REFRESHING WHEAT BERRIES SALAD

Autumn is almost here: days are getting shorter, though still not yet any cooler! Refreshing salad is a great bite any time of the year!

This is a salad that my 7th grade geography teacher once made and I can still remember the explosion of flavors in my mouth when I ate that first bite! It is refreshing, tasty, and filling.

Ingredients:
(for printable recipe click here)

2 cups cooked wheat berries

½ cup pickles cut into small cubes

1 large ripe tomato cut in small cubes

½ cup pickled hot banana peppers

¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley

½ small onion, finely chopped

½ cup pitted black olives cut into circles

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2-3 tbsp virgin olive oil

½ tsp salt (or to taste)

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp chili powder or crushed chili pepper

1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika

¼ tsp cumin

Direction:

Into a big enough bowl, put cooked wheat berries, salt, pepper, all spices, lemon juice, vinegar, and oil. Mix to combine and set aside.

Cut all the vegetables and add them to wheat berries mix. Stir to combine and refrigerate for at least ½ an hour before serving.

PRESERVING FOOD FOR WINTER- Pickled sweet banana & jalapeno peppers

My husband and I have a small garden. We plant aromatics such as rosemary, lavender, mint, thyme, oregano, parsley, and basil; veggies such as peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, and eggplants. This year we also planted Japanese sweet potatoes. They were simply delicious.
Cucumbers were hyper productive this year, so I pickled quite a large quantity. They will be a real treat in the winter.
It's already September and our sweet banana and jalapeno peppers are still producing actively, so today I'm making some pickled banana and jalapeno peppers.