Farro Salad

Farro is a delicious and slightly crunchy variety of wheat. I have read it was a staple in Roman times. We don't hear a lot about it because there are much higher yielding varieties of wheat, which are more profitable to produce. Farro is not too difficult to find, and it is well worth the search.

I added 3 cups of farro to eight cups of water in a pot. After it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium , cover and let it cook for 20 minutes. Add a little salt, reduce the heat further and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. The grains will be al dente. Drain, place in a mixing bowl and let cool to room temperature.

At this point, you can add whatever veggies you'd like. I reconstituted some dried Roma tomatoes and chopped them roughly. Cut up some yellow onion and some radishes from the garden. Finally, I cooked some frozen green beans, put them under cold water and drained them well.

All of the vegetables are mixed into the farro. I have made this before with varities of sweet peppers, olives, asparagus, pea pods, scallions... You get the idea.

We are entertaining a friend who is vegan this evening, but you could add meat as well. I suppose.

Use your imagination. Be whimsical.

The dressing I made is based loosely on that for Greek horiatiki salad. I whisked together some red wine vinegar, olive oil, a spoonful of Dijon mustard, some black pepper and a generous, a very generous spoonful of dried oregano.

Mix the dressing into the salad thoroughly. This can be refrigerated, but it is best, in my opinion, at room temperature.

I plan to serve it with some leaves of a few varieties of lettuce. Not ice burg mind you, but you could.

Bon appétit!

Bulgogi

Bulgogi is a Korean griddled beef dish. I made it for JongSeob, our Korean student as part of his graduation dinner. Along with cheeseburgers.

Sirloin steak is sliced very thinly, tenderized with a mallet and cut into bite-size pieces. Susie did the meat prep because of my ailing arms.

The marinade consists of finely sliced Asian pear, yellow onion, sliced scallions, crushed garlic, sesame seeds, sugar, soy sauce sesame oil and black pepper.

The meat marinates for about an hour. No more than two hours or it will become too salty.

The meat along with the marinade is cooked in a pan over medium heat until cooked through. The marinade forms a glaze on the meat and the excess can be served over rice, or used as a dipping sauce.

Quite simple really.

I served it with rice and lettuce leaves from the garden. Meat and rice is rolled into a lettuce leaf and then enjoyed. Thoroughly.

We all loved it. It was so delicious, and so simple to make. It will happen again. Sooner rather than later.

Bon appétit!

Duck Eggs in Potato Crusts etc...

An on-the-fly name for something I winged from the outset. I'd welcome better name ideas.

This was a little time-consuming for me, but worth it in the end.

I started by grating a couple red potatoes and then wringing as much water out of them as I could. (A little tricky considering my recent and lingering injuries). I tossed the potatoes with a little melted butter and then used the mixture to form little crusts in a lightly-oiled muffin tin. Into a 450° oven for a half hour, or until golden and crispy.

On to the assembly. I placed a mozzarella ball in each cavity, then added a fresh duck egg from the back yard. I finished by adding a pinch of fresh finely-chopped chives to the top along with a little salt and pepper. That went back into the oven (now at 400°) for 20 more minutes.

After ten minutes I put the asparagus, also from the garden, into the oven. I love asparagus cooked this way. Simply roll the spears in a little olive oil that has been spread on a cookie sheet, then season however you'd like. This morning I used a little alderwood smoked salt.

During the final ten minutes of baking, I cut the English muffins and got the Canadian bacon ready for assembly.

Next came the Hollandaise sauce. I don't think I could ever be a saucier like Chef in Apocalypse Now! I just don't have the patience for whisking anything over low heat until it thickens. But, I did it anyway. Two egg yolks (this time chicken, from the store) and two tablespoons water, until frothy, then over a double boiler on low heat, until thickened. One third cup melted butter is then slowly whisked in. Slowly, to keep the sauce from breaking. Finish it off with a little lemon juice, some white pepper and a pinch of salt.

We are just about ready to eat.

Toast the muffins, place a slice of Canadian bacon on each, add a potato-crusted egg thingy (that is the technical term for you novices out there), and spoon a little sauce over the top. Don't forget the asparagus!

This came out really nice. Even the sauce, although I would be a little more patient while adding the butter. It did separate a little. Susie woke up when the muffins were just about done toasting, just in time to eat. She is finishing up the dishes as I write this.

Bon appétit!