Colorado is known for many things, but you may be surprised to learn that my state is increasingly known for its award-winning wineries. Last weekend, I was the featured cookbook author at the 10th Harvest Festival of Colorado’s largest winery, The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey in the beautiful Rocky Mountains just west of Colorado Springs. The Winery sits on the lovely grounds of the Abbey and, in fact, it was the Abbey’s monks who began the winery ten years ago.
Demonstrating Whole Grain Salads at the Harvest Festival
A Celebration of Wine, Food, and Song
The Festival celebrates wine, but also the locally grown produce of this fertile area so I wanted to also focus on locally-grown food. And, in keeping with my mission of getting people to eat more whole grains I demonstrated how to make hearty, nutritious, whole grain salads using two ancient grains that are grown in southern Colorado ?quinoa and sorghum. A third recipe was a salad made of wild rice, which does not grow in Colorado, but I used locally grown herbs and other ingredients.
Carol and the Winery's Sally Davidson at the Festival
The Festival was held on the grounds of the winery, with local bands playing throughout the day. I did my demonstration outdoors under a big white tent that protected us from the warm Colorado sun, surrounded by wine-lovers from all over the country.
The recipes are from my new book, 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes and for two days I showed how easy it is to prepare whole grain salads, following these ideas:
[1] Rice cookers cook whole grains without the need for tending or stirring, freeing you up to do other things while they cook. The timer lets you know when the grains are done.
[2] Slow cookers are perfect for long-cooking grains such as brown rice or sorghum. They cook slowly overnight or while you are at work, ready to eat when you walk in the kitchen.
[3] Cooked whole grains can be frozen in individual portions and reheated as needed, allowing you to have several meals from just one cooking session.
[4] Salads such as this Wild Rice Salad can be made ahead: cook the wild rice the day before (I like to use a slow cooker) and refrigerate. You can also chop the other ingredients ahead of time and refrigerate them. I then transported everything to the Festival in a cooler and assembled the dish during my demonstrations.
Wild Rice Salad is nutritious, colorful, and delicious.
Wild Rice Salad
Reprinted with permission from 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Fenster (Avery/Penguin Group, 2011)
Wild rice isn’t really rice at all, but the seed of a grass. Hearty and chewy, its nutty flavor and dark color complement the green snow peas, dried apricots, and citrusy flavors. It is perfect as a buffet dish, warm or cold.
3 cups gluten-free vegetable broth, such as Imagine no-chicken
1 cup wild rice, rinsed 3 times and drained
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup fresh snow peas
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4¼ teaspoon sea salt
1/8? teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
[1] In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Add the wild rice and salt. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until done, about 45 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid, then transfer the wild rice to a serving bowl.
[2] While the wild rice cooks, bring a small pan of boiling water to a boil. Add the snow peas and cook 1 minute, then drain and immerse in cold water to stop cooking. Add them to the serving bowl, along with the green onions, apricots, walnuts, and parsley
[2] In small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, vinegar, orange zest, garlic, salt, and pepper until well blended. Whisk in the oil until slightly thickened. Drizzle it over the salad and toss to coat well. Serve at room temperature, garnished with parsley. Or, chill it for 4 hours, let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, and then serve. Serves 4.
Benefits of Whole Grains
Why should we bother with whole grains? People who regularly eat whole grains have a lower risk of obesity, lower cholesterol levels and a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer. In addition, whole grains are on Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet and a higher intake of whole grains is associated with lower belly fat. That’s reason enough for me!! The USDA and the Whole Grains Council recommend 3 to 5 servings of whole grains per day. One-half cup of cooked whole grains equals one serving.
For more information on whole grains, see Whole Grains in the Gluten-Free Diet that I co-authored with Shelley Case, RD. Download your copy at http://www.carolfenstercooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/WholeGrainHandoutFinalAugust-1120112.pdf
