Patridge Two Ways

As I've mentioned before, I occasionally get to enjoy rare cuts of meat and fowl courtesy of my boyfriend's father's hunts. A couple weeks ago they gave us a whole lot of bone-in partridge breasts. I was in the mood for a comfort food and decided we should make partridge "tenders."

Partridges are so small that when Evan cut the breasts off the bone, they were already perfectly sized for making tenders. I double-dipped each little piece in a beaten egg and a combination of bread crumbs, flour, cornmeal and spices. Then they were fried in a shallow, hot layer of canola oil in a cast iron pan for about five minutes on each side until browned. I let them rest on paper towels afterward to absorb extra oil. They were accompanied by ketchup with a dash of sriracha and a puree of potato and celery root. Not a very colorful meal, but definitely flavorful.



They tasted to me exactly like chicken tenders, which allowed me to reflect on the fact that while chicken is a staple of the average American's diet, I almost never cook it. In fact, I can't remember the last time I ate chicken, except at my parent's house, since it's what my mom always seems to make when I go there. To most people, chicken is a readily available, affordable and conveniently boneless meat. I don't think of it that way at all because I'm not interested in buying chicken from a grocery store. Cage free and free range in a grocery store usually mean nothing more than the fact that there were no cages and that there was a door to the outside that the chickens may or may not have used. Meanwhile, for whatever reason, the farmers who sell chickens at the NYC Greenmarkets sell them whole. If I want to make chicken, I have to accept the responsibility of cooking and making use of a whole bird.

Back to partridge - Later that night, we threw the bones into a pot of water for two hours to boil into stock, with a good amount of meat still clinging on. A few nights later I felt lucky to come home from work to dinner made by my boyfriend: partridge soup with carrots, onions, kale, potatoes, and barley (I try to always have some kind of pre-cooked grain like barley or quinoa stashed away in our freezer).

We have plenty more partridge and pheasant in our freezer, so I'm sure we will come up with a few more unique ways to enjoy it.

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Guest Post: Hunting My Own Meat

While New York gets back on its feet and prepares to return to the normalcy of going back to work, my sister Lisa is here to share a guest post from Oregon about fulfilling her lifelong dream to learn to hunt (which I never knew she had).

A long, long time ago, when I was a child on a goat farm, I became a vegetarian. My reasons: it was environmentally irresponsible, wasteful, and often cruel to animals. My parents weren’t into it, but they stopped trying to feed me meat after a month or so. I never thought it was wrong to kill animals -- I knew as a human that it was a natural activity. Hunting was a controversial and extremely cultural issue in southern New York. Deer are overpopulated because they no longer have any natural predators besides humans. And I only knew of one person in the whole town (of 30,000 people) who hunted. Hunting was portrayed as something that hillbillies do, it was uncivilized and gross. I never prescribed to that shitty bias. I remember taking a poll in high school once where I asked people two questions: 1) Do you think hunting is wrong or cruel? and 2) Are you a vegetarian. 0% of my 40 person study group were vegetarians but about 50% said they were against hunting. Interesting results!

So, basically, I could not wait until the day that I actually was able to learn to hunt my food, to kill it and prepare it myself, to have the most cruelty-free and sustainable meat.

After graduate school in New York City, I moved to the high desert of Eastern Oregon, and have slowly begun to ease my way into the activities that are so common and normal here: hunting and fishing.

Last June I caught my first trout. I went on my first deer hunt a few weeks ago, with my boyfriend and his family who are very experienced and intelligent hunters. I learned gun safety, hunting strategy, and the excitement and beauty of a hunting trip. We hunted in the northeastern corner of Oregon where the red sunrises and sunsets flowed through the geometry of 400 foot deep canyons. And I shot a deer through the heart with one shot (I guess the hand-eye coordination from softball pitching lessons really paid off, mom!). No suffering, instant predation. Gutting the deer felt felt much more natural than I thought it would. It was like dissecting an animal in biology class, except with the proud knowledge that we were all going to share several great meals afterward.

