Weekly Lunch: Farro and Feta Salad with Spring Veggies

I scored big in the bulk section last weekend: 3 pounds of almonds, 2 pounds of oats, a pound of dried chickpeas and another 3 pounds of farro. I haven't had farro in months since it's harder to find than wheat berries and quinoa, but I am happy to be back in stock.

This week we have a quick and easy salad that takes advantage of quick-cooking spring vegetables, English peas and broccolini. Regular broccoli would also be delicious, as would broccoli rabe or kale rabe. I am also happy to start using fresh thyme from my new thyme plant!

From left, we have flat-leaf parsley, oregano, and thyme. I need to repot these guys! I wish I had room for a full garden, but I have a small, east-facing balcony that doesn't get a ton of light. Good for herbs (and maybe lettuce?) but not much else. I have a great book called The Bountiful Container, which I highly recommend for anyone who wants to grow edible plants in containers. The authors go over a ton of different veggies, herbs and even fruits that can be grown in pots - what varieties to look for, what kind of soil and sunshine they need, when they can be harvested, etc. I am not great with plants but I keep trying!!

Farro and Feta Salad with Spring Veggies
Makes 4 main dish servings

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups dried farro
4 hard boiled eggs
1 bunch broccolini, about 1/2 pound
1 pound English peas, shelled (about 1 1/2 cups of peas)
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2-3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
Rinse farro well, then place in a pot (with a lid) with about 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 25-30 minutes until farro is tender and fully cooked but still chewy. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool.

Bring another pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Chop broccolini in half or thirds. Add the stem ends of the broccolini to the boiling water, and after thirty seconds, add the rest of the broccolini. After 20 seconds, add the peas. Boil for another 60 seconds (no longer!) then drain and place the veggies in a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Make the dressing: Combine lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in about 1/2 ounce of crumbled feta. Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk or shake to combine. Pour half of the dressing over the farro and stir well. Save the rest of the dressing in a sealable container or jar.

Lunch assembly: In your lunch container, combine 1/4 of the farro and 1/4 of the veggies. Add one of the hard boiled eggs, sliced, and 2 tablespoons of the pepitas and a handful of crumbled feta. Drizzle with a little extra dressing right before serving.

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Weekly Lunch: Lemon-Tahini Lentil Salad

I learned something about myself this week: I do not like roasted turnips. Admitting I don't like a certain food, especially a healthy vegetable, is not something I do very often, but I just don't see any way around it.

Poor turnips, object of so many childrens' hatred, and now mine too. At least the full-grown turnips. Baby turnips, on the other hand, can be quite tasty. I've made this recipe for Orechiette with Baby Turnips and their Greens (from In Praise of Sardines) several times, and it is a wonderful combination of the earthy (yet mild!) baby turnips, the slightly bitter greens, a touch of salt from some pecorino cheese, and heat from red chili flakes.

So, if you ever see baby turnips (about 1" in diameter), I do recommend them. Full-sized turnips, however, well, I'll have to try them again sometime. But not for a while.

Before I knew my true feelings for (full-sized) turnips, my big plan for this week's salad was to roast some turnips and carrots, and mix them with some lentils that I tossed with a simple lemon-tahini dressing. I used a base of baby spinach and topped the salad with a few salted pistachio nuts and a hard boiled egg. But the turnips were so gross (sorry to offend anyone who likes turnips - maybe you could share a recipe you like?) that after Monday's lunch I knew I had to come up with something else.

The roasted turnips looked so promising...

Even the carrots were contaminated with the taste of turnips. I felt bad, but I had to throw them out. Fortunately the lentils were good, so for the next few days' lunches, I added more spinach, more pistachios, and I chopped up a few dried apricots. The extra pistachios and the sweetness from the apricots really helped balance the earthy lentils, and I definitely wasn't missing the turnips.

This version was definitely tastier.

So there we have it. A gross lunch turned into a tasty one. And please, if you like turnips, I would love to hear how you cook them!


