Warm Winter Farro Salad

When I first got married  I used to ask my husband if he wanted salad with dinner, the answer was usually "no." After a few years I wised up and started serving him salad without asking first. But often he didn't eat much of it, despite my raving "Have some salad! It's delicious!"  Lately I've hit upon a solution. I serve salad as a main dish, or pile everything onto it so it's an integral part of the meal. Main dish salads, if only someone had told me 12 years ago! 

During the Winter or whenever it's cold outside salads, either side salads or main dish salads are not top of mind, but they should be. Just as Summer is the perfect time for cold soup, Winter is the ideal season to try a warm salad. I like to start with a cooked grain like farro or quinoa then use seasonal fruits or vegetables and add some heartier elements too, in this case feta cheese and almonds. 

I have to admit, this salad sounds a bit like a parody, it's filled with trendy ingredients and super foods, all that's missing is a little chocolate and kale! I love the sunny colors and hearty crunch to this salad, it's kind of the antithesis of a tossed green salad all floppy and wilted. It's bright and cheerful and yet very hearty. I like combination of citrus, pomegranate, almonds and feta with a touch of ginger but feel free to change up the ingredients in the salad or use a different dressing or spice if you prefer. 

Warm Winter Farro Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup pearled farro

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup diced feta, about 6 ounces

1 cup toasted sliced almonds

2 tangerines peeled and segments cut in half 

3/4 cup sliced celery about 2-3 stalks

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the farro, cook for 10- 15 minutes or until al dente (or cook according to package instructions). In a bowl combine the feta, almonds, tangerines (remove any seeds) and celery. Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and ginger in a bowl. 

When the farro is cooked, drain it and toss it in a bowl with the other ingredients and dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Enjoy!

Spicy Nori Popcorn

It is harrowing to watch.  Almost every time a movie or television depicts people watching a movie, a giant bowl of popcorn is placed on the coffee table.

And then it sits there.  And sits.  And no one takes any of the popcorn. Not one hand swoops down to retrieve a handful of this salty snack.  Not one mouth is seen munching.  It is one of the saddest sights to behold.

When this happens, Seth and I experience intense distress on behalf of the popcorn.  Delicious crunchy puffs just being all lonely in their giant bowl.  Unappreciated.  Neglected.

We would never treat popcorn in such a disrespectful manner.

When it it is deemed to be a popcorn making/eating occasion, a festive atmosphere settles into our home.  We sing the popcorn song (consisting solely of the words "popcorn, oh yeah!" repeated over and over and over and over until someone is finally like OKAY, lets stop with that now) whilst making the ASL sign for popcorn.  We might be extremely annoying people to be around.

Some people have fancy salad bowls.  We technically have a fancy salad bowl.  But salad rarely graces its wooden sloped sides.  Our fancy salad bowl is really our fancy popcorn bowl!  A wood bowl properly showcases popped kernels of corn.  Something about the highlights and shadows really makes it pop.  And no, we didn't use it for the photograph.  That bowl is our private bowl.  You get your own.

And then we dig into that glorious bowl of popcorn.  It isn't just an ornament to movie watching.  It is THE reason for movie watching.

So when we saw Cooking Light's prediction of the top food trends of 2013 slideshow, and saw popcorn on the list, we were stoked.  Deliriously delighted.  Popcorn will finally have its moment!  Its days of being passed over, overlooked, and ignored will be over this year!  2013 will totally be popcorn's year.  So here is a popcorn recipe and song to celebrate its moment... Popcorn, Oh Yeah!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons corn oil
1/2 cup corn kernels
2 -3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon ground nori goma furikake (run the nori goma furikake through a spice grinder or food processor)
1/2 teaspoon ichimi togarashi chile powder (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground toasted kosher salt and Szechuan peppercorns (we got this technique from Fiona Smith's book Dim Sum - place 1/4 cup kosher salt and 4 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns in a skillet and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes, until the mixture has become fragrant. Then run the mixture through a spice grinder).

Instructions
Heat the corn oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add three kernels of popcorn and cover pot with lid. Once those have popped, add the 1/2 cup of kernels. Shake the pot frequently. In a small bowl, stir the melted butter and the sesame oil together.  Once the popping has stopped, turn off heat, add the butter and oil mixture and stir to coat.  Add the rest of the seasonings.  That's it.