Let’s Talk Food: Grain salads

Iinstalled a 5-by-5-foot quartz counter for more working area in my kitchen, but one side of it is against the wall. So, I put in a three-shelf wire case for all my grains and beans. They were in my pantry, in another room, and now with them staring at me daily, I find myself wanting to cook either couscous, quinoa or lentils all the time.

When I home-stayed at Nimmy Paul’s home in Kerala, India, we ate lentils or beans with each meal. I felt we were eating healthy every day, and never gained any weight.

I start my day off with steel-cut oats mixed with hulled barley as my hot cereal for breakfast. I soak this overnight so in the morning, cooking time is only 5 to 10 minutes. I have a variety of rice and a jar of mixed grains that I add to my rice. It turns my brown rice into a beautiful red rice, with red and black beans.

I made this salad the other day. It is hardy and filling but it does not leave you feeling stuffed.

Black Bean, Edamame, Corn and Couscous Salad

Serves: 8

1 cup uncooked couscous (I used whole wheat couscous)

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

8 green onions chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1 cup edamame, boiled for 5 minutes, drained

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in couscous. Cover pan, remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork.

In a large bowl, add extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice (lemon juice OK if you don’t have limes), red wine vinegar and ground cumin.

Mix together. Add chopped green onions, fresh cilantro, corn kernels, edamame and drained black beans. Add couscous and mix to combine. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, to taste.

• • •

Farro makes great side dishes, and I wrote about it in my June 10, 2014, column. I made this salad for my monthly Big Island Adult Day Care caregivers support session recently (hosted the third Saturday of each month). Although it says it serves 8 for the black bean couscous salad or 6 cups for the farro salad, we had it for Easter lunch and Jim and I still had leftovers of both salads for a few lunches and dinners.

Farro, Feta and Mint Salad

Recipe by: Martha Stewart

Makes: 6 cups

1 cup farro

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 to 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup small grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes if grape tomatoes are not available, but grape preferred because they don’t get mushy)

1/4 of a small red onion, finely diced

1/2 cup (or more, I used about 1 cup) fresh mint leaves, julienne sliced

Coarse salt to taste (remember the feta is salty)

Boil the farro in 2 cups salted water for 35 minutes and drain (less if you pre-soak the farro before cooking).

Combine in a bowl with chickpeas. Stir in the lemon juice, zest and olive oil.

When cool, stir in the feta cheese, grape tomatoes, red onion and chopped mint.

Note: Fresh mint is not always available at the market and is a necessary ingredient in this dish. Plant some mint in a container and keep it moist. Mint has overtaken my greenhouse, loving the cool and damp weather of Volcano, which is why I used 1 cup of fresh mint instead of a 1/2-cup since I have so much.

Small bites

• There was an error in my column last week for the asparagus tart. I don’t know what was on my mind when I wrote to brush the baked puff pastry with honey when the ingredients listed was Dijon mustard! I must have been thinking about honey! So brush the baked puff pastry with Dijon mustard please.

• The American Culinary Federation’s conference is ending this afternoon at the Waikoloa Marriott. Stay tuned for future columns regarding the wonderful chef speakers and events that were part of the three-day event.

Foodie bites

• The Hawaii Community College’s Culinary Bamboo Hale is featuring the foods of Japan.

The students are super busy, as they were included in the American Culinary Federation conference.

There are logistics involved in driving from Waikoloa and then cooking for the public today.

Thank you for your hard work students. It is good practice for the real world.

• Tickets are now available for the Rotary Club of South Hilo’s Hilo Huli on Sunday, May 1, at Mokuola, or Coconut Island. You can contact members Wana Agasa, Doug Adams, Pat Aiona Sr. and Jr., Andrew or Kim Arakawa, Alden Barrios or Irene Bender for tickets.

Email me at audreywilson808 @gmail.com.