Lemon-Tahini Lentil Salad
Makes 4 main-dish servings

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/3 cups dried lentils, picked though and rinsed (I used French green lentils, but regular brown ones will work)
4 hard-boiled eggs
4-6 ounces baby spinach, washed and dried
Several dried apricots, diced
1/2 cup salted pistachio nuts

Juice of one lemon, about 3 tablespoons
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tahini paste
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of salt, freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Simmer the lentils in lightly salted water until tender, drain any excess water and set aside to cool.

Mix all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Toss half of the dressing with the lentils and save the rest in a small container.

Assembly:
In the morning (or the night before), place a few handfuls of baby spinach in your lunch container. Add 1/4 of the lentils. Top with pistachios, diced apricots, and a sliced hard boiled egg. Drizzle with a bit of extra dressing right before serving.

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Weekly Lunch: Black Rice Salad with Watercress Pesto

This combination was a bit of a gamble. The watercress was an impulse purchase at the neighborhood farmer's market, which opened for the season last week. I didn't have enough of it to do much except make pesto, so that is what I did. I pulled off the leaves and smaller stems, discarding the thicker, woodier stems. Combined with garlic, toasted walnuts, lemon zest, salt, and olive oil, it became a fresh and lively addition to this salad.

For the roasted carrots and kale, I used the same method that I used a few weeks ago - it worked very well. No fennel this time, and I used curly green kale instead of lacinato  - I'm glad to know this cooking method works with both types equally well. Just be sure to massage the olive oil into all of the curly edges of the kale, and it will roast much more evenly.

Delicious pesto

I decided to add a lemony harissa dressing to the roasted veggies on a whim (are you sensing a theme here?). Lemon zest, lemon juice, harissa paste, and a touch of smoked paprika gave a wonderful brightness to the veggies, contrasting with the nutty and comforting beans and rice.

And a sprinkle of feta for good measure. I love it when impulse veggie purchases turn out to be a success.

Black Rice Salad with Watercress Pesto and Harissa Roasted Veggies

Makes 4 main dish servings

Ingredients:

1 cup black japonica rice (wild rice would also be delicious here)

2 cups cooked cannellini beans

1 large bunch kale (curly or lacinato)

4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped in 1” pieces

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Zest of half a lemon

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons harissa paste

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

2-3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

¼ cup watercress pesto (directions below)

Directions:

Cook the rice according to package directions. Drain any extra water and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Toss the chopped carrots with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes until almost tender. In the meantime, cut the kale leaves from the stems and slice into thin strips. Place the kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, using your hands to massage the oil into all of the curly parts. When the carrots are almost tender, pour the kale on top of the carrots and return to the oven for 3-5 minutes until the kale is wilted but not crispy. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl or jar, combine the lemon zest and juice with the harissa paste and smoked paprika. Set aside.

Lunch assembly: in the morning (or the night before), combine 1/4 of the cooked rice with 1/2 cup beans and a spoonful of pesto in your favorite lunch container. Add 1/4 of the roasted veggies and drizzle with 1/4 of the lemon-harissa dressing. Top with a sprinkle of feta.

Watercress Pesto

Makes about ¾ cup

1 bunch watercress

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted

Zest of half a lemon

¼ teaspoon salt

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Cut the leaves and smaller stems of the watercress any larger stems. In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic and walnuts, then add the watercress, lemon zest and salt and pulse/blend. Drizzle in the olive oil while processing/blending until it turns into a smooth, bright green paste.

Extra pesto is delicious on roasted potatoes, tofu, eggs, pasta, or toast.

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Weekly Lunch: Citrusy Barley and Golden Beet Salad

I think this is a record - the first four days in May have all provided actual sunshine in Portland. Actual sunshine!! It's amazing how the general mood in this city lifts when it stops raining. It's cloudy now, of course, but those four days were pretty darn nice.

This is not the first beet salad I've made, and it certainly won't be the last. This one is a little different, though, with a citrusy-shallot vinaigrette and a little kick from some pepperoncini peppers. Pepperoncinis are my new favorite thing - I've been putting them in everything from pizza to stirfry.

