Back On Track Wheat Berry and Chickpea Salad

While I usually love highly flavoured dishes, I quite enjoyed the mild flavours of this wheat berry salad. And also, why do I not eat wheat berries more often?? They might be my favourite grain. I love the chewiness. Anyway, I know summer is disappearing (or has disappeared? we've had so much rain here recently) but I would happily enjoy this salad all year long. Chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper, parsley and green onions, nice and simple, and tasty.

I bought a 2 week unlimited yoga pass and am heading to my 4th class in 5 days! I'm really enjoying it so far and am trying out different types of classes. I like both the more "exercise" type classes like hot yoga, and the relaxing classes like hatha. The teacher yesterday was describing deep breaths as yawning in and sighing out, and it makes more sense to me now.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Greek Barley Salad
Orzo Salad with Chickpeas, Dill & Lemon
Tabbouleh
French Barley Salad

Back On Track Wheat Berry and Chickpea Salad
Adapted from Oh She Glows who adapted from Alive Magazine.

Yield ~8 cups

Salad
1 cup dry wheat berries
2 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 English cucumber, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh parsley, diced with large stems removed
4 green onions, diced
Salt & pepper, to taste

Dressing
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, soak the wheat berries overnight in cold water. The next day, drain the wheat berries and place in a medium sized pot, covered in 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. Drain and cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the diced vegetables (cucumber, red pepper, tomato, minced garlic, parsley, green onions). Add in cooked and drained chickpeas and stir.

In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, fresh lemon juice). Set aside.

When the wheat berries are ready, drain and rinse and then stir into the salad. Add the dressing just before serving and stir well. Now season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with additional parsley if desired.

Perfection Pound Cake with Lemon Curd

For my brother's birthday (way back in May, wow I'm behind) he requested pound cake with lemon curd and whipped creme fraiche. I've made this Cream Cheese Pound Cake before and while I loved it, I wanted to try a regular pound cake. When we were in Mykonos, they offered pound cake at breakfast every morning and I always had a slice. It's not something I usually think to make (or eat) but I really love it. So soft but dense, and not overflavoured. Just delicious.

Anyway, so this pound cake was good though I would recommend making it the day before you intend to serve it as the edges were crisp on day 1 (which I love actually). Leaving it overnight would allow everything to soften. The lemon curd I made to go with it was really good too. As for the whipped creme fraiche, I didn't really know what I was doing. I tried to whip it like whipped cream and added a touch of sugar. It didn't hold very well though - maybe it needs to be mixed with a bit of whipped cream? Anyway overall the combination was nice, though the pictures are a bit of a mess as they were kind of an afterthought taken at my mom's house. I think it was my sister in law who had a brilliant idea for how to serve it. A slice of cake on it's side, with whipped creme fraiche in an oval shape, and a circular dollop/ball of lemon curd in the middle, so it looks like an egg.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Strawberry Sauce
Tres Leches Cake
Plum Sour Cream Kuchen
Sweetened Condensed Milk Cake

Perfection Pound Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 cups all-purpose flour or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan or an 8"x4" loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy for 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you’re working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. If you’re using a 9×5 pan, you’ll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes. The cake is done when a thin knife inserted deep in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes.

Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and transfer the cake to a wire rack. Cool to room temperature.

Lemon Curd
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Makes 2 cups

8 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over low-medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, and registers 160F on an instant read thermometer. (My stove seems to run a bit hot, so you might need to increase the temperature to medium.)

Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl and cover tightly (ex. with a fitted lid or plastic wrap). Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Sushi Roll Edamame Salad with Green Onion-Miso Vinaigrette

I've been eating a ton of salads this summer (which is almost over - yaey autumn!), and have been loving working my way through the salad chapter of Appetite for Reduction. Sushi is something I don't often get tired of, and I loved this salad version of it with lots of extra vegetables (carrots, edamame, lettuce, cucumber) and avocado. The only thing I can think to improve this salad would be to try adding vinegar to the rice (as is done with sushi rice). The green onion-miso vinaigrette was the perfect accompaniment - full of flavour and with no added oil too! And if you ever have an overabundance of green onions (as I did from my CSA - seriously who can eat that many green onions??) I highly recommend trying out this dressing.

