Soaking it all in
Yikes! I’m not sure how it happened that three weeks disappeared without me posting anything! School started, and whoosh, September just flew by! Luckily, it hasn’t been all work. We’ve been soaking in the end of summer.
The final crumble of the season using blueberries we picked
There was a lovely long family weekend out at Cape Cod, just after Earl passed through without causing any real trouble. I was the only one who felt the need to brave the post-hurricane waters, but I had a wonderful time frolicking in the harbor, getting tossed around in the lingering wind and waves. And we all enjoyed the Ag Fair in Truro with their amusing motto (photo set on Flickr), lots of great meals. and plenty of time to just sit around in beautiful weather.
Till, baby, till!
Fresh oysters at the market! You don’t see that in North Carolina!
Then, four days later, we headed to Indiana where my beautiful sisters threw me a wonderful shower (full set on Facebook).
Before the festivities
In addition to lots of cute baby gifts, we had great fun decorating onesies and playing with the handmade pompom decorations.
So much team spirit for one baby!
Baby love and pompoms! What else could you ask for?
I’ve even managed to get out on the trail for a few 5Ks while I can still call it “running” a race.
Running for two at 33 weeks!
And in the mean time, we’ve been trying to enjoy our time where we’re just a family of two, while also getting things ready for the little one. In the midst of complaining about the heat (we set a record for days over 90 degrees, making it officially the hottest summer ever!) and rushing around after long days at work, one of our favorite go-to dinners has been a wheatberry salad that I adapted from Food52. With a little prep work over the weekend, it comes together super quickly on a hectic weeknight. I should have shared this earlier, but I was too busy enjoying other things. But if you’re unlucky enough to be somewhere that you can’t believe the calendar telling you it’s fall, at least you’re lucky enough to be somewhere that you can still get yummy tomatoes, and you should definitely make this!
Wheatberry salad
Adapted from Jennifer Perillo’s Summer Farro Salad
In advance: Soak 1 cup of wheatberries in 3 cups of water overnight. Drain and rinse wheatberries. Add 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to the wheatberries in a medium saucepan and bring to a vigorous boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, or until they split open and turn chewy.
Bake 1 chicken breast (or shred rotisserie chicken) and chop into 1/2 cup of bite sized pieces.
Blanch 1/2 lb. of green beans, broken into bite sized pieces.
Then, in a large bowl, combine:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 clove garlic, minced
Whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Add in:
Cooked wheatberries
Chopped chicken
Blanched green beans
1 pint Sungold tomatoes, cut in half
12 Kalmata olives, chopped
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, chopped into 1/4” cubes
1/4 cup of red onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped
Toss salad fixings in dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy immediately, before summer escapes!
Seriously, this tastes best immediately after it’s made, but it keeps moderately well for a day in the fridge. But beyond that, the tomatoes just get soggy. So eat up!
