Hello! Long time no talk. I’ve been a little MIA due to an NYC/DC trip that left little time for blogging.
Hello from NYC!
NYC covered a lot of ground…some amazing (indulgent meals)… a run through central park…perfect bagels…
Lobster/burrata situation at Marea in NYC
Catching up with one of my besties over pretzel soft serve at Momofuku Milk Bar…shopping… more bagels…
Seeing an incredible performance by Forest Whitaker in Hughie… and a little more bagel consumption for good measure (seriously bagels 24/7- we even waited in line at Ess-a-Bagel for at least 45 minutes although it felt like hours)…
A lovely little train ride later we were in DC (the cherry blossoms were insane!) for the White House Easter Egg Roll.
It started out pretty rainy and cold (at 5:30 am!) but eventually cleared up to a beautiful day. We were primarily stationed at the ‘Hop To It’ area which gave us a great view of Idina Menzel’s performance (she. is. ah. mazing).
From there I was on a train to CT for a work trip. When I finally got back to Chi I was in desperate need of quality kitchen time and some sort of healthy grain salad.
I love making giant grain salads that I can snack on all week (not news). This usually involves quinoa but I decided to make a new friend this week- buckwheat groats.
Turns out they are not wheat (gluten free bonus points although I added toasted bread to this recipe…whoops) and they are as easy to make as quinoa. And they are some sort of superfood/magical deliciousness. Paired with some super springy ingredients and I had everything I needed.
You’ll need:
- 1.5 cup buckwheat groats
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1 very aggressive handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 juicy lemon
- 1 bunch of asparagus (15-20 stalks)
- Olive oil
- Salt/pep
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 slices of bread (I used a whole grain seed bread but rye would be great)
- 5 radishes, thinly sliced
- 8 large strawberries, thinly sliced
- 10 slices of shaved parmesan
- 1 small handful of microgreens or pea sprouts
To Make:
- Combine the groats and stock in a saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove buckwheats from heat (drain off any excess liquid if necessary). Let cool slightly.
- Toss buckwheats with parsley, honey, the juice from half the lemon, and a few tablespoons of olive.
- Meanwhile, dry grill the asparagus. Remove from heat, cut into bite size pieces (on a bias) and toss with a little lemon juice.
- Grill the bread slices. Remove from heat and rip into bite size pieces.
- Place the parsley/groat mixture on a platter. Arrange asparagus, radish, strawberries and bread on top (or just toss all together). Top with microgreens, parmesan, any remaining lemon juice and a nice drizzle of olive oil.
Inspired by GreenKitchenStories
Roxana's Kitchen 