Citrusy Barley and Golden Beet Salad
Makes 4 main dish servings

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup hulled barley
2 golden beets
Half a head of red cabbage, thinly sliced
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled or cubed
Pepperoncini peppers, as many as desired
Sunflower seeds (optional)

Zest and juice of half an orange
Zest and juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 medium shallot, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse the barley and place in a medium pot with about 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until barley is tender but still chewy. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool.

Wash and trim the beets. but don't peel them. Drizzle each beet with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then wrap each beet in foil. Roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for about an hour or until easily pierced with a knife. Set aside until cool, then peel the beets and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Make the dressing: put all ingredients in a small jar or other sealable container and shake to combine. Pour about half of the dressing over the barley and mix well.

In the refrigerator, keep the barley, beets and cabbage in separate containers. Each night (or in the morning) put a serving of each component in a lunch container, then top with crumbled feta, pepperoncinis and sunflower seeds. Drizzle with a little extra dressing before serving.

Weekly Lunch: Spring Millet Salad

Were you a picky eater as a kid? I was pretty open-minded, but definitely had my quirks, and there were more than a few foods I just wouldn't touch. Radishes were one of them - I don't know why, they seem so mild and harmless now, but there was something I didn't like about them. As I've gotten older, I've enjoyed seeing how my taste buds change and learning to like some of those foods I avoided as a kid.

I have learned to like thinly sliced radishes in salads, and to go with them, I wanted to take advantage of more colorful spring veggies this week, including half a head of red cabbage left over from last week's lunch (one more reason to love red cabbage - it lasts for such a long time!).

To go with the veggies I cooked some millet and some yellow split peas, and toasted some pumpkin seeds for a crunchy topping. I crumbled some goat cheese, made a lemony dressing to keep at work and use throughout the week, and was all set.

Spring Millet Salad
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup millet
1 1/4 cup yellow split peas
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
Radishes, as desired, thinly sliced
Sugar snap peas, as desired, cut in half
2-3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1 small shallot, minced
Juice of one lemon
White wine vinegar
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
Cook the millet: in a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt, then stir in the millet. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until tender. Drain any excess water and set aside.

Cook the yellow split peas: bring a pot of water to a boil, then add a spoonful of salt and the peas. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until just tender, then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Toast the pepitas in a small saucepan over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and toasty smelling.

Make the dressing: juice the lemon, and add white wine vinegar to make a total of 1/4 cup. Stir in the minced shallot and yogurt, add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the olive oil.

Put it together: pour about half of the dressing over the millet and stir together. Layer the millet, split peas, and veggies, then top with the toasted pepitas and some goat cheese. Drizzle some of the remaining salad dressing just before serving.

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Weekly Lunch: Apple Crunch Salad with Smoked Cheddar

This week's salad is all about texture. Combining foods with different textures helps keep this meal fun and interesting even after eating it for a few days in a row. Here's what I used:

Crunchy: romaine lettuce, thinly sliced red cabbage, fuji apple
Chewy: wheat berries
Smooth: chickpeas and applewood-smoked cheddar

All tied together with a simple vinaigrette of white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper.

This is also the kind of salad that is very easy to store in the refrigerator all week. On Sunday I:

• Cooked the wheat berries in lightly salted water, then stored them in the refrigerator. 
• Chopped the lettuce and cabbage and stored it in a large bowl in the refrigerator. 
• Opened a can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, and stored that as well. 
• Chopped one apple at a time and used half per salad, so I did have to chop an additional apple mid-week.
• Chopped some smoked cheddar into small chunks.
• Made the dressing, which I stored in the shared refrigerator in my office.

Yay for easy lunches!

Weekly Lunch: Quinoa with Roasted Fennel, Carrot and Kale

Do you ever see a recipe, or a photo of the finished dish, and immediately know that you just have to make it? It happens to me all the time. When I saw Shauna's post on Roasted Vegetable Salad I loved the look of the roasted fennel and carrot, and I liked the idea of cooking kale in the oven, just barely, so that it wilts but isn't crispy like kale chips.

I went to the farmer's market last weekend, and even though it's early in the season, there was an abundance of beautiful produce. I got a huge bunch of lacinato kale, and I bought a fennel bulb for the first time ever. I've enjoyed it in salads before, but had never tried roasting it. I'm so glad I branched out! When was the last time you tried a new vegetable? It's been way too long for me.

