Weekend Cooking

I wish I'd thought to take pictures of the dish I made for a dinner party we went to last night. Fine Cooking's Summer Wheat Berry Salad was a hit with everyone, even though I made it with pot barley instead of wheat berries. One of the advantages of using the barley was it cut the cooking time dramatically - it only took 30 minutes. I subbed the barley in at a one to one ratio, and didn't leave it to cool in the cooking water. You can find the recipe for it after the jump!

A quick note: the dinner party was so lovely! We got to meet up with some of my husband's Tumblr friends, drank copious amounts of wine, ate some seriously delicious pork tenderloin. I don't think I've ever had a moister tenderloin in my life. I think our amazing host, Robin, braised it with figs and shallots. Oh, it was sooo good! It was a totally lovely evening - there's nothing like good company!

Today I've been puttering lazily about the kitchen. Earlier, I whipped together some almond-basil pesto for tonight's pizza (I've got to use up the leftover roasted red pepper and artichokes from last night's salad).

I love five minute recipes! I just had to throw the <--------ingredients in the food processor and voila! Pesto complete!  ------>

Now I'm contemplating how I'm going to use up the five stalks of rhubarb I bought mid week. I think it'll probably end up being Martha's Rhubarb Upside Down Cake (but a half size version, because I don't own a 9" cake pan).





Summer Wheatberry Salad
For the Salad:
1 c. wheatberries
6 c. water or chicken stock or veggie stock (I used chicken stock)
1/2 t. kosher salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 c. chopped artichoke hearts
1/2 c. quartered cherry tomatoes
1/4 c. diced roasted red pepper
2 T. capers, drained and chopped
3 T. sliced green onions (white & green parts)
1/4 c. slivered almonds, toasted (I quickly toasted them on the stove until they smelled nutty)
2T. chopped fresh basil or cilantro

For the vinaigrette:
1/2 to 1 t. finely minced garlic
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

In a heavy saucepan with a lid, combine the wheatberries, water or broth, salt, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then simmer partially covered until the wheatberries are pleasantly chewy, which may take anywhere from 50 to 90 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, discard the bay leaf, and let the berries cool in the liquid and put the berries into a large bowl. Add the artichoke hearts, roasted pepper, capers, scallion, almonds, and basil or cilantro.
In a small bowl, whisk the garlic, lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper; toss with the salad.