Seasonal Eating: Winter Grain Salad

Need a quick, already prepared lunch or dinner after a shopping outing?  This is a go-to grain salad, that will keep you full and ready to tackle all your holiday projects.  It will be your friend in the fridge, or a perfect packable lunch for work. 

Hearty Winter Grain Salad


prep time: 5-10 minutes  cook time: 55 minutes serves: 6-8


1 cup of kamut or wheatberries (or 1/2 cup of each)
3 cups of vegetable broth or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 large sweet potato, boiled and diced into small cubes
1/4 cup of chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 bunch of kale, chopped or chopped fresh spinach*
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1.  Wash grains. Bring stock to a boil.
2.  Add grains and salt.
3.  Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 45 minutes, or until grains are tender, cooked and water is absorbed. 
4.  Fluff with a fork, and let sit covered for 10 minutes.
5.  While the grains are cooking, prep the other ingredients. 
6.  Dice the onion and saute with olive oil, until soft, about 7 minutes.  Add minced garlic until fragrant. 
7.  Dice up the sweet potato into small bite size chunks. 
8.  Toast the nuts on a dry, small cookie sheet at 350 degrees, until toasted, about 5-8 minutes. 
9.  Blanch the kale in a small pot of boiling water, and blanch for a few minutes (3-5)*
10.  Transfer the grains to a large bowl, add all the other ingredients and mix gently. 
11.  Add vinegar and oil, salt & pepper to your taste and enjoy! 

*if using fresh spinach, you can chop it up and add it in to the mixing bowl with the sauted onions and garlic. It doesn't need to be cooked separately like the kale.   

I know this recipe has a number of steps, but it's so worth it! Your taste buds and body will thank you for all your hard work and effort.  Go plants!!


Seasonal Eating: Winter Foods


Load up your shopping basket with these seasonal foods:


chestnuts, grapefruit, kale, leeks, lemons, oranges, tangerines,
radicchio, radishes, rutabaga, and turnips


Be well and enjoy this holiday season!


'You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces-just good food from fresh ingredients.'
                                                                          -Julia Child