From left to right: collard greens, lacinato kale, green garlic, shallots, fennel, broccoli raab, and shiitake mushrooms.

The recipe is simple. Chop some veggies (I used the fennel and a few carrots) into large chunks, toss with oil, salt and pepper, and roast in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, I chopped up the kale into small pieces. After the 20 minutes, I piled the kale on top of the carrots and fennel, and put it back in the oven for about 4-5 minutes. Afterward, it looked like this:

I also cooked a pot of quinoa, and made a simple dressing with lemon juice, a splash of white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, green garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. I used a small plastic container that I can easily keep in the office refrigerator and shake up each day at lunchtime.

Mix it all together and top with goat cheese and a hard boiled egg. I love how the fennel got so caramelized. The sweet roasted veggies, slightly bitter kale, tangy goat cheese and lemon juice dressing was a great combo.

Weekly Lunch: Waldorf Quinoa Salad

I am totally digging my lunch this week! I wanted something a little different, and I thought, "fruit!" I hardly ever put fruit in my salads but I am starting to rethink this...

Here's a fun riff on a waldorf salad. No mayo, but instead a creamy, tangy yogurt-based dressing. I topped each serving with a hard boiled egg for a protein boost.


Waldorf Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups quinoa
2 cups water or vegetable stock

1 cup walnuts
5 stalks celery
2 large apples
4 oz. baby arugula
Hard boiled eggs (optional)

1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
Pinch of salt, several grinds of black pepper


Directions:
Bring the water/stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. If using water, add a pinch of salt. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer, then add to the boiling water. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5-10 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, toast the walnuts either in a 350 degree oven or on the stove over medium heat, for about 8-10 minutes. Chop the celery. For the apples, I chopped enough for 1-2 days at a time, then sprinkled a little lemon juice on top.

In a small jar or other sealable container, mix the yogurt, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Shake well before using.

Mix the quinoa with the celery, apples, walnuts, and arugula, then drizzle with the dressing just before serving. Top with a hard boiled egg if desired.

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Here are a couple of other things I am digging this week:

A new batch of granola bars with chocolate chips and dates, (and, surprisingly, no more sugar than my regular granola bars). The chocolate was requested by my sweetie. Who says women are the only ones who love chocolate?

And, finally...

YAY! It's about time!

Weekly Lunch: Beet and Wheatberry Salad

This salad is really nothing special. Beets were on sale, I have a bunch of wheatberries in the cupboard, you know the story.

Red-stained beet hands are always fun.

More exciting is the salad dressing I made this week. I sprinkled some thyme on the beets while they were roasting, so I put thyme in the dressing to enhance the flavor of the beets and tie together the other ingredients. In addition to the wheatberries and beets, this salad contains chickpeas, baby spinach and toasted walnuts (I put the beet greens to use elsewhere). Some fresh goat cheese would be a most excellent addition.

Garlic-Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

Juice of 1 lemon, about 3-4 tablespoons
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Sprinkle a little salt on the minced garlic and smash it with the side of your knife a few times, to make a paste. Mix the garlic-salt paste with the lemon juice, thyme, mustard, remaining salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Weekly Lunch: Yellow Split Peas with Cilantro Pesto

Is anyone else ready for winter to be over? I am getting pretty tired of root vegetables and squashes, and find myself wanting more fresh and lively meals to brighten my days.

Enter cilantro pesto. One of the many beautiful salads on Heidi Swanson's site is this pepita salad. I made the recipe exactly as she posted it, so I won't repost here. Suffice it to say that this cilantro pesto is totally awesome. Fresh, spicy, nutty, garlicky.

I made a slightly smaller batch of this salad (enough for 3 hearty lunch servings), but made the entire batch of the cilantro-pepita pesto. We made burgers earlier this week and topped them with the extra pesto for another summery meal.

This was my first time cooking with yellow split peas! I'm looking forward to using them in more recipes.