Duck hunting is trickier than I thought. I hunted for ducks in a wildlife area in a basin lake from 7-11am, and then again from 1-4pm, my whole body covered with varying layers of camouflage except for my eyes (ducks can see color and understand what a face is). It was very cold, then it was very hot, and we only saw about two ducks flying the whole day.

My boyfriend's family and I are going duck hunting Thanksgiving morning, to bring home some fresh duck, and maybe geese, to cook as our Thanksgiving meal. I'm glad that I get to participate in such a thankful and sustainable tradition.

The only thing left is to get Julia to hunt with me when she comes out to Oregon at some point (which is totally going to happen).

Hmmm, I don't know about that. While I support the act of hunting your own meat for the same reasons that Lisa does, I'm personally not interested in taking part in it, at least for now. Although, I do think it would be a useful survival skill if we see apocalyptic environmental and economic changes during our lifetime. What about you - would you ever go hunting?

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Moving into Spring

The weekend before last, I finally left the apartment where I lived in bed bug fear and moved into my boyfriend's apartment. We both love cooking, so now that we're cohabitating, we are enabling each other to cook a lot (perhaps too much?). In the past week alone, we made quite a few excellent meals sourced mostly from the greenmarkets - because early spring vegetables are here!

Lamb burgers with the whites of ramps diced and mixed into the patties and the greens of ramps sauteed on top with melted cheddar cheese. Fiddleheads were blanched and then sauteed to ensure they were thoroughly cooked (they are poisonous raw). This was my first time trying fiddleheads, which like ramps, are foraged this time of year. I wished we had cooked them long enough to brown and crisp to add more flavor, because I found the fiddleheads too earthy and bland. There were also roasted potatoes.

Friends came over for dinner on Cinco de Mayo, so we made pulled pork tacos. The pork shoulder (from Flying Pigs Farm) was rubbed in garlic, cumin, paprika, onion powder, salt and crushed red pepper. We put it in the slow cooker fat side up with a bottle of black Irish lager and the juice of half a lime and let it sit on high for 3 hours and then low for 4 hours until it was tender enough to pull apart with a fork. For toppings, I prepared a slaw of thinly sliced cabbage and scallions; chopped cilantro; shredded cheddar cheese; pickled radishes and wedges of lime. In the past I've always made pulled pork with barbecue sauce, so this was a refreshing change of pace. Perhaps letting the rub sit overnight would have imbued it with more flavor.

Salad of smoked trout from Max Creek Hatchery, pickled radishes, arugula, lightly oiled and toasted homemade croutons with a dressing of apple cider vinegar and olive oil.

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Make Your Own Mustard

When I went to my make mustard for my father's holiday gift this year, I realized that I've never posted the go-to recipe I've been using for years now. The concept behind making mustard is very simple: soak mustard seeds in a vinegar-based liquid and then blend it. That liquid can be just vinegar and water, but I like to use beer or wine for more flavor, as well as honey for some sweetness to offset the spiciness. You can also add whatever spices your heart desires for endless variations. Despite using white seeds, which actually look yellow and are supposed to be the most mild of the types of mustard seeds, this comes out hotter than the storebought stuff and takes a few weeks to mellow out. I also recently learned you can heat the liquid first, which will cut the mustard's bite, but I haven't tried that yet.

Mustard seeds can be found in the spice section of most grocery stores. Some seeds I've bought are harder to blend than others for no apparent reason and result in a coarser mustard - just a warning. This makes a very simple gift, which you probably wish I told you a few weeks ago, or is a simple way to impress barbecue guests, or is just a good thing to have in your fridge since the anti-bacterial properties of mustard mean it will last for months.

Also, happy holidays!

Homemade Spicy Honey Mustard

1/4 cup white mustard seeds
1/4 cup beer or wine
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp whole peppercorns
1 tsp salt
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp honey

Combine all ingredients in an empty jar* and put in the fridge for a week. One to seven days later, blend the mixture until seeds are mostly ground and it reaches your desired consistency, adding a little water a tablespoon at a time if necessary.

