Spelt and Wild Rice Salad (Hot or Cold)

We had taken DD2 to an event last week which offered lunch. I am not very fond of cold sandwiches and salads but this one with wheat or it might have been farro along with some red rice was crunchy and delicious. I had some spelt sitting in the pantry and this salad seemed a great idea to put it to good use. Don't get me wrong when I say the last thing I want to cook on certain days is an Indian meal but we still want something tasty and good. I bet all of you have those kind of days.

The salad from that lunch, had farro or some whole wheat grain, onions, lime/lemon juice, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Light and refreshing it was one of the best cold salads I have tasted. The list of such salads that I have tasted is very short because I usually keep away from cold salads. I prefer to eat food that is warm. I still don't get why most of these salads are all cooked and then chilled before serving!!

I added some wild rice and we had the spelt salad with some roasted broccoli. I don't like raw onions so I soaked them in some lime juice. You can skip the onions altogether or add them raw and either way would be delicious.

I have never given much thought to using whole wheat, spelt or farro cooked whole. I am glad I tasted the salad as this is fast becoming one of our favorites as the possibilities are endless. You can add some grilled vegetables, grilled chicken or shrimp making it a complete meal on its own.

We had the salad while it was still warm. Hot or Cold it is going to be please your taste bud. I always have some hot sauce Sriracha to be exact but the red kind, recently I found this green Sriracha which is slightly less pungent than the red one and bit more refreshing because of the lemon juice and cilantro in it. That is what I used for this salad but feel free to use something that you like.

Spelt
Wild Rice

If you want to top it with roasted broccoli, here is the recipe I used.

Spelt requires about 30 minutes of cooking. I used the electric rice cooker. Feel free to use a pressure cooker or cook on the stove top. I cooked the wild rice and spelt together because they required the same amount of water to cook and the cooking time was same.

Cook the spelt and wild rice and when done transfer to a mixing/serving bowl. Add the onions to the rice.
Mix in the onions, olive oil and sriracha sauce.
Top with roasted broccoli and sliced avocado.

Spelt and Wild Rice Salad
Preparation Time:15 minutes + 20 minutes soaking time
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 cup of whole spelt
2. 1 cup of wild rice or brown or red rice
3. 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions
4. 2 tbsp of lime or lemon juice
5. 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
6. salt to taste
7. 1-2 tbsp of green sriracha sauce or any sauce or condiment you prefer.
8. 3 head of broccoli florets roasted
9. Avocado slices

Method

1. Wash and soak the whole spelt for about 20 minutes or so. Rinse again and transfer to the electric cooker with 3 cups of water. Add in the wild rice and another 3 cups of water. (see Note:)
2. While the spelt is cooking roast the broccoli.
3. Soak the onions in lime juice for about 30 minutes or so.
4. Once the spelt is cooked fluff it up and transfer to a serving container and mix the onions, olive oil and salt if required and the sriracha sauce and combine.
5. Top with roasted broccoli and sliced avocado.
6. Note:I added the wild rice and spelt together because of the same amount of liquid required and the cooking time being the same. If the rice you are using requires different cooking times, cook them separately.

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Easy Rice Bake Casserole with Cheese and Spinach

Happy Women's Day everybody! In true American style it was celebrated at my office by cutting some cakes with colorful icing. Surprised by the gesture but it was sweet of whoever thought of it. My fervent wish is that women will be more supportive of each other.

I read this opinion piece in the Washington Post - What's so bad about American parents?. The topic of parenting and parenting advice especially is loaded with heartaches, judgements and other not so happy stuff but I liked the gist of this article which said to focus on kids' happiness rather than their achievements. Happiness should lead to achievements and not the other way around. This advice is true not only for bringing up kids but for leading one's life as well one would think.

Anyway we have been a month into our shared cooking duties and it has been working out well so far. DDs have been doing pretty good and enjoying creating food that everybody can eat. Last week even with a lot of work to do DD asked me not to step in. She had already picked out the recipe and purchased the ingredients and wanted to complete it. Yes! they are into it 100%. The week before she had made butternut soup and it turned out to be like baby food (her words not mine) so she was determined to come up with a better and tastier recipe and with this recipe she succeeded beautifully. The recipe was top class if I might say so myself.

You have leftover rice and don't know what to do with it this recipe deserves a second look.

Recipe Source: Food Network

Easy Rice Bake Casserole with Cheese and Spinach
Ingredients
1. 2 tbsp of butter
2. 1/4 cup of minced onions (about 1/2 medium sized onion)
3. 2 cups of loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
4. 1 cup milk
5. 2 eggs
6. 2 cups of Mozzarella cheese (recipe called for sharp cheddar cheese)
7. 2 tsp of red chili powder
8. 4 cups of cooked rice
9. 3 - tbsp of chopped coriander leaves (parsley, thyme and basil leaves as per recipe)
10. 1 tsp black pepper powder
11. salt to taste

Method
1. Preheat oven for 350F. Butter a large casserole dish.
2. In a saute pan heat the butter and saute the onions till soft. Add in the spinach leaves and saute till they are slightly wilted. Add in the red chili and pepper powders and salt and mix it in. Add in the rice and mix it into the spinach mixture.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the milk. Add the milk and egg mixture to the rice and also half the cheese and the coriander leaves and mix it in well.
4. Now pour the rice mixture into a prepared casserole dish. Spread the remaining cheese or if needed add even more cheese on top.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.

Slice and serve.