I can't leave well enough alone, so I added a hard boiled egg and a couple of sliced radishes to each serving of salad. I loved having toasted pepitas in both the pesto and sprinkled on top for extra crunch.

And, just for fun, here's my afternoon snack this week (along with an unpictured tangerine). I found LauraJayne's favorite flavor of Laughing Cow and I am so glad she recommended it. I love the hint of smoky spice. 

 What summery foods are you looking forward to?

Weekly Lunch: Millet Salad with Swiss Chard and Roasted Squash

One of the new-to-me ingredients I picked up last weekend was millet. I was really only familiar with millet as either bird food or some kind of 70s hippie vegetarian casserole, but I'm willing to try almost  any food once or twice. The "almost" is referring mostly to organ meats. I was a vegetarian for 8 years after all.

So I picked up a couple of veggies that were on sale, Swiss chard and delicata squash. Added my old standbys, hard boiled egg, chickpeas and feta, and I am all set for the week. The nutty millet, slightly bitter greens, sweet squash, and salty feta makes a great combo and doesn't get boring after eating it for a few days. Plus the millet turned pink after mixing it with the chard! How appropriate for the week of Valentine's day.

Millet Salad with Swiss Chard and Roasted Squash
Makes 4 main-dish servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup millet
• 2 3/4 cup water plus a pinch of salt, or use vegetable stock

• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• 1 medium delicata squash
• 1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 2 oz. feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of smoked paprika (not critical if you don't already have some, but nice) 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring the millet and water/stock to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the millet looks fluffy. Remove pot from the heat and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes or so. Empty into a large bowl and set aside.
2. Separate the chard leaves from the stems. Chop about 1/2 cup of the stems, and roll up the leaves and slice into very thin strips. In a large pan over medium heat, cook the chopped stems in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 3-4 minutes, then add the leaves and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Add the chard to the millet and mix well.
3. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut each squash half into 1/2 inch slices, and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes, flipping them over after about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Assembly: layer the millet-chard mixture on the bottom of your reusable container, followed by some squash slices, chopped egg, chickpeas, and crumbled feta.

Weekly Lunch: Tuna and White Bean Salad

I don't eat seafood very often. My SO is allergic and I've never been a huge fan, so I will occasionally choose a seafood option in restaurants and that's about it. But every once in a while I get a craving for tuna salad, whether the mayo-laden sandwich of my youth or a refined nicoise.

For this tuna salad I mixed:

• Albacore tuna
• A can of white beans (drained and rinsed),
• Diced carrot and celery,
• A tiny bit of minced onion (this does get eaten at work after all)
• Toasted slivered almonds
• Some dried thyme and dijon mustard
• White wine vinegar and olive oil

This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.
I'm enjoying it with arugula with some blanched green beans. Simple and tasty (and sugar-free).

Speaking of sugar, well, I'm doing better avoiding wheat than sugar. I definitely had a couple mugs of hot chocolate (with marshmallows!) this weekend, but when I was offered a soda I chose water instead, and when I went out to breakfast I ordered a savory dish with lots of veggies. We'll see how this goes over the next couple of weeks!

Any other favorite tuna salads I should know about?

Weekly Lunch: Spinach Salad with Tofu, Avocado and Tangelo

Tangelo. Tangelo. Tangelo! What a fun word. I love fruit with weird names. Tangelos are a hybrid of tangerine and grapefruit, and they're one of my favorite citrus fruits.

I've been talking with LauraJayne about sugar detoxing this week, and I think it's time to take the plunge. I'm still working out the details of my plan, but basically I'm going to cut out all white sugars and wheat for a couple of weeks. I'll still use things like honey and brown rice syrup, but I'm going to try to get most of my sugars from fruits rather than added sweeteners. I've been having headaches lately (I rarely get headaches) and some digestive issues (sorry for TMI), so I am looking forward to experimenting with my diet and seeing if I notice any changes.

So, this week, while I research and prepare for this "detox," I am already cutting out sugary foods and eating simpler, healthy meals.

