Either way...thank you for reading.
Tomorrow I head up to Seattle for a couple of days with my cousin Jessica. We are going to see our friend, Dallas Brooks at the opening of an art show she is in. I am so proud of Dallas and can't wait to see her and her amazing pieces on display. It will make for a really lovely start to what has turned into a bit of a birthday weekend for me. Saturday and Sunday will be spent with friends doing two things I love...eating and bowling under black light (you didn't know that?! yeah...bowling AND black light.)
It also looks like I finally got assigned a new cooking class. My last one got cancelled so I have been itching to get back in the kitchen classroom. I will keep you posted, but rumor has it...I will be teaching kids. (holy moly!) I am a bit nervous but know it will be really fun if I get the assignment, so fingers crossed. It will start in March.
I am leaving you with a salad recipe that is inspired by a salad that I get EVERYTIME I am at New Seasons. (Yes...by now you have figured out that I shop there a lot.) It is a wheat berry salad with a citrus vinaigrette, almonds, spinach and ricotta salata cheese. It is so yummy.
Wheat berries are the grain that they actually grind to make flour. For those of you with food storage you will recognize these lovely little grains. For the salad (and a lot of other great recipes) you boil them in water and salt for about an hour, drain them and they become chewy and soft. You can buy it from the bulk bins in many stores or the brand Bob's Red Mill also sells them in the same section you get flour. They are very affordable with a bag of Bob's Red Mill running about $2.50.
I did some hunting on the Internet and discovered that New Season's is basically using the exact same recipe as Heidi Swanson's recipe in her cookbook Super Natural Cooking. The only difference is the nut (she uses pine nuts) and the cheese (she uses feta).
I think either nut or cheese would be great, although if you can get your hands on some ricotta salata, do. It is pretty fantastic. Ricotta salata is a pressed, salted and drier version of the creamy ricotta you are probably used to. It's one of my favorite cheeses (okay they all are) and is kind of reminiscent of Mizithra. (Oh and sorry for the terrible picture...only had the camera phone this time.)
Wheat Berry Salad with Spinach and Ricotta Salta
adapted from New Season's and Heidi Swanson
2 cups of soft wheat berries
6 cups of water
2 tsp of salt
One bunch of baby spinach rinsed, stemmed
1 cup of toasted almonds
1/2 cup of crumbled Ricotta Salata
Citrus Dressing
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
1 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 TB of minced shallot
1/2 cup of olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Combine the wheat berries, water and 2 tsp of salt in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered...until plump and chewy, about an hour or so. The berries will be al dente, (aka not mushy), so you have to taste them for doneness. Drain them and season them with more salt if needed.
To make the dressing, combine the zest, citrus juices, shallots, salt and pepper and whisk in the olive oil until combined.
Toss the hot wheat berries with the dressing, then add the spinach, almonds and cheese. You can serve the salad right away, eat it at room temperature or chilled.
