Craving a little sunshine?  Here in the land of rain (and snow and hail) we must learn to embrace our inner sunshine.  If, like me, you need a little help – try this bright tasting salad.   The lemon zest and juice taste just like bottled sunshine and add vitamin C.  The grated carrots and golden beets (yes, raw beets are tasty!) seem to glow with healthy goodness and add fiber and vitamin A.  The little coconut snowflakes add irony.  Go eat your sunshine.

Sunshine Salad

Makes about 2 Cups *Indicates ingredients grown or produced locally

*1 Large or 2 medium carrots

*1 Large golden beet, scrubbed and peeled

1 Lemon, washed (use organic, we’ll be zesting)

*2 Sprigs mint

2 Heaping tablespoons raisins

*2 Heaping tablespoons chopped roasted hazelnuts

2 Heaping tablespoons shredded (unsweetened) coconut

Into a medium bowl, grate the carrot and beet.  Using a microplane or the small holes on a grater, grate the zest from the lemon into the bowl.  Avoid the white pith just underneath the yellow zest, its bitter.  Pull the leaves off the mint sprigs, finely chop and add to the bowl.  Add your raisins, hazelnuts and coconut & give it a good stir.

Our farmer ancestors have grown farro since 7700BC in the fertile crescent.  The wild farro grain (also called emmer wheat) is an ancestor to our modern day wheat, now widely devoured in the form of white bread and pasta.  9700 years later, we are just beginning to learn how much our health is affected by the foods we eat.  The food we eat goes into our mouths & then disappears into our digestive systems to undergo various complex biological processes before actually becoming part of our bodies. 

The carbohydrate in foods such as fruits, grains and beans starts to break down in your mouth.  When you eat an apple for example, an enzyme called amylase is stimulated by the presense of carbohydrate in your mouth, starting to break the carbohydrate chains into smaller sugars or saccharides.  The process continues in your stomach, and by the time those apple sugars reach your intestines, they have been broken down into the most simple sugar – glucose.  The glucose then gets absorbed into the intestine and delivered to your blood.  It travels around in the blood superhighway until it floats close to a cell that is “hungry” – the cell has a little insulin flag on it that is like an open mouth, eating up glucose.  Once in your cell, the glucose is converted into energy for your muscles and brain.  Amazing!  Every nutrient we eat ends up somewhere in our bodies doing something very important like stimulating the electrical impulses that make our hearts beat (potassium), and helping our intestines to actually absorb other nutrients from our food (Vitamin D).

 Anybody still reading?  The point is, eating food is the single most important way that you affect your own health every day.  What does this have to do with the ancient farro grain?  This grain represents the way our ancestors used to eat: whole, unprocessed foods with all their nutrients still intact.  These foods have unique combinations of nutrients that work together to promote health.  Unlike processed white wheat, farro and other whole grains still have their outer bran & germ layers intact.  These layers are full of nutrients such as folate, vitamin E, potassium and fiber.  Also, they are darn tasty!

The farro grain is still grown mainly in Europe, but now we have our own LOCAL source of emmer farro (and other wonderful whole grains).  Brooke & Sam Lucy at Bluebird Grain Farms are growing these organic heirloom grains in the Methow Valley.  They supply some of Seattle’s most beloved restaurants with their lovely grains and freshly milled flours (Lark, Stumbling Goat…).  Look for them at a Seattle farmer’s market this spring – or check out their website for CSA and direct ordering options:  www.bluebirdgrainfarms.com

Then try this recipe, or one of the recipes on the Bluebird Grain Farms website – with emmer farro.  It has a nutty flavor and wonderful al dente texture that stands up well in a grain salad and leftovers will keep at least 5 days in the fridge (but you will have eaten them by then).

Orange Hazelnut Farro Salad Wraps (Vegan) - Makes 4 Cups

*Indicates ingredients that are grown or produced locally

For the Salad:

*2 Cups cooked farro (recipe follows)

1 Organic orange

*4 Tender chard leaves

*1/3 Cup dried pluots (from Tiny’s)

*1/3 Cup roasted hazelnuts (from Holmquist Orchards)

*1/4 Cup hazelnut oil

1/4 Teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon Agave nectar (available in natural foods section of your store, near the sugars)

Place the cooked farro in a large mixing bowl.  Zest the orange into the bowl – avoid the white pith, its bitter!  Chop or tear the chard into small strips (about 1/2 inch) and add to the bowl.  Roughly chop the pluots and hazelnuts and add to the bowl.  Into a jar with a tight fitting lid, squeeze the juice from the orange and add the hazelnut oil, salt, dijon and agave nectar.  Put on the lid and shake well to combine.  Pour 1/3 Cup dressing into the farro salad and stir to coat all the ingredients.  Save remaining dressing in the fridge to toss with salad greens.  Eat the farro salad as is, or use it to make a lunch-wrap to go:

For Each Wrap:

2 Mountain Bread wraps (thin bread wraps, available at PCC natural markets) – or 1 whole grain tortilla

2 Tablespoons Tofutti “Better than cream cheese” (or cream cheese for you non-vegans)

*2 Teaspoons Peach Chipoltle pepper jelly (from Woodrings)

1/2 Cup orange hazelnut farro salad

Spread the tofutti all over one side of 1 piece of mountain bread.  Place a second piece of bread over the tofutti & spread the jelly all over the second bread.  Spread the farro salad over the bottom 3/4 of the bread, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the bottom and sides of the bread.  Fold the bottom 1/2 inch of bread over the filling, then fold 1/2 inch of each side over the filling.  Keeping the sides tucked in, continue rolling the bread from the bottom up until completely rolled.  Store seam side down in a container or wrap tightly with waxed paper or foil until lunch.

