Herbed Pomegranate Barley Salad

This post is once again in thanks to Bon Appetit. I was going through their spread on alternatives to Thanksgiving sides and found their twist on the classic cranberry sauce pretty intriguing. They suggested using pomegranates instead of cranberries, which is the perfect alternative since Ty hates cranberries. I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving to try their pomegranate-mint relish recipe so I incorporated it into a seasonal herbed barley salad. By the way, this was my first time deseeding a pomegranate. In fact, I had never seen a pomegranate until I had to buy one for this recipe. The best recommendation I have for anyone dealing with pomegranates is make sure you're wearing clothes that can get dirty because pomegranate stains. You will get messy! It's so worth it though. Here's an image tutorial on how to deseed a pomegranate.

Pomegranate Fruit

Step 1: Slice crown end and discard

Step 2: Score the rind around the pomegranate, but do not cut too deep. You don't want to "pop" any seeds.

Step 3: Remove the seeds from the rind in a large bowl of water. The seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl. Separate and drain.

Step 5: Now you have seeds!

And finally, on to the salad!

What you'll need:

1 cup barley (couscous, orzo, etc. are all great options)
3 cups of water (you can use stock)
Pomegranate seeds (1 pomegranate is enough)
1 chopped orange pepper
1 chopped shallot
Handful of mint
Handful of cilantro
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp olive or avocado oil

A dash of salt and pepper

 Directions:
1. Cook the barley. Per 1 cup of barley, use 3 cups of water or stock. Simmer for 30-40 minutes on low heat. Set aside and let cool down.

 2. Deseed your pomegranate and prepare your herbs and vegetables.
 3. Mix chopped orange pepper, pomegranate seeds, herbs, lemon juice, and oil in big bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate.

 4. Once barley is cooled down, mix together and refrigerate. Serve once cooled down. 

Watermelon, Mint, and Feta Cheese Salad

Ty and I went to the grocery store the other day and saw the cutest little baby watermelon. I knew it was a little out of season, but I couldn't resist. I had to have it! I did a quick inventory of what we had in our fridge and remembered the feta cheese we used for the chicken roulade. So that's what we did! We grabbed the watermelon, some mint, and headed home to make an incredibly simple, but bright and flavorful watermelon, mint, and feta cheese salad. Enjoy!

What you'll need:
1/2 baby watermelon
2 or 3 leaves of fresh mint
1/4 cup of crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

Directions:
1. Cut the watermelon into 1 inch cubes.
2. Finely chop the mint and mix with watermelon.
3. Mix in the feta cheese and you're done!

Fattoush Salad

Fattoush, which means "crumbled bread" in Arabic, is one of my favorite Levantine mezza dishes. I first had it in Amman and was absolutely floored by the bright flavors I tasted in each bite. Who knew vegetables could be so delicious?! Traditionally, fattoush is a mix of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, parsley and mint, olive oil, lemon juice, sumac or za'atar (fabulous!) seasoning, and of course, pita chips! When I was looking in the fridge tonight, I realized I didn't have a lot of the ingredients, but I went ahead and tried making my own version, using the ingredients I did have! I'll show you how to make a simplified version of fattoush and you'll be saying "wow". And even better, it doesn't take long to prepare at all! This version is just for one person. Enjoy!

What you'll need:
1 Cucumber
Lots of Grape Tomatoes, around 15
A handful of pita chips
A handful of dill (thanks to Suzanne for letting us pick some from the garden. It was delicious)
A dash of sea salt and pepper
1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. of lemon juice

Directions:
1. Peel and dice the cucumbers into one inch cubes.

2. Slice the grace tomatoes into small one inch cubes.

3. Mix cucumbers and grape tomatoes together.
4. Finely chop the dill and mix in with the cucumbers and toatoes.

5. Dress the mixture with the EVOO, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
6. Now crush the pita chips. You can either use store-bought pita chips like I did or make your own. If you do decide to make your own, just take a pita, break into bite size pieces, and bake in the oven till golden brown. Season with a little salt and pepper or get creative, and use some interesting seasonings!

7. Mix the pita chips in with everything else. Serve immediately. You don't want the pita chips getting soggy!

 

Classic Israeli Salad

Wow, it has been a very long time since my last post. But I would like nothing more than sharing my first home cooked meal with you since being overseas these past few months :)

While overseas, I got to spend a good amount of time in Amman and Tel Aviv and it was fabulous. My favorite past-time, not surprisingly, was getting to experience the local cuisine. Middle Eastern food is so vibrant. I could honestly write a novel about the richness and depth of flavors of their food. I spent my days trying all the different varieties of falafel, hummus, schwarma, the fresh herb salads, and the little sweet treats from the bakery. And it'd be wrong of me to not mention the wonders of their black coffee with cardamon and chai tea. Just delightful.

To celebrate and commemorate my time there, I decided to prepare baked chicken sprinkled with cajun seasoning and Israeli salad and fresh corn on the cob. What I'd love to share with you is my twist on the Israeli salad. It's an incredibly easy and super delicious way to treat yourself to those much needed vegetables. Enjoy!

What you'll need:
1 Cucumber
1 Tomato
1/2 Onion
Bunch of cilantro
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

 Directions:
1. Chop the cucumber, tomato, and onion into small cubes. Place into bowl.
2. Chop cilantro into small pieces. Mix with vegetables.
3. Add lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.
4. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

And that's it!