On a random note, I'm trying out hot yoga today for the first time! I'm excited but also nervous. And drinking lots of water to prepare!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Japanese Salad with Ginger Magic Dressing
Last Minute Sesame Noodles
Soba Noodles with Zucchini Ribbons
Broccoli Slaw

Sushi Roll Edamame Salad
Adapted from Appetite for Reduction

Serves 4

There's only 2 of us we had this salad 2 nights in a row. I just kept the vegetables in one container, rice in another, and dressing in another, then mixed right before eating.

3/4 cup dry brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 cup shelled frozen edamame, thawed
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar
8 cups chopped/torn romaine lettuce
1 small cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 medium size carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup thinly sliced green onion
4 tsp sesame seeds
2 sheets nori, chiffonaded
1 avocado, chopped
1 recipe Green Onion-Miso Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Cook the brown rice in a rice cooker or on the stove top. Allow it to cool.

Mix together the edamame, rice vinegar, and agave. Set out 4 bowls as the ingredients will be evenly divided among them. Place the lettuce in a bowl, topped with the rice, cucumber, carrot, green onion, sesame seeds, nori and avocado. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss.

Green Onion-Miso Vinaigrette

1/4 cup red miso
1 cup roughly chopped green onions
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp minced ginger
1 clove garlic
2 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup water

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Chill until ready to use.

Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets

I was so skeptical of this lentil dish. While lentils are my favourite legume, this dish seemed too simple to be good. Just some veggies, raisins, garlic, curry powder. But it's actually really good. Really really good. In a kitchen where I don't often repeat recipes, this one has already been made several times. It's easy to make, healthy, and super tasty (this appears to be the holy trinity for me). The addition of raisins might be my favourite part. I like eating it with some brown rice, but any other grain would be good too.

Abby time!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pumpkin Lentil Curry
Curried Sweet Potato, Carrot & Red Lentil Soup with Ginger
Sunflower-Lentil Pie
Spiced Squash, Lentil and Goat Cheese Salad

Spice Market Sweet Potato and Lentil Packets
Adapted from Vegetarian Times May/June 2010

Serves 4

3/4 cup dry green or brown lentils
2 cups finely diced sweet potato (about 1/2 lb)
1 large red bell pepper, diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp curry powder
Salt & pepper
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

1. Cook the lentils in at least 2 cups of water for about 25-30 minutes, until soft but still firm.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Place 4 16-inch lengths of foil on work surface. Fold foil in half from short side. Unfold. Shape corners and edges of one half into semicircular "bowl" with 1/2-inch sides.

3. Combine sweet potato, bell pepper, peas, raisins, oil, ginger, garlic and curry powder in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Divide sweet potato mixture among packets; top with 1/3 cup lentils. Pour 1/4 cup broth over lentils. Fold other half of foil over ingredients, and crimp edges in overlapping folds until packets are sealed. Transfer packets to baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes.

5 Minute Chocolate Peanut Butter Chews

I have a giant bag of brown rice crisp cereal so I'm always looking for things I can make with it. These no bake chocolate peanut butter chews are really easy to make and a great chocolatey snack to have in the freezer when you want something sweet. Just don't bring out the whole container of them when you're watching TV otherwise you might eat 4 before you know it like I did!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Coconut Raspberry Walnut Bars
Sunny Jungle Bars
Cocoa Nibbles
Granola Bars

5 Minute Chocolate Peanut Butter Chews
Adapted from Oh She Glows

Makes 6-7

1/4 cup smooth all-natural peanut butter
3 tbsp organic brown rice syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp chocolate chips
1 cup brown rice crisp cereal

In a medium sized bowl, stir together all ingredients except rice crisps. Microwave on high for 35-45 seconds. Stir well and immediately stir in the rice crisp cereal, until all rice crisps are coated.

Wet hands thoroughly and shape the mixture into golf ball sized balls. With wet hands, press mixture together firmly into balls so it will hold. Place the balls onto a plate or tray and freeze for 5 minutes. You can keep these chews in the freezer or fridge.