To Cook the Farro:

*1 Cup emmer farro (from Bluebird Grain Farms)

3 Cups water

1/2 Teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Place the farro, water and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes.  Drain excess water and eat hot with saucy entrees, or cool for grain salads.

The spaghetti squash and I have just made a pact.  It will never again pretend to be actual spaghetti lurking beneath my marinara sauce; and I will happily eat it up with tasty partners such as sesame oil, ginger and garlic – or my new favorite: butter, sage and truffle.  Though mom & I agree now that squash is a sneaky agent to make many dishes more healthy & delicious for the squash sensitive, as a child I saw right through the marinara disguise.  Spaghetti squash is not sneaky. There is no getting around the texture, much different than regular squash that, well, “squashes” up nicely with a fork once cooked.  After cooking a spaghetti squash its texture is like strands of al dente pasta, still a bit crunchy and perfect for stir frying with just a few flavors to showcase its uniqueness.

And nutritionally speaking, the spaghetti squash is your friend – Vitamin A, heart-healthy potassium and fiber, and very few calories per serving (21 calories per 1/2 Cup).  Look for it at farmers markets or your local cooperative grocery store (PCC).  It will be the big, oblong, bright yellow one in the squash bin.  It should have fairly smooth & shiny skin, and be heavy for its size.

Somehow all the foods that haunted my plate as a child have been reincarnated as delicious treats!  Thanks mom!  I can only hope that someday I too will frighten my own young children with squash, tomatoes and tofu.

Spaghetti Squash with Sage and Truffle Oil – Serves 4-6

*Ingredients that are grown or produced locally

*1 medium – large Spaghetti Squash

2 tablespoons Butter

*1/2 teaspoon Dried Sage

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

*1/2 – 1 teaspoon Truffle Oil (Fungus Among Us)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Wash the Spaghetti squash and poke about 10 holes all over the skin.  Place in a large baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, turn it over, and cook for another 30 minutes.  Check the squash for doneness by piercing with a fork.  The outer skin will be like a hard shell by now, but once you get the fork through that, it should pierce the flesh easily.  If the inside is still hard, bake for another 15 minutes & check again.

Now pour yourself a glass of wine and relax while you let the squash cool until you can handle it.  When cool, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and gooey strings in the center.  Now get a fork & use it like a small rake to pull out all the spaghetti-like ribbons of squash and place these in a bowl.  Compost the squash skins and seeds.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the butter and melt.  Add 4 Cups of the spaghetti squash (you may have more than this from a large squash – save it for later or double the recipe!), 1/2 tsp sage and 1/4 tsp sea salt.  Cook this, stirring occassionally for about 5 minutes to warm it through and absorb the butter.  Take it off the heat & stir in the truffle oil.  This is strong stuff, so start with 1/2 tsp and taste to see if you want more.  Enjoy!

On this, the very first Local Lunchbox post, I thought it would be extremely gratifying to subject the world to a diatribe on my favorite of leafy greens: kale.  Not just any kale, but the tuscan variety cavolo nero, also known as lacinato or dinosaur kale.  This kale is so tasty, than even my sweetie, for all his anti-vegetable campaigning, will eat it quite happily.

The fact that it is easily grown in the cool fall and winter of the Pacific Northwest, turning sweeter after a frost, makes it particularly good to eat at this time of the year.  Filled with vitamins A, C and K, minerals iron and calcium, and cancer fighting phytochemicals called indoles; this leafy green can strengthen your eyes, skin, bones and blood.

There are many wonderful recipes for kale, one of my favorites is the traditional Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde, with potatoes, kale and sausage.  Another is this recipe for kale with local dried plums (alias: prunes) and hazelnuts.  There are several traditional versions of this dish from the mediterranean using flavorful greens with currants or raisins and pinenuts.  It is a fabulous side dish to any meat or pasta, and reheats quite well.  Just remember to only add the hazelnuts to each serving just before eating, leftover soggy hazelnuts = blech.

Braised Kale with Dried Plums and Hazelnuts

*Indicates ingredients that are grown or produced locally

Makes 6 – ½ Cup Servings

*2 Bunches kale

1 Cup light coconut milk or Vegetable stock

*5 Cloves garlic, chopped

*10 Dried plums, chopped

¾ Teaspoon kosher salt

1 Teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

*1 Tablespoon honey

*¼ Cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped (or substitute toasted pine nuts)

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the kale leaves and drain in a colander.  Remove the thick stems that run up the center of each leaf, and discard.  Stack 4-5 leaves at a time and chop into ½ inch strips.

Heat a large stock pot with a lid over medium heat.  Add the coconut milk or vegetable stock and kale.  Cover for 1 minute, then uncover and stir to wilt the greens.  Add the garlic, dried plums and salt.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, uncover and let cook for 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally to evaporate some of the liquid.  Turn off the heat and add the vinegar, olive oil and honey, stir to combine.  Season the kale with salt and pepper to taste and serve in a warm dish.  Sprinkle hazelnuts over the dish just before serving.