Say I love you with Wheat Berries!

Hello Positive Eaters,

Valentine's Day is this coming Sunday. I find that people's emotional standpoint on this holiday ranges from apathetic to cynical to overly attached. I just think it is a great day to get in touch with our own hearts and the hearts of other people. I wanted to make a dish that was really healthy for you and would be a great precursor to some really good chocolate.

I picked up this recipe at Whole Foods in Andover the other day and was sitting on it. I decided to put it together today. I soaked the wheatberries all day Monday and cooked them on Tuesday night. If you never tried wheatberries they are definitely a hearty grain and you will enjoy them in this dish. I put together the dressing and started peeling a large beet. When I finished peeling, I place the beet on the cutting board and stood back for a minute, it looked just like a real human heart!



I grated both a beet and a carrot into the bowl with the wheatberries and added some chopped scallions. I began to view my creation as a culinary Valentine that was coming together right before my eyes.



I started mixing this together with the dressing and was happy to see that the entire dish was taking on a reddish hue...perfect for the holiday. To add some sweetness I added some organic Golden Raisins to my creation and stood back once again...it's easier to take the picture that way :)



I tosed this together lightly and added it to a small glass dish to sample. The dish was suprisingly sweet and satisfying. The succulent raisins give nice contrast to the crisp carrots and beets. This will be a perfect precursor to a full on chocolate experience. Enjoy this recipe and have a wonderful Valentine's Day!





Wheat Berry Salad (courtesy Whole Foods Market with a couple tweaks)

2 cups uncooked Wheat Berries
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Orange
1 1/2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Flaxseed, Grapeseed or Canola Oil
1 large Red Beet peeled and grated
1 Carrot grated
3/4 cup Golden Raisins
1 small bunch Scallion thinly sliced

Place Wheat Berries in large bowl and cover with filtered water overnight. Drain and rinse and cook like any other grain (place in rice cooker or sauce pan with four cups of water bring to a boil and back off to simmer). Let these cool on the counter for several hours. They will become more tender when they cool.

Cut in Orange in half and add the juice of it to medium sized bowl (add zest of orange if desired). Stir in Lemon Juice, oil and Salt and Pepper, this will be the dressing. Pour dressing in with cooled Wheat Berries and mix together well. Add grated Beets and Carrots as well as chopped Scallions. Add juice from the other half of the Orange and a tiny bit more Salt and Pepper and mix together well. Finally, add in the Golden Raisins and toss lighlty. This dish is ready to serve!

Stay Positive,

Matthew