Weekend Cooking: Harvest Grain Salad

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

_______

My new meal-planning approach to dinners paid off in spades this week. I am starting my really busy editing season, which means long days and low energy for anything extra, including getting creative in the kitchen. Thank goodness for that dinner plan I set up on Sunday morning. I'm so happy to not have to tax my brain in the evening; just look at the dinner list and go.

Our dinners included a spicy lentil soup, a chicken and bean salad, and squash risotto. All good and easy to make because I put the pressure cooker to good use. The hit dish of the week, however, came as a big surprise: a grain salad.

A couple of weeks ago, I spotted a lamb chops with farro salad recipe in the January issue of Cooking Light. I knew right away I would not be following the recipe for cooking the lamb. We grill all year round, and I love the easier clean up, guaranteed success (my husband has the technique down pat), and good flavor. So that left the salad part.

Thanks to @SuziQOregon who writes at Whimpulsive, one of the staples in my house is Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend. And because we really like it, I figured I'd use that (cooked easily in the rice cooker) instead of trying to hunt down the precooked farro that the original recipe called for. I made a couple of other minor tweaks to Cooking Light's salad and came up with a dish I'll be serving often.

Seriously, this was so good we could barely stop eating it. This was a great accompaniment to our simply grilled lamb, but I can see this in the summer with burgers, as a main-dish salad, or as welcome addition to a pot-luck.

Note: If you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, try any grain mix or your own favorite single grain. The blend contains couscous, orzo, mini chickpeas, and quinoa.

Harvest Grain Salad
Adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 4 or more

• ½ (16 ounce) package Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend
• 1¾ cups chicken broth
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon country Dijon mustard
• Dried thyme (I forgot to measure. Let's say ½ teaspoon or to taste)
• Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2½ ounces baby arugula, washed and dried

Cook the grain according to the package directions, using the chicken broth and omitting the butter. When done, let the cooked grain cool for a few minutes. (The grain should be warm but not hot.)

Meanwhile, whisk the zest, juice, honey, mustard, thyme, and pepper in a small bowl.

Place the cooled grain in a large serving bowl. Add the onion and the lemon mixture and toss well to combine. Taste and add salt as needed. Add the arugula and toss again. Serve. This was also good cold the next day.