Any Given Wednesday

Morning started off with a blast of goodness: a long weekday run and an awesome smoothie.  I'm calling it the Citrus Blast Smoothie.  And if what they say is true-- that vitamin C prevents colds-- then I'll be immune for the rest of Q1.

Dinner was a giant success today. If you want to try farro or are looking for a good farro 1 pot meal, this is the recipe for you.  The unbiased critics in my house gave it very high marks.  And unlike yesterday's farro dish, this one is good-lookin'. It would be a great pot luck dish.


Breakfast: Citrus Blast Smoothie (and a frozen waffle-- blueberry Kashi)
Two servings.  This tastes like a delicious citrus melange, not at all like leafy greens.  Spinach and flax seeds are in for their purported health benefits.

2 kiwis, peeled and halved
4 naval oranges, peeled and halved
1 cup pineapple chunks
Large handful spinach
Flax seeds

Blend it all up and serve immediately.  A standard blender should do just fine with these ingredients, just chop the fruit up into smaller pieces if you're not using a Vitamix.


Dinner: Farro with Roasted Vegetables and Panache
The panache is the roasted pine nuts and simple dressing-- don't omit either because they make this extra delicious.   A life without panache is full of ennui! I'd recommend a simple side salad for a nice meal with lots of texture variation. This would also make a fantastic side dish.

This makes about 4 main dish servings.  

1 cup of farro*, soaked in water for at least 20 minutes
2 parsnips, peeled and diced**
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large stalk of broccoli, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 can chick peas
1/2 cup or so tomatoes, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
coarse salt & fresh pepper

The longer you soak the farro, the shorter the cooking time.  Drain off the soaking water, and place in a pot, cover the farro generously with water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for about 35 minutes, less if you soaked it longer than I did.


Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees.  While the faro is soaking, chop all the vegetables. Try to get them uniform in size and not much larger than the chick peas.  Drain and rinse the chick peas.

Put the vegetables (except the tomatoes), garlic and chick peas into a roasting pan large enough to hold everything in more or less 1 layer.  Drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt.  Mix thoroughly and shake the pan so the vegetables aren't stacked on top of each other.  Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes and while the farro is cooking.  Every ten minutes or so, stir.  Halfway through the bake time, stir in the chopped tomatoes.


In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining olive oil, vinegar, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of the pepper mill.  Once the vegetables have reached your desired done-ness remove from the oven.  Spread the pine nuts onto a small baking sheet and put into the warm oven for a few minutes while you assemble the dish.  They won't take long; once they are starting to turn brown and become aromatic, remove them immediately.  Test the farro for done-ness (should still be firm, don't let it get mushy) and combine the vegetables, farro, pine nuts and dressing in a large bowl.  Serve warm.

*Couscous, quinoa, or a small pasta like orzo would also work well.
**Use 2 carrots if you have no parsnips on hand.