Cooking with whole grains is a lifestyle, once converted, your refrigerator shelves will forever be adorned with transient containers of steamed grains. Don’t wait for a recipe calling for something specific, get two pots of grains cooking NOW. This simple act of preparation makes way for limitless possibilities at meal time. As you make dinner, choose a grain that is waiting for you in the fridge and add it in with the sauce, vegetables, rice, meat, beans or noodles.Begin with a sprinkle here and there with meals your family always like to eat. As little as a tablespoon per serving will give you an idea of what flavors and textures are compatible without ruining the dish. Avoid resistance by ensuring the food tastes good. If it needs a little sugar or an extra pat of butter, be liberal in order to please the palettes of you test subjects. Once you have a knack for the sprinkle, go for the scoop and in no time you will find yourself a fellow dumper.
This is a clean-out-the-refrigerator salad for those fruits and grains way in the back that are screaming with their last breath. The sweet and fresh flavors of the dressing liven up any produce. Use what ever grains, fruits, nuts, sweetener, vinegar or oil you have lurking. As the name reflects, we usually enjoy this salad as our breakfast. But it is a wonderful side dish, fruit salad alternative or even a light lunch when served on a bed of lettuce.
1 cup barley, cooked
1 cup oat groats, cooked and rinsed
1 cup strawberries, sliced
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup pecans, chopped
Dressing:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup raw honey
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flax oil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Blend dressing thoroughly. Pour over salad, toss to coat.
links; Whole Foods for the Holiday's
sounds yummy! -Cindy
ReplyDeleteKara made this for me this morning, it was delicious and I will attempt it on my own soon.
ReplyDeleteMom
I just discovered your blog, and I was excited to see that you have a lot of recipes I can use. I have tons of food allergies, as well as other food restrictions (no refined sugar, no refined carbohydates of any kind) - so I'm always searching for healthy recipes.
ReplyDeleteKara- how long does this keep? Is it best eaten the same day it's made?
ReplyDeleteDepends on the fruit you use. Strawberries and bananas are not going to last long. You could make the salad fruitless and store upto a week--then just put fruit on top when you serve. Or use melon and grapes or other fruits that last longer once cut or don't need to be cut.
ReplyDeleteI finally made this after devouring the one you made for our health group. However, I made it exactly as you listed and the vinegar was so overpowering that I had to force my children to eat it. I don't remember it tasting like that at all when you made it. Did you do anything different than what you listed in the recipe? 1/2 C vinegar seemed like way too much.
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry Shari. I usually make double the dressing because I use it on other things. So I halved the recipe for this salad but missed the vinegar. I have edited it now. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteKara, I soaked my oat groats last night. I'm unsure how long to cook them this morning in my pressure cooker and whether to cook them in the same water I soaked them in. Also, when you say "rinsed" in the recipe do you mean I should rinse them after soaking them? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteRinse them before you cook them and after you cook them. Pressure on high for 4 minutes. Lot of good info here; http://goodlookingcook.blogspot.com/2010/01/cooking-chart.html
ReplyDeleteThanks Kara, and I use your cooking chart ALL THE TIME, the only thing I struggle with is that it doesn't have a ratio of how much water to grains/beans after they've been soaked. Obviously I should use less water for soaked and more if they haven't been soaked, right? But is there a specific amount less that I could always count on? Fourth less? Third less? Anytime I start soaking a new grain I ruin a few batches till I figure out how much dang water to add! You're the best, thanks a million!
ReplyDeleteHalf. Using the ratio on the chart, use half to soak and the other half to cook. I'll add that to the chart, thanks for pointing that out. Didn't realize it wasn't there.
ReplyDeleteNo, thank YOU! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd hoping I'm not being bothersome, but wondering if you always cook your grains in the water they've been soaking in, or do you just measure the soaking water and use that to know how much fresh water to add? Does that make sense? Because I find that certain grains taste too sour for our taste when they're cooked in their soaking water - like oats. Honestly, I always use fresh water for all grains/beans that I've soaked. If you have time, what do you do and why? Thank again and again :).
No bother!! I rinse my grains after soaking so that they do not taste as sour. Also, the online class I took from Nourished Kitchen taught that it gets rid of more phytic acid when you rinse thoroughly. When I drain off the soaking liquid there is not much left and I have had good success with using the other half of the water listed on the chart.
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