Buttermilk Farro Salad

buttermilk farro salad, originally uploaded by michele wynne.

I went to a party last week. I rarely go to shindigs that require dress-up so I was quite distressed to discover that my favorite dress pants were alarmingly snug, you know that unfortunate midriff tightening that turns your pants pockets into gaping mouths, giving the appearance of 18th century panniers (think Marie Antoinette). After my initial horror, I was forced to switch tactics, I yanked off the sparkly t-shirt and replaced it with a dress, that oh-so-chic, 70's revival style of  dress and pants at the same time. I immediately followed that with a very firm commitment to amp up the veggies in my day-to-day kitchen/break-room strategy. Then I went to the party and ate stacks of herbed chicken on focaccia sandwiches, food truck gourmet pizza, and kettle chips (love 'em), rounding it all out with many glasses of white wine and salted lavender cookies.
The very next day...

...enter this really luscious Buttermilk Farro Salad I found over at 101 Cookbooks.

I was bitten with the grain bug when I first made this California Barley Bowl a couple of weeks ago. The addition of a plump nutty grain to any combination of greens and/or vegetables, then tossed with a tangy dressing is an amazingly filling and satisfying meal in a bowl. Toasted nuts, seeds, dried fruit, crumbly cheese, shaved cheese and avocado can be tossed in for more complexity, but that's not necessary in this salad. I had to rein in the urge to prematurely tweak, so I didn't crumble the remnants of my Pt. Reyes Original Blue Cheese over this or fan out some thinly sliced avocado to top things off.
Nope. I stuck to my guns, and followed the recipe as directed because I trust that Heidi knows when enough is enough. Besides, I've got a freezer full of grains to play around with now and as it turned out, this was exactly all that it needed to be.

Two things that make me very happy in a salad are shaved vegetables and buttermilk. I love the word "buttermilk". There's just something warm and fuzzy about it that brings to mind a kindly, apron-clad grandmother in a cotton print dress, baking biscuits in a big country farm kitchen.

Anyhoo, it is time, once again, for the millionth time, to revive the veggie challenge. Except it's not really a challenge anymore. I just need to focus and ignore those diversions that lead me to places like this and this and this.

I also want to share two of my favorite cooking tips:

The first, is strategy for fool-proof cooking of your chosen grain. This is the boil and steam method I got from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It takes some attention, but it you don't have a rice cooker, it turns out a grain to exactly your preference.

The second tip, from 101 Cookbooks (of course), is to cook up a big batches of various grains and freeze in 2 cup portions. I do this with beans too. I use the smaller freezer bags and then insert the filled bags in larger freezer bags.

TO PREPARE THE GRAIN:

• start with a large pot that either has a steaming insert or will fit a colander inside
• rinse the grain well in a mesh strainer with lots of cold water
• put on a kettle of water to boil
• fill the pot with cold water to about the halfway point or at least twice the volume of grain and bring to a boil
• add a generous amount of salt and/or bouillion seasoning (if desired)
• add your rinsed grain
• boil your chosen grain just until it's chewy
• drain the grain in a colander
• cover with aluminum foil pressed down onto the surface of the grain
• pour some of the boiling kettle water into the pot-about an inch in depth- make sure the water  is not  going to touch the bottom of the colander
• Turn up the heat to high for a minute or so, until it boils, then lower to a simmer and set the colander into the pot and cover with a lid.
• Steam for 10 minutes, fluff with a fork and taste. Repeat until it reaches your desired texture of chewiness-just don't let it get soft.

TO FREEZE:


The idea behind this method, rather than rinsing with cold water to quick cool the grain, is not to introduce more water, which will crystalize in the freezer.

• place a baking sheet in the freezer (or 2 if you have the space)  about the same time you've transferred the colander into the pot to steam.
• when the grain is ready, remove the colander from the pot and set it on the counter to cool, giving it a toss every now and again to let off steam.
• remove the baking sheet from the freezer and transfer the grain, spreading it over the entire surface of the baking sheet.
• let the grain sit for a few more minutes until it stops steaming.
• place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• remove the baking sheet from the freezer and transfer the grain into freezer bags and/or storage containers, depending on the amount you plan to use within the next two days.

TO THAW:

• Remove the bag of grain from the freezer, open the bag and let it thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
• Over a mesh strainer, break apart the still frozen pieces to get them out of the bag and tumble the grain into the strainer.
• Rinse with cold water to break apart the grain, then shake away the excess water (the remaining water will be enough to steam and moisten the grain)
• Place the grain into a glass bowl and microwave for a minute, remove, stir, taste, then microwave again for a minute, just until the chill is off.

