Blueberry & Kale Grain Salad

Yield: Makes 8 servings (or 4/5 meals)
Hands-on: 20 Minutes
Total: 2 Hours, 5 Minutes

Salad Ingredients:
1 cup wheat berries (which takes an hour to make. A quicker substitute is Farro)
1 teaspoon table salt
1 (8-oz.) package sugar snap peas
4 cups coarsely chopped kale
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette
2 cups fresh blueberries (awesome addition are purple grapes)
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation: 
1. Bring wheat berries, salt, and 4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, cook peas in boiling salted water to cover 2 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge into ice water; drain and pat dry. Slice in half. Drain wheat berries; rinse under cold water until cool.

3. Toss together kale, wheat berries, and 1/4 cup vinaigrette in a large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Stir in blueberries, pecans, and sugar snap peas. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with remaining vinaigrette.



Red Wine Vinaigrette Ingredients:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 large shallot, minced
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons coarse-grained Dijon mustard

Preparation:
Stir together red wine vinegar and minced shallot; let stand 10 minutes. Whisk in olive oil and remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Notes: 
Recipe from Southern Living's july-2014-recipe-list.

Ingredients
1 cup fresh baby lima beans (from about 1 1/2 pounds in the pod) or other shelling bean (such as edamame)
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
Sea salt
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (raw, from 2 ears)
2 nectarines, cut into thin wedges
1 Hass avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large orange bell pepper, finely julienned
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Directions
1.  In a small saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the lima beans until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk the lime zest and juice with the olive oil, scallion, jalapeño and shallot; season the dressing with salt. Gently fold in the lima beans, corn, nectarines, avocado, orange pepper and tomatoes. Refrigerate the “ceviche” for at least 2 hours. Fold in the cilantro just before serving and serve the “ceviche” chilled.


MAKE AHEAD The salad can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours and eaten over the course of a week! 

Moroccan Nectarine and Plum Chicken Tagine

Prep time: 15, Cook Time: 40,
Ready in: 55 minutes, Servings: 4

Ingredients: 
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp ginger, grated
4 nectarines, stoned and sliced
4 plums, stoned and sliced
1/2 cup water
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch saffron
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped (instead of olives,  I put chickpeas)
1 tbsp harissa
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat.  Brown the chicken on all sides, then remove to a plate.

2. Heat the second tbsp of oil and cook the onions until just starting to brown. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

3. Add in the nectarines, plums, water, paprika, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, saffron, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for fifteen minutes.

4. Add in the chicken, harissa, lemon, honey, and olives.  Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

5. Mix in the parsley and cilantro and serve.

Comments: Recipe from Joanne Eats Well With Others. Ingredients about $13 for 4 servings. 

BBQ Chicken Salad Over Rice

Serves 3 * Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice
2 chicken breasts
Salt & pepper
2 ears corn, shucked (or 1 cup corn kernels)
1/2 cup black beans, drained & rinsed
1 tomato, cut
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup BBQ sauce (plus more for chicken)
lime & splash of olive oil (optional)

Directions:
1. Soak rice in water for approximately 20 minutes, then cook according to package instructions (usually 1 cup dry requires 1 and 3/4 cup water and boiled for 15 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt & pepper, then grill over medium-high heat for 8 minutes a side, or until no longer pink in the center. Add corn to the grill at the same time, and rotate every couple of minutes to evenly char on all sides. Remove chicken and corn to a plate and let cool slightly. Shred or cut chicken into cubes, then mix with enough BBQ sauce to coat. Slice kernels off the cob.

3. In a bowl, combine & mix the grilled corn, shredded BBQ chicken, black beans, tomato and shredded cheese. On plates first layer rice, and chicken salad over the rice. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Alternatively if you want to serve the salad separate from the chicken, then use juice from an entire lime and a splash of olive oil as the dressing.

Original Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats.

Fruit & Vegetable Season Chart

Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
Asparagus	Apricots	Apples	Beets
Blackberries	Blueberries	Broccoli	Cabbage
Green Onions	Cherries	Brussels Sprouts	Carrots
Leeks	Eggplant	Cauliflower	Citrus
Lettuces	Fresh Herbs	Collards	Daikon Radishes
New Potatoes	Green Beans	Grapes	Onions
Peas	Hot Peppers	Kale	Rutabagas
Red Radishes	Melons	Pears	Turnips
Rhubarb	Okra	Persimmons	Winter Squash
Spinach	Peaches	Pumpkins
Strawberries	Plums	Winter Squash
Watercress	Sweet Corn	Yams
	Sweet Peppers
	Tomatoes
	Zucchini