I Dare You To Eat It

But as you can see from the picture, I’m able to cook 4 cups of wheat in 10 cups of water with a tablespoon of salt, for 12 cups of whole wheat berries and still have plenty of room in this new slow cooker. My life is so cool. I’m trying to cook this much wheat about every ten days so that I always have it prepared and ready to add to recipes. The very first step to eating wheat is to start cooking wheat.

Here’s a short list of new recipes I’ve found. They all sound wonderful. I can’t tell you how sick I am of Ranch dressing.

www.phoenixmag.com/dining/recipes/200807/summer-wheat-berry-salad/ for Summer Wheat Berry Salad

http://able2know.org/topic/11173-1 for Citrus Chicken Wheat Berry Salad

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/salads/sesame-ginger-wheat-berry-salad/ for Sesame-Ginger Wheat Berry Salad

http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=8933 for Wheat Berry Vegetable Salad

http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/category/recipes/salads for Arugula, Goat Cheese & Green Olive Wheat Berry Salad (love the name, photo looks like heck, I should talk)

Now this is the way to introduce your family to wheat berries.

Fresh Ingredients

1 c. slivered fresh snow peas

1/4 c. chopped green onions

Storage Ingredients

3 c. cooked whole wheat berries

1 can garbanzo beans (15 oz.)

1/2 c. dried apricots, sliced

1/2 c. dried cranberries

3 Tbsp. toasted walnut oil

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Whisk together oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour over all the other combined ingredients. Serve at once or cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Makes 8 side-dish servings.

I found this recipe in the February 2008 Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It was listed under the Healthy Category. I guess it won some sort of contest.

“My wife is always searching out new grains,” said winner Jamaine Batson of Salt Lake City. “This recipe gives wheat berries a nice light touch” said the judges.

Sounds good to me!

Fresh Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

15 10″ tortillas

toppings: baby spinach leaves, grated cheese, diced tomato, avocado, cilantro, and Ranch dressing

Storage Ingredients

2 c. cooked whole wheat berries

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. chili powder

* 1 packet of taco seasoning may be used as a substitution for individual spices

Brown ground beef and drain fat. Stir in the cooked wheat berries and spices. Spoon meat mixture onto warm tortillas and top with fresh baby spinach, grated cheese, diced tomato, avocado, cilantro, and Ranch dressing.

During one of my food storage presentations a woman shared how she substitutes cooked whole wheat berries for ground beef. She seasons it just as you normally would for tacos to create a very healthy vegetarian alternative. If that sounds too hard core, consider giving this recipe a try. I made them for my daughter that lives in Oregon and she thought they were amazing. Hippie tacos is her name for our little culinary invention. Guess she’s in the zone.