In this week's lunch:

• Baby spinach
• Red cabbage, thinly sliced
• Hard boiled egg
• Baked tofu (storebought)
• Avocado
• Tangelo slices
• Sesame seeds (both white and black)
• Rice wine vinegar and walnut oil

 

I love all of the contrasting flavors and textures in this salad! The fresh orange, crunchy cabbage, savory tofu and sesame seeds, and buttery avocado all come together really nicely.

Weekly Lunch: Barley Salad with Artichoke Hearts

Like last week, I wanted something super simple for lunch this week. Marinated artichoke hearts were on sale at the grocery store, and I still have some barley in the cupboard. Time for a quick salad!

I simply cooked some barley until tender but chewy. Chopped up some carrots, celery, sun dried tomatoes, and the artichoke hearts. Mixed the cooked barley with a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed), the sun dried tomatoes, and a few tablespoons of the artichoke marinade (mostly olive oil and white wine vinegar). Then I layered the salad in my plastic containers, starting with the barley-chickpea mixture, then the chopped veggies, a sprinkle of feta, and some salad greens.

Weekly Lunch: Quick Barley Salad

I'm only in the office for three days this week, so my lunch is pretty minimal. Barley with some chopped raw bell pepper and cucumber, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. And a sprinkle of feta of course. Some carrots with peanut butter on the side. Simple and filling. (Sorry for the crappy smartphone pic)

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Kale Salad

Kale salads are all over the place these days. There are so many ways to make them, I'm looking forward to trying a few different recipes. Here are a few I've been looking at:

• 101 Cookbooks has a classic recipe with pecorino and breadcrumbs
• Not Eating Out In NY  adds honey mustard and pomegranate arils.
• I don't know about the "tabouli" part but Steamy Kitchen's cauliflower tabouli with kale sounds delish.
• This version in Saveur has an orange-soy sauce dressing, avocado and hemp seeds.

For my kale salad, I used dinosaur (lacinato) kale, the juice of one lemon, 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, a couple handfuls of chopped and toasted almonds, about 1 oz. crumbled feta cheese, and a bit of salt and pepper. It is really fun to massage the kale to get it all coated in lemon juice and olive oil!

I let the salad sit for about 20 minutes before serving it (alongside a simple pan-seared chicken breast), but the leftovers were even better the next day.

Anyone else have a favorite kale salad recipe?

Weekly Lunch: Delicata Squash and Barley Salad

Salad on a plate looks so much nicer than salad in a plastic container, don't you think? 

This is another salad with a lot of possibilities for variations. Based on this Farro and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad from 101 Cookbooks, I swapped hazelnuts for walnuts, delicata for butternut squash, hulled barley for farro, feta for goat cheese, added some chickpeas and baby greens and left out the fresh thyme. Yum!


Evidence of my love for this salad: here's another version I made last month.

Weekly Lunch: Sweet Potato Salad with Orca Beans

I have been making variations on this salad for a few years now, but the basic components have been constant: sweet potato chunks, beans, greens, and a chili-lime vinaigrette. I usually use black beans, and sometimes I use sauteed swiss chard and eat the salad warm. This time I used orca beans again, raw spinach, both white and orange sweet potatoes, and a mixture of corn kernels cooked with red bell pepper and poblano pepper. It's super colorful and you get a great variety of flavors and textures - sweet, fresh, crunchy, spicy, creamy.

Sweet Potato Salad with Orca Beans
Makes 4 servings


Ingredients:
1 cup dried black or orca beans
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (I used a 1 lb white sweet potato and 1/2 lb orange one)
2 ears sweet corn
1 large poblano pepper
1 red bell pepper
Baby spinach or other salad greens
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper


Directions:

1. Pick through the beans and remove any small stones or detritus. Place in a medium bowl and cover with 3-4 inches of cold water. Soak at least 8 hours or overnight. 
2. Drain the beans and add to a pot, cover with 1-2 inches of cold water along with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until beans are tender but still hold their shape (could take 40-90 minutes depending on your beans).
3. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 3/4" chunks. Place in a steamer basket over 1 inch of simmering water and steam for 15-20 minutes until fork-tender. Set aside to cool.
4. Cut corn kernels from the cobs and chop peppers into 1/4" pieces. Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to a pan over medium heat, and cook corn and peppers for about 5 minutes until tender but still crunchy. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste, and set aside to cool.
5. Pack your lunch containers: layer the corn mixture on the bottom, then the beans, then the sweet potatoes. In the morning or the night before, add a few handfuls of your spinach/salad greens.
6. Make the dressing in a small container: juice of one lime (about 3-4 tablespoons), another 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, the chili powder, and more salt and pepper (amounts depending on whether your chili powder contains salt). Add dressing to salad right at lunchtime.

