First attempt at steak au poivre from "The Joy of Cooking." It turned out entirely adequate, despite the fact that the steak was from Walmart and the peppercorns were ancient. Crushed the peppercorns with my mortar and pestle. Haven't done *that* in ages.

Add I accidentally doubled the amount of butter for the sauce, which was easily correctable by doubling the other ingredients as well.  Next time I need to remember that a stick of butter is half a cup, and I only need a quarter cup.

Probably time to throw out the old spices and get new ones.

Note:  this was actually a pretty easy recipe.  I should definitely repeat it.  It would make a good weekly addition to my diet.

I discovered that Haji Baba has wheat berries at a reasonable price.  Deceived by the strawberry and goat cheese recipe,  I tried to do one cup of uncooked wheat berries for 45 minutes.  Had to keep adding water till I got up to 4 cups. 

Next time around, I'll start out with one cup of wheat berries, four cups of water, and one cube of vegetable bouillion (which normally flavors two cups of water) if it's a savory dish.  I'll set the timer to stir every 5 minutes.  At 45 minutes I'll check to see if they are yet al dente, and if not keep checking until the hour is up.

2022-11-15:  I had 1.5 cups of raw wheat berries, so I used a 4:1 ratio of water to wheat.  That was too much they got too soft even at 45 minutes, although still good.  Next time I'll try a 3.5:1 ratio.  If that doesn't work, I'll try 3:1.  It might be that the berries have some variation to their softness/wetness, so probably I'll have to keep testing somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes.

2022-11-21:  This time I tried 3 cups of water.  Once it got to a boil, I set the lower right burner to 3, which left it at a slow rolling boil.  The wheat was ready in 40 minutes.  I drained and rinsed in cool water to stop the cooking.  This was about perfect.

I had about 3/4 cup of wheat berries left, so I threw them in the microwave briefly for some heat.  In a small pan I fried in butter a bit less than a quarter of a medium-diced white onion along with a few cloves of smashed garlic, sprinkled in some salt and pepper, and then mixed it all with the wheat.

Adequate.  But the wheat berries of course did not pick up any of the taste of the onions or garlic.  Next time around I'll saute them with the aromatics.  Hopefully they will pick up some of the flavor that way and maybe even become a bit crunchier.

Source:  https://wintermonroe.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/strawberry-and-goat-cheese-wheat-berry-salad/

Wheat Berries:

• 2 cups soft white wheat berries, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Dressing

• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from 2 oranges)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons orange zest (from 1 large orange)
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, packed, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 10 medium strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1/3 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (see Cook’s Note)

Method

For the wheat berries: In a large saucepan, combine the wheat berries, chicken broth, water, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook until the wheat berries are tender, 60 to 70 minutes. Drain the wheat berries in a colander and set aside to cool, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a salad bowl.

For the dressing:  Zest the oranges before juicing them.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange juice, olive oil, orange zest, agave nectar, mint leaves, salt, and pepper until smooth. Pour the dressing over the wheat berries and add the strawberries, goat cheese, and walnuts. Toss until all the ingredients are coated.

Cook’s Note: To toast the walnuts, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.

Notes

This turned out amazing.  I used raw pecan halves instead of walnuts; not too fond of walnuts.

Sorry for the dark picture; it does no justice to the look or taste of the dish.

Source:  https://www.loveandlemons.com/pickled-red-onions/

What to Do with Pickled Red Onions

As I said above, pickled onions are my favorite way to add a bright pop of flavor to almost any dish. Most simply, they’re excellent on avocado toast, but your options don’t end there. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use them:

• Add them to a salad! This roasted cauliflower salad and this grilled potato salad show them off well.
• Stuff them in a sandwich! Pair them with any bright sandwich filling like:
• egg salad,
• chickpea shawarma,
• or onto avocado toast.
• Pile them on a burger! I like them with my favorite veggie burger, these falafel burgers, and my classic black bean burger.
• Top them onto any Mexican dish! They’d be delicious with these sweet potato tacos, these many-veggie tacos, or even breakfast tacos or a breakfast burrito!
• Add them to a bowl! Try them in:
• this grain bowl or
• this buddha bowl, ir
• top them onto a DIY-burrito bowl with cauliflower rice, 
• orblack beans, or 
• mango, or
• 'tomatillo salsa, or 
• guacamole, or
• your favorite veggies!

