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.

SCRAMBLED OMELET

This was an easy and quick prepared dinner after a busy day. I'm starting to feel little sad for not having enough time anymore to spend as much time in the kitchen as I would like to :(

I made one large scrambled omelet and share it with my daughter, but you can make smaller individual ones.
We enjoyed our scrambled omelet with toasted pita wedgies an dry cured black olives.

Scrambled Omelet

BUSY WEEK and COLORFUL RICE

Yesterday has been a week since I was on the net! This was one hecktic looooooooooong week! Yesterday, I first checked FoodBuzz and buzzed off all the yummy creations I missed through the week and boy, was there some pretty tasty, wonderful food to admire! Just to mention few that really intrigued my taste buds: Warm and Cheesy Gnochi Salad @Welcome to Sandra's Easy Cooking , Chocolate Panna Cotta @The Cultural Dish , Ceviche @Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves , Skirt Steak with Stout Pan Sauce @The Cultural Dish , and my personal winner KEY LIME PIE @Cherry Tea Cakes ! Love it!!!

Now about the recipe. We cook rise pretty often (I always choose rice over potatoes), although potato is the most loved starch as far as my family is concerned! They could eat "any way" potato three times a day! Rice as rice, all white on the plate is not that inviting, so I always try to add some color to it: sometimes just by adding a dash of turmeric that will turned it light yellow, or some browned vermicelli pasta to give it some movement, but mostly I add colorful veggies that really bring the rice to life. And as far as the flavor busting, well: "Spices to the rescue!"

Colorful Rice

GREAT NORTHERN BEAN- White Beans in a Pot

Beans are just perfect for cold winter days, satisfying our tummies and giving us warmth and energy. They are certainly one of the best foods available. A cup of great northern beans contains 14.7 grams of protein, and 12.4 grams of dietary fiber. These beans are also excellent sources of iron, magnesium and folates, and they have just 200 calories per cup. They can really bulk up the nutritional value of anything to which they’re added to, and when they are combined with brown rice, they form a complete protein. The great northern beans are also good for people, who are on a diet or follow a vegan diet. Though great northern beans alone may not have considerable taste, they do absorb flavor extremely well. In our family we call them white beans and they are an often guest on our dinner table especially in the winter, usually served with a nice side of rice.

Great Northern Bean- White Beans In A Pot