Spinach, Persimmon & Avocado Salad with Lime Miso Dressing

Spinach, Persimmon & Avocado Salad with Lime Miso Dressing, originally uploaded by michele wynne.

I snagged a bunch of fuyu persimmons from the market yesterday with absolutely no idea what to do with them. I thought I was going to make some sort of baked thing with them, but it seems that the softer, pulpier Hayicha persimmon is more suited to that particular endeavor. My google search for persimmon recipes led me to this recipe for Spinach, Jicama and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing. It was the best place to start as I'd also managed to snag some avocados and I've been meaning to try Jicama.

Until a few weeks ago, I'd never eaten a persimmon. From the moment the first Fuyu's arrived in the market and I was fascinated by it's perfection, from its gorgeous orange color and the cute little leafy cap, I wanted to take it home and draw it. I was surprised by how sweet they were. I was surprised that they were sweet at all. For some reason I expected persimmons to be more vegetal, like a tomato.

This morning I set out with a short list of ingredients I needed to compose the afore mentioned salad but alas could not find any jicama, even at my local Latino produce market. I decided to go with celery root instead.

6 ounces baby spinach

1/4 of a large celery root cut into matchsticks

1 avocado cut into cubes

2 persimmons, peeled and cut into cubes

pomegranate seeds

lime zest

salt

pepper

Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved

Miso Dressing

4 teaspoons lime juice

4 teaspoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons shiro miso

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil

My new way of preparing salads is a method I learned from my cooking classes at 18 Reasons~layering. I used to toss everything together in my big stainless steel bowl thinking that I wanted every component evenly distributed and coated with dressing. I've since learned better.
Here, the ingredients get layered onto a plate in two layers and the dressing gets drizzled on within the layers as well (unless you have an ingredient or two that could use a little tenderizing prior to  assembly).

I poured about 2 tablespoons of dressing into a large tossing bowl and stirred around the match sticks of celery root and let them sit a few minutes (not really necessary because I like the crunch of the celery root) then I tossed in the spinach to get the leaves a little coated. I commenced to building the salad by layering down half of the spinach & celery root first, then 1/2 of the persimmons, avocado, a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds, a drizzle of dressing and finally some shaved Parmiggiano Reggiano (I used Cotija on a another version). Repeat the layering.

Not only does a layered salad look gorgeous, but each bite tastes different so your palate is never bored. 

Chicken Gyro Salad

Chicken Gyro Salad, originally uploaded by michele wynne.

I suppose (were I such a person) I could have just as much of a reason as anyone to hate Gwyneth Paltrow, but I don't and any of you who read this blog knows I am not amongst those in the anti-GP camp. I am, however, the Anti-GP. I am GP's polar opposite- 10 years older, 20 pounds over-weight, solitary in a studio apartment,  broke, in a broke-down kitchen with zero counter space and perpetually overwhelmed by a sink full of dishes. I buy supermarket sale tuna, honey from The Dollar Store and t-shirts from Goodwill. There is not one element of her life and lifestyle that I can relate to or say I've ever had in common with her. Except food, and my growing desire to cook healthier food. I love her cookbooks. I subscribe to goop and enjoy reading it. Mostly. I really could care less about the clothing and merchandising. I do feel envious of the travel though. I used to travel all the time. Now? not at all.

Yet, when I think how close I was to deleting the recent goop newletter from my overflowing inbox the other day...well, I feel almost guilty and ashamed after having been so pro-Gwyneth in my admiration of her latest cookbook (which I currently have my mitts on thanks to my local library).  I wasn't going to open it. It was one of those days when I just wasn't up to it. I did it anyway and as luck would have it, it turned out to be the smartest and most remarkable thing I did that day. I unearthed  a wonderful new keeper recipe and that is to be celebrated.

In her post about street food, scrolling down a bit I found this  Chicken Gyro Salad  and I couldn't wait to make it. I immediately pulled 3 chicken breasts I had in the freezer to defrost and did a little grocery shopping at work that evening buying just enough for my solitary salad:

 

1 little gem (the perfect lettuce heads for single serving salads)

1 large heirloom tomato

1 mediteranean cucumber

1 red onion

1 lemon

1 8oz. container of greek yogurt

 

I prepared the chicken and marinade just before I went to bed and cooked it on a grill pan for lunch the next day.

I thought it only fitting to use the left-over chicken in her Brown Rice and Kale  bowl (from My Father's Daughter) when trying to find a quickie dinner later that night. I topped it with the leftover tzatziki dressing. If I'd thought to buy pita bread, I would have made gyros with the leftovers. Next time. There will be many next times. I already have another batch of chicken marinating in the fridge right this very minute.

Thanks GP!