Cheesy Baked Farro

I am a sucker for cheese and keep buying different types of cheeses every time I go to specialty grocery stores. My son just started going taking a weekly class that is right next to Trader Joes and it is not helping anyone. I find myself walking through the aisles of Trader Joes every week looking at just about everything they have in the store and sometimes picking up random stuff that I don't really want or need.

I recently picked up some Gruyere & fontina cheeses from TJs. Cheeses there are a little reasonably priced when compared to other overpriced grocery stores and they also have a huge selection there.

Read more »

Warm Farro Pilaf with Dried Cranberries & Kale

It's November and the beginning of holiday season. I can't believe that the stores here started selling Christmas trees from early October. From my experience, it is better to buy them when you see them in the stores even if it is ridiculously early in the season because by the time you are mentally ready for the holidays, all the stores will be out of holiday stuff and you will have nothing to decorate the house (true story -- from about 2 years ago). So now-a-days I go shopping with an open mind, hopefully I'll find a great deal on summer patio set in the middle of winter -- you never know ;-)

Holiday season also means lots of parties and food. I pulled out my old magazines and bookmarked quite a few recipes for this time of the year -- some festive and some seasonal -- all perfect to entertain for the holidays. So my self imposed theme for 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge' for November & December will be holiday/ seasonal specials.

Read more »

Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Blogging Marathon# 38: Week 4/ Day 1
Theme: Revisiting Recipes
Dish: Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

We are starting the final week of blogging marathon# 38 today and I chose a relatively simple theme. I am going to be revisiting some of my old posts and updating them with new pictures. 

Today I am updating my hearty and healthy Farro salad with roasted vegetables post. I don't know what I was thinking when I was taking those pictures, I used my used pizza stone with stains on them which wasn't the best of backgrounds to use. So here is a simple salad with some updated pictures. 

Read more »

Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

After posting sugary desserts for the past 4 days, I thought it was time for something healthy and definitely savory. Also May happens to be the 'National Month of Salad', so what's better than a healthy salad to kick start this month. I didn't know that there was such a thing as salad month, but I guess it's never too late to know about good things, right??

Today's salad is made with "Farro", an ancient grain believed to have sustained the Roman legions. I have heard about and have seen a number of bloggers cooking with it, so I bought some from Whole Foods recently. Since the weather is still a little chilly, I roasted some veggies in the oven and mixed them with cooked farro for a simple, filling and healthy salad.

Read more »