About a year ago, before starting this blog, I was hesitant in the kitchen.  I never knew where to begin and typically resorted to the same few dishes when it was my night to cook. Now, it has become part of my daily routine to read through the many beautiful, entertaining, and informative blogs I’ve found to date. These cooks have inspired me to try new techniques for preparing vegetables, and new twists on traditional family favorites.

This salad today is inspired by the BigandPinkyToes blog and a recent broccoli salad that she made! I’ve said this before, but my husband LOVES broccoli. We always have it in the house, and it is often one of the veggies that I’m incorporating into end of the week experiments.  

I liked the idea of adding vinegar to the salad, and took the opportunity to use some jalapeno white balsamic vinegar that I picked up on a recent trip to Cape Cod.  The consistency of the salad was excellent, with lots of crunch coming from the corn, farro and cabbage in particular.

That said, the salad felt like it was missing something. Next time I’ll use the vinegar to make a dressing on the side with a dash of sugar, and something hot like fresh jalapeno or red pepper.  What other ideas do you have to spice up this colorful plate of veggies?

Later this week I am heading out to Colorado for vacation with the fam. Excited for some fresh mountain air, some technology free days, and lots of time to read and write.  See you later in August!

Ingredients:

• 1 clove of garlic – diced
• 1 head of broccoli – cut into florets
• 2 cooked ears of corn – cut off the cob
• About a 1/4 cup of red cabbage, shredded
• About a 1/4 cup of carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup of cooked farro
• 2 Tablespoons of Jalapeno vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps and Notes:

1. Cook the farro according to directions.
   • Note: I have started to cook batches of grains like farro and/or quinoa at the start of the week which makes it easier to sprinkle them into salads and stirfries mid-week.
2. In a hot pan, saute the garlic in olive oil
3. Add the broccoli and cook on medium heat, covered, for about 7 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning
4. Remove the lid and add the corn, carrots, cabbage, and cooked farro.
5. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper, then cook for 2-3 minutes until veggies are slightly warmed.
6. This can be served at room temperature.

Thoughts for Next Time:

• Add some cheese, perhaps feta
• Top the salad with avocado (though not sure how that would taste with the vinegar)
• Add some sunflower seeds!
• Bake some tofu (using this recipe) and add it to the salad