Barley and Wheat Berry Greek Salad

Hi everyone, how's your day going? Things are pretty good out here in the islands...it's a cool and blustery summer day. Just the way I like it! Yesterday I went adventuring in Victoria, via the bus! I had never really done that before, and I had SO much fun! I also found a great place to get my hair cut...finally! I started out with my bangs, just to see. I think it went well! It looked better yesterday, but here it is...me with bangs!

Oh, you wanted to hear about food and not my hair?! Well, I can do that! I have long been itching to try wheat berries. Don't ask me why, they just sounded interesting and healthy. You know, mix up the grain scene around here! A friend had also recommended barley as a good alternative to rice. Put them together, and what have you got? My barley and wheat berry greek salad!

I found conflicting info about cooking times and methods for these grains, so I just put 1/2 cup of each in their own pot and covered well with water, then put a lid on. I brought them to a boil, then turned them down to a simmer and just let 'em go. I kept testing for doneness, and found that they both took about 55 minutes to finish cooking. I drained them, combined into a bowl, and refrigerated to cool.

In the meantime I mixed up a dressing. I started out with 3 spoonfuls of hummus, added a glug of olive oil, a 1/4 cup lemon juice and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir well to combine.

Our garden is giving back, so I went and harvested a cucumber, a handful of basil, and a small handful of oregano. Ah, they smell so good, and have such a beautiful green glow!

I peeled and chopped the cucumber into bite sized pieces. I also chopped up 2 tomatoes and 2 handfuls of kalamata olives. Once the grains were cooled I stirred in the dressing (which the grains soak up nicely over time), added the cucumber, tomato and olives, and crumbled about 3/4 cup feta cheese on top. I destemmed the herbs and tore the leaves into nice little bits. All mixed up it was quite pretty and VERY tasty!

The barley helped cut the firm chewiness of the wheat berries, the dressing was soaked up so each bite was full of flavor, and the fresh herbs brought the salad to life.

This salad makes for great leftovers too. I have been enjoying it for lunch and snacks! One huge plus? It's pretty darn healthy!

My MIL roasted a chicken, and Ben picked a few zucchini from the garden.

We wanted to be able to appreciate the flavor, color and texture of our own zucchini, so I chopped them up, and Ben sauted them in BUTTER! With a tiny sprinkling of salt these were SO good! I took a huge helping!

I love it when everyone contributes something to a meal! Not too much work for any one person, and you end up with a fabulous dinner! Try it with your family!