto

I almost had my first cooking FAIL, but alas the recipe survived.

Tonight I made another Weight Watchers recipe, Barley-Asparagus "Risotto" with Balsamic Vinegar. The FAIL almost came because the recipe calls for quick-cooking pearl variety barley, but I seemed to have bought regular pearl variety barley, photo at right. Didn't notice the difference until I had the pot simmering, went to take it off and it was still full of broth and uncooked barley, sigh. It all worked out though, I just let the pot simmer for another hour (yikes!). The only part that was negatively affected were the onions that cooked for way toooooo long. In any event, below are the ingredients and directions and any changes I made.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup uncooked barley, use quick-cooking pearl variety
3 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth (I obviously used veg broth)
1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup chives, fresh, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese [I didn't add cheese]
* I did, however, add about 1/2 cup chopped red pepper

Directions:
Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in barley an cook, stirring, about 1 minutes more.

Add broth, cover, and simmer over low heat for 8 minutes. Stir in asparagus and simmer 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir in chives and vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Yields about 1 cup per serving, makes about 6 servings. 3 pts/serving in WW world.

Barley & Onion, before I realized my mistake in barley type, and Asparagus, Red Pepper, & Chives

My thoughts... I didn't use any Parmesan and it probably would've helped. I also wish I would have chopped the asparagus smaller, 2 inch pieces was too big to me. The end result was good, not great. The consistency ended up being nice, but the flavor was missing something. I think had the onions not been over cooked, thus soft and flavorless, and had I used cheese it would've been much better. But I mean, I obviously still ate it. The end result, in pan and plate!