Friday, November 30, 2012

In honor of national spinach week....


warm farro and spinach salad with apple and blue cheese    


OK, it's not really spinach awareness week, I made that up.  I am not sure about you but in the summer it is really easy to get in my green leafy veggies, but come winter my tastes turn to sweet potatoes and butternut squash.  I feel hard pressed to make a big salad on a cold winter's night and I would like to think that's because it's not in season, but the truth is spincah likes really cool weather and in a climate like ours, spinach can pretty much grow year round.  I just picked the last of my spring spinach that has survived unscathed until now, December 1st.  
Here is a recipe for a spinach salad that can stand up to the coldest of temperatures.  I didn't add tomatoes because I was trying to eat in season,
 
Warm Farro spinach salad with warmed apple blue cheese and hard boiled egg.

1/2 cup of cooked Farro
1/4 cup stock (optional)
1 shallot sauteed until softened
1 bunch of spinach
1/2 an apple thinly sliced and briefly heated on stove top to soften
sprinkle of blue cheese
hard boiled egg thinly sliced
 
Dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1-2 tsp honey   
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

I warm the dressing in the microwave for a few seconds
 
Have you discovered Farro yet.  A wonderful ancient grain believed to have sustained the Roman legions.  Not wheat but a grain of it's own, it is easy to cook and tastes great plain.  For this recipe I add a  bit of stock and sauteed shallots when I am done cooking to give some depth.
Cover with spinach, softened apples, blue cheese egg and then warm dressing.  It is hearty and healthy. 
   
And since I have finished the last of our spinach, I decided to try some indoor,
I have had luck starting lettuce inside and then moving outside on warmer days in my version of a hot house, a piece of glass set against the south side of the house, perfect for days like today with temps in the 50's.

  



finally finished Anastasia

 Finally finished my Anastasia sweater.  Love this, it was so fun to knit and I like it better than anything I have knit thus far.  I want to knit it in charcoal.