It's cooking time! Wheat berries and winter vegetables, beet salad

This past weekend, I further investigated my newest cookbook!  I bought some fresh veggies and wanted to use them first.  I had read on the way down to the Mad-oldest son's place a week ago about a fresh beet salad with a light dressing.  This is a perfect thing for me, as I love to use beet greens for greens and beans, and the only way to get them at this time of the year is to get them attached to the beets themselves.  SO, I decided to try this out!  I am excited about the new food processor too, so I got to use it for BOTH of these recipes- so yay for me!  :)

The beets and carrots together have a a wonderful taste!  They are somewhat sweet and the lime and ginger really enhance this flavor and also gives it a very fresh taste for this time of the year!

Begin with about 8 oz of beets and 8 of carrots

Roughly cut the beet and process with the blade of your  FP.  Don't puree- chop!

Dressing is comprised of lime, ginger, cilantro, oil, Dijon and sweetener

Mincing the ginger

Mix the vinaigrette 

Such pretty color in this!

Add the cilantro for a beautiful green counterpoint

This was fresh and delicious- not super "beety" and the ginger adds such a great touch

Beet and Carrot Salad with Ginger

Adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

1 T canola oil

1/2 lime- juiced

1 T minced fresh ginger

2 T chopped cilantro

1 T dijon mustard

1 T honey, agave or maple syrup

1 medium beet

8 oz carrot

Chop the beets and carrot together in the food processor. Combine the oil, lime, ginger, mustard, sweetener and mustard.  ( I added the sweetener- not in original recipe)  Toss with beets and carrots. Add chopped cilantro and serve! 

About 4 servings, around 65 calories per serving

There are several variations to this recipe as well!

And then there was this for leftovers for the week for me!  I had read about wheat berries and bought some down in Janesville.  Park Falls is pretty sparse in these different types of grains.  The awesome thing about this recipe is that I was able to use up stuff and substitute freely what I had in the frig.  I had a mostly used bottle of white wine and this was a great way to finish that bottle- well, there would have been another great way, but you know those margaritas the other night......  :)
I love having go to ideas when there is a variety of fresh food available and I can pick and choose my flavors.  Though the original recipe called for carrots, I came across this lonely parsnip and then I noticed the partial pack of portabellas and so on.  NICE!

Wheat Berries and Winter Vegetables
Adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
About 8 servings, 350 calories per serving (approximately a cup)

2 cups cooked wheat berries- see below for instructions

1 medium chopped onion

1 sweet potato or small acorn squash- peeled and chopped

1 diced parsnip

1/2 cup mushrooms

1/2 cup plus white wine and/or vegetable stock

1/2 small cabbage, sliced thin

1/2 - 1 tsp sage leaves or dried

Cook wheat berries first-

Use about 1.5 cups wheat berries, put into pan and cover with water by at least one inch.  Bring to boil, add a little salt and cook on low, stirring occasionally.  Add boiling water to keep the grain under water as it cooks. Drain and set aside

Keep the water level up as it cooks off and the grain absorbs the liquid by adding boiling water

Begin by sautéing the onion in a tablespoon of olive oil

Add the raw vegetables to the onion- mushrooms, sweet potato, parsnips..... any vegetable you have on hand will work!

Add liquid to these vegetables as you cook them down- I had white wine and some vegetable broth, you can use these and/or water.  For the denser things like sweet potato, allow a good 20 minutes.

After the vegetables are soft- about 20 minutes- then add the cooked wheat berries and sliced cabbage.

Cook this down for another 10 minutes or so, until it is ready to eat!  SO GOOD!

I finished this off with a little Spike seasoning and dried sage!

This was quite a successful experiment and gave me a lot of joy!  I think it will continue to as the week goes on.  :)

Day 7, 8 and 9 of birthday month..... the saga continues!

I'm sorry if this birthday month stuff is bumming you out or anything!  It is a rocking good time, let me tell you!

Let me say that Day 7 was the best of the best so far this month.  It was AWESOME, as I reached my first weight loss goal of 32 pounds on that  day.  Quite unexpectedly, but it was welcome.  I have some wonderful, wonderful friends on the Loseit site, we had quite the celebration!
The next great thing was the shopping trip I went on and was pleasantly surprised to find that I am down not 2, but 3 clothing sizes in some things!!  I have not worn a size 12, ever, I think.

I have been working at this first goal since December.  I had the Loseit app for my iPhone for over a year.  It works great and all, but I discovered I needed a little more and knew that this app had launched a website.  So I went there, visited, joined and that made all the difference in the world.  The support you get from your friends is phenomenal.  Now on to the next goal!

Day 7 was awesome!!

Day 8 was terrific, too, but differently.
My nice thing for myself was visiting some friends and working on my metal hand sculpture.  I have been feeling slightly friend deprived (in my Wisconsin-life) and I needed to touch base with people.  Went to visit my dear friend Luann and then hung out with another dear friend Cat.  So wonderful to reconnect.  In between was a lovely lunch with the Mad- Accountant.... way better than cooking!
Speaking of reconnecting, my lovely pal Annette and I are making bad girl plans!!  hehehe, I'll get back to you on this one!

Day 9 involved photos again!!  w00t!!  I am having a good time with them, and I had help making the decision on which photo processing program to buy.  Whew, it was an agonizing decision, but I'm going to buy and install it - maybe tomorrow!!  Yay.  Now I just have to decide on which HRM I am going to get and it will be all good.
I got a lot of gardening done today and made some wonderful, fresh meals.

Ordinarily during this time of the year I would be making cold salads for lunches and suppers- involving things like pasta, potatoes and mayo- but since I know that there are better choices to be made, I have changed my menu.

Today, I bought some more fresh fruit and made up a lovely mixed fruit bowl.  It was so pretty I decided to photograph it!  I also delved into the garden and found enough goodies out there to make an awesome salad for supper.  Paired with some grilled portobellos and a spicy black bean burger for me and a regular burger for the Mad Accountant, and you  have a great healthy supper.  All I added to the salad that wasn't from the garden were the cherry tomatoes.  Still waiting for those to arrive!

This is sooo good- melon, strawberries, grapes, sweet cherries, nectarines and a little fresh grown spearmint.

Found in the garden: oak leaf lettuce, pea pods, mini Chiogga beets, kale, dill, basil and I added some cherry tomatoes later.  I used balsamic vinegar as a dressing.

And then we went and had ice cream at the Ice Cream place in Butternut!  Lol!  And I have some room to spare yet.

Until next time,  find your joy in every day things!  And don't forget to count your blessings.