Mix boiled wheat berries with finely chopped pickled red onions.

Top with softened cream cheese to cover.

Capers on top.

Cover with smoked salmon cut into 1/2 inch squares.

Refrigerate and give to a friend.

2022-11-15:  this turned out freaking great!  Julie and Saule both loved it!

Source:  https://www.loveandlemons.com/pickled-red-onions/

Ingredients

Wheat berries with melted butter and pomegranate molasses, scrambled eggs with pickled jalapeños on English muffins, half a red bell pepper, grapes, a clementine orange, and espresso.

Although the "omelet" level of the Dash measuring cup is okay for a two-egg dish of scrambled eggs, adding the pickled jalapeños last time meant the eggs didn't cook all the way.  This time I added water half way between the "omelet" level and the hard-boiled egg level.  That worked well.

Add picture here.

Okay, this is a bit of a repeat, but I really wanted to document this more thoroughly.

Back in August I was at Target and on a whim I purchased a Dash Express Egg Cooker (7-egg capacity). This thing has totally reshaped how I eat in the mornings. Best kitchen purchase I've made in years. Nope, I get no money from them, but here I'd like to describe how I first started using it, and then I'll describe the in other posts the variations of things I do with it.

First off, I tried out the the steamer to make hard boiled eggs. Super easy to use. Super easy to clean up afterwards. And the amount of water you use doesn't heat up the house, which is important to me as an Arizona boy, especially in the summer time when I hate to use the stove because it battles with the air conditioner. So the night before I would make six hard-boiled eggs, put them in cold water over night, and in the morning I would peel three of them, cut them in half, and then season one egg with horse-radish sauce, another with Cholula, and the third with grainy brown mustard. The cooker comes with a little measuring cup to give you the exact right amount of water, and on the bottom of the cup there is a little pin that lets you poke a hole in the large end of the egg that means the egg doesn't crack while steaming and ends up being really easy to peel.

Secondly, I was wanting to add vegetables to my morning routine, and it turns out that the "omelet" insert is a perfect size for one serving of steamed vegetables, so when I first get up, I throw some frozen broccoli flowerets or cauliflower flowerets into the insert, add the same amount of water as for hard-boiled eggs. I do this when I start my morning mental health routine. When it's done, I drain the water from the veggies with a strainer and pop them on the plate while I prepare the protein.

Thirdly, if I'm not eating hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, I then put some kind of protein in the steamer with the same amount of water as for hard-boiled eggs. This happens as I continue my mental health routine. Usually it's a small frozen salmon fillet or some frozen meatballs. Steam, drain, put on the plate, and then I add some kind of raw sliced fruit or vegetables. This makes for a glorious breakfast, especially since I put on espresso at the same time as the protein.

The "omelet" insert doesn't really make omelets, just scrambled eggs. Worth it, though. And clean-up is a breeze.

For a long time I didn't use the "poaching insert," but last week I tried it for the first time, and then I served them on sliced English muffins slathered with butter because butter on English muffins in God's way of telling us He loves us. A bit of salt and pepper on the eggs once they are on the muffins. Holey moley, so good, although you need a sharp knife to cut through the English muffins effectively.

Anyway, I'll add a "Dash egg cooker" category to my food blog in case you're interested in looking around.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, butter
• Chopped onion
• Partially cooked wheat berries
• Chopped apple, skin on is okay
• honey
• salt to taste
• boiling water

Method

• Seat of your pants