Grains, Greens and Scrambled Eggs

Since I have been on my farro kick all summer, I have made this greens and grains dish many times for breakfast throughout the summer.  It started out to be a cooler summer, so a nice warm dish which comes together so quickly was just what I was craving many times this summer.  It is a filling dish with the protein and grains, but also gives that boost of greens which I often crave.  This is another recipe adapted from Whole Grain Mornings, but there are so many grains to try that you can easily substitute whatever you have been cooking recently as long as you have some leftover!

Greens and Grains
1-2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
1-2 pinches salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup (or as much as desired) packed greens (I like arugula or spinach)
1/4 cup cooked whole grains (I used farro, but barley or wheat berries would be good)
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together milk, salt and egg(s).  Heat about 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add the green onion and garlic and cook for about 1 minute.  Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil then the grains and greens.  Cook until warmed throughout, about 3-5 minutes.  Decrease heat to low and add the egg mixture.  Stir until they are cooked, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat, add pepper and salt to taste.  Add the chopped chives.

Serves 1, but can easily doubled to serve two.

Scrambled Eggs with Greens and Grains

My husband and I have been traveling a number of weekends in a row.  When we get home I am not very inspired to cook until I have had a day of rest, so I asked him what he wanted for dinner the next night.  We had just eaten pasta, which is one of the only things that he cooks, when I asked him what he wanted.  He replied with grains.  I asked for more information and he said that he used to be satisfied with just pasta, pasta and more pasta, but that I have introduced a lot of variety into his diet and now he wanted some of that variety.  So as I was looking through recipes with grains, I remembered Whole Grain Mornings and was determined to have a hot breakfast this morning which would warm me from the inside out.  This is really an easy recipe to throw together especially if you have just a little bit of grains left over from some other recipe.  I didn't, so I cooked up just 1/3 cup of farro, which is one of my most favorite grains.  That 1/3 cup cooked up to quite a bit more than I wanted for just one serving, so I will be eating these scrambled eggs again very soon.

Scrambled Eggs with Greens and Grains
Serves 1 (easily doubled to serve 2)

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup (or two handfuls) greens (I used arugula, but you can also use spinach, Swiss chard, etc.)
1/4 cup cooked grains (I used farro, but you can use wheat berries or barley too)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
pepper and salt to taste

Whisk together eggs, milk and salt.  Heat the tablespoon of oil over medium heat.  Saute the green onion and garlic until soft, about 1 minute (as it will continue to cook with the greens).  Add the greens and grain and saute.  (You can add a little more olive oil if you need to.)  When the greens are wilted and grains warm, decrease the heat to low and pour in the egg mixture.  Stir eggs until they are lightly scrambled, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat, sprinkle on the chives, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve right away with crusty bread if desired.

Quinoa Salad with Leek, Bacon and Parsley

I have an obsession with collecting cookbooks.  Therefore, every Christmas there always are a few cookbooks on my wish list.  I love to read through them, learn new ingredients, and to give me inspiration to try even more different types of things and to think of new flavor combinations.  This past year I have also come to love farro a lot, but I went to buy some this summer and strangely enough there were problems with the supply, so instead I turned back to quinoa.  So with more quinoa in my cupboard and my mother-in-law wanting to try something with quinoa in it while she was visiting, I found this recipe based off of one in Homemade Winter by Yvette Van Boven.  My husband was a little bit cautious as he thought there were too many things going on, but I disagreed and the flavors seemed like they would go well together with the hearty quinoa adding some filling to otherwise not very filling salads.  In the end, it was a hit and the topping of bacon made everyone happy.

Quinoa Salad with Leek, Bacon and Parsley

Salad:

5 smaller leeks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup dry white wine

salt

2/3 cup quinoa, soaked

5 oz. bacon

2-3 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 bunch parsley

arugula (3-4 cups)

Dressing:

juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a non-stick skillet, fry the bacon.  Remove when crisp and let cool on a plate covered in paper towels.  Reserve the bacon fat to cook the leeks over a medium heat heat.  When they are hot, but not yet browned, add the white wine and lower the heat and braise with the lid on the pan for about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil.  Add the quinoa and a pinch of salt.  Cook the quinoa for 10 minutes.  Immediately drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Make sure quinoa is well drained.  Check on the leeks.  If they are done, place on a plate to cool.  In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, leeks, sesame seeds and most of the parsley.  (Leave a little parsley for garnish.)

For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice and garlic.  Continue whisking as you add the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the quinoa and leek mixture.

Arrange the arugula in a bowl, then place the quinoa and leek mixture over the top.  Finally, garnish with the rest of the parsley and bacon.