The Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n 4 Cups Water – not shown – used to cook the wheat berries Serves 6 – \u00a0(3\/4 Cup Servings)<\/p>\n Wheat berries<\/strong> – I had heard of wheat berries. I had seen other recipes that called for wheat berries, but I wasn’t exactly sure what they were or where to find them in the grocery store. \u00a0I thought for sure they would be near the rice – to me they looked similar to brown rice when cooked. Well… A wheat berry refers to the entire wheat kernel, except for the hull. They can be cooked several different ways. You can cook them similar to rice – add water, bring to boil and then simmer. You can soak them and then\u00a0saut\u00e9\u00a0them in olive oil with garlic and other spices. You can also add them to bread for a crunchy texture or ground them up into a wheat flour. They are available in both soft and hard textures and they vary in color from white (light tan) to red (reddish-brown). I’m pretty sure the original recipe showed red, but all I could find at the store was soft\/white. You can find them in the grain section or healthy foods section of the grocery store, near the flour.<\/p>\n For you calorie counters – A cup of wheat berries has about 300 calories and is packed with fiber, protein and iron.<\/p>\n The first step was to rinse the dry berries. A fine mesh strainer would have worked great for this… the coffee filter\/pampered chef can strainer\/hoopty combo I used… was pretty much a pain in the butt.<\/p>\n Mental note: Must purchase a fine mesh strainer.<\/p>\n Anyway, I added the rinsed berries to 4 cups of salted water. The cooking instructions on the wheat berry package called for way less water, but the recipe instructions I used – called for 4 cups \u00a0– bring to boil, simmer for 50 minutes and then drain.<\/p>\n While the wheat berries where simmering, I chopped up the tomatoes and red onion. I rinsed and drained the black beans and added all of the ingredients, minus the wheat berries to a bowl. I gave it a good mix and then put it into the fridge to marinate.<\/p>\n As soon as the berries were finished, I grabbed my coffee filter, can strainer, make-shift contraption and I rinsed the berries with cold water to cool them down. I patted them dry with paper towels and then got them added in with the other ingredients. I gave everything a good stir and did a taste test. It needed something. I added more ground pepper and a splash or two of balsamic. I let the salad mixture sit in the fridge for another 30 minutes.<\/p>\n Perfection! I will definitely be making this dish again. I loved the combination! It would be great paired with grilled chicken.<\/p>\n I ended up eating it with a 100 calorie everything bagel thin w\/reduced fat cream cheese. I actually ended up using my bagel as a scoop – it was delicious!<\/p>\n I’m super excited about wheat berries and can’t wait to try them in more recipes – good thing I still have the majority of the huge bag left. One of the recipes I came across combined wheat berries with milk, honey and cinnamon – interesting, I could see that – they do have a rather nutty taste to them.<\/p>\n Queen of all things salad and master of the side-dish, I knew I wanted to make something fresh and light for dinner last night. After having had a rather sinful sushi lunch – I went with the tempura\/multiple\u00a0sauce roll, I didn’t want to go to bed feeling stuffed. I had seen an ad for Pompeian oils and vinegars in a magazine a few months back. … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/foodiddy.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/05\/ingredients_dsc01642.jpg\" "\\"ingredients\\"")
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\n1\/2 Cup Dry Wheat Berries
\n1\/2 of a 15 oz. Can of Black Beans – rinsed and drained
\n1 Cup Shelled Edamame – the recipe called for thawed frozen – I went with fresh from Trader Joe’s
\n1 Cup Chopped Tomato
\n1\/2 Cup Finely Chopped Red Onion
\n3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
\n2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
\nSalt and Ground Pepper to taste – not shown…I’m sure you are all\u00a0familiar\u00a0with my salt and pepper shakers now \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/foodiddy.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/05\/wheatberries_dsc01647.jpg\" "\\"wheat")
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\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/foodiddy.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/05\/foo11.jpg\" "\\"Foo\\"")
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