Weekly Lunch: Barley with Roasted Summer Vegetables

I had to make one last summer squash recipe before they're all gone! This week's lunch also features one of my favorite grains for salads, hulled barley. It has a great chewy texture and mild nutty flavor.

So bright and colorful!

Awaiting the oven

Sweet and savory

The finished product

I also thought I'd share an actual recipe for my lunch this week. Fun!

Hulled Barley with Roasted Summer Vegetables
Makes 5 hearty servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups hulled barley
Three medium summer squash, any variety (I used 2 yellow squash and 1 zucchini)
1 large or 2 small sweet bell peppers, any color
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, about 1 1/2 cups (apparently I can't go more than a week without eating chickpeas for lunch)
5 hard boiled eggs (see below)
5-10 ounces baby spinach (depending on how much you like spinach), washed and dried
Juice of one lemon
3-4 tablespoons total olive oil, divided
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Rinse the barley with cold water (use a fine-mesh sieve so you don't lose them down the sink!)
2. Combine 3 cups water, 1 tsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add barley and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook barley for 40-50 minutes until tender but still chewy. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool.
3. Preheat oven to about 400F (my oven is wonky, you may need to go up to 425F)
4. Chop the squash and pepper into 3/4-inch cubes. Toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme and about 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet.Roast your veggies for 20-30 minutes, turning once. 
5.  For the hard boiled eggs, place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat, then remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Drain and place eggs in a bowl of cold water.
6. Assembly time! I layer the barley on the bottom of my plastic containers, then the chickpeas (open the can, drain and rinse), then the veggies, then one peeled and quartered hard boiled egg. Spinach can be kept separately, so it stays dry, and handfuls can be added to each container in the morning or the night before. 
7. The dressing this week is equal parts lemon juice and olive oil with salt and pepper, about 1/4 teaspoon of each. I mix it in a small plastic container and keep it in the break room refrigerator at work, so every day I can just shake it up and pour a little on my salad right at lunchtime. 

Weekly Lunch: Chickpeas and Quinoa (again) with Delicata Squash

You may be able to detect a formula with my weekly lunches by now: some kind of whole grain, some kind of legume, a couple of veggies, and one or two "extras" like cheese or nuts. Add in a simple vinaigrette and you have lunch!

Luckily, it's a formula that allows for a lot of variety, so I don't get bored with it. The star of this week's show was a lovely delicata squash - one of my favorites. Here is what I did with it:

1. Peel your squash with a vegetable peeler. Unless of course you have a thick-skinned squash, in which case you will need to use a sharp knife. Delicata tend to have a thinner skin so a veg peeler works well, which is one of the reasons I like them so much.
2. Cut the peeled squash in half, lengthwise, and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. If you are not lazy, you can free the seeds from the squash innards, parboil them in salted water, and roast them! But this was a small squash (with a small number of seeds) so I decided it wasn't worth the effort.
3. Cut the squash halves into slices, then cut the slices into 1/2" chunks. 
4. Toss the squash chunks with equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar (I used about 1 tbs. each for my small squash) and a bit of salt and pepper. 
5. Spread squash chunks on a foil-lined baking sheet (again, laziness requires easy cleaning) and place in a preheated 375F oven for about 20 minutes. I usually check on them halfway through and turn them over to encourage even browning. 
6. Try not to eat them all in one sitting!

And here is the finished product: baby greens, quinoa, canned chickpeas, toasted hazelnuts, a sprinkle of feta, the lovely squash chunks, and my favorite balsamic-mustard vinaigrette. Yum!!