* It is suggested that you rinse and save salsa and peanut butter jars since they are perfect for homemade condiments.

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Thanksgiving 2011

It's been three years since I was last lead cook for Thanksgiving. This year, I made all the side dishes and my own turkey legs. My mom made the big turkey and gravy and pies and my relatives brought the rest of the desserts. I came home Wednesday to give me plenty of time for cooking ahead and wrote out a schedule of food prep to follow on Thanksgiving day, which helped it all go smoothly. Except that I can never get the hang out how my mom's oven is consistently hotter than every other oven I've ever used and doesn't brown when roasting but goes straight to burn.

Roasted turkey legs
Roasted for about 90 minutes at 350, turned over halfway through.

My mom continues to insist on a free Shoprite turkey, so this year I did what I should have done in other years and brought my own portion of turkey from the farmers market to eat.

Rosemary no-knead rolls
Prepare the no-knead bread recipe, double it and add a bunch of diced fresh rosemary. The next day, two hours before baking, grease two muffin tins. Lightly press down the dough, pinch off pieces and roughly form them into balls and place in muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Makes 24.

These rolls were a little tough on the outside. I think the crunchy crust that this no-knead method can create translates to toughness in rolls. Probably I need to try rolls made all in on day with milk for a fluffier texture.

Green beans with lemon, shallots and almonds
Sautee shallots and almonds. Meanwhile, steam green beans in a few inches of water for 5-10 minutes to desired tenderness. Combine in one dish with the juice of one lemon.

I don't like green beans that much but I liked this just fine.

Roasted Brussels sprouts
These sprouts were small enough that I didn't need to cut them in half first, just roasted at 400 for about 20 minutes on one side and ten minutes on the other.

A classic that pleased my grandfather who thinks boiled brussels sprouts taste terrible, despite being slightly overbrowned.

Mashed potatoes and celery root
I think celery root lends an elegant flavor to mashed potatoes. But I only used one large celery root to about 8 potatoes, so the ratio was off and it should have been more like two celery roots.

Hasselback sweet potatoes with maple syrup and sage
Slice sweet potatoes almost all the way to the bottom. Finely dice one bunch of sage and mix it in with two tbsp olive oil and two tbsp maple syrup with sage. This is messy, butuse your fingers to spread the sage, olive oil and mayple syrup mixture in between the potato slices. Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes. Can be made ahead and rewarmed.

My mom usually makes just straight up baked sweet potatoes, so this is classier and prettier and creates a nice hint of sweetness and sage. However, it was time consuming to carefully slice the potatoes and spread the sage mixture.

Roasted butternut squash with chickpeas and parmesan
Cut one large butternut squash into small one-to-two inch pieces. Roast in olive oil at 400 until browned. Afterward, add one to two cups of pre-cooked chickpeas and grate in a half cup of parmesan. Can be made ahead and reheated the next day in the oven.

A favorite combination of mine.

Stuffing with celery, apple and onion
Dice two red onions, one bunch of celery and three apples. Sautee in one stick of butter (!) until softened. Tear up two day-old baguettes into small pieces. Combine vegetables and baguette in a container of vegetable stock and add sage and poultry seasoning. Let sit in the fridge over night. Use some stuffing to stuff the turkey. The remainder will fill a casserole; bake at 400 until warmed through and browned on top.

This is the stuffing recipe I have been eating my whole life, made with baguette instead of pepperidge farm bread crumbs.

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Fall Locavore Dinner

My gentleman friend's father hunts deer, so his freezer is stocked with various forms of venison (like pepperoni and bologna!?) and sometimes we get to enjoy venison steak. It's a lean meat that reminds me of bison. This back strap cut was particularly tender and added to what felt like an indulgent yet wholesome fall locavore dinner.

I thought a bunch of sage I had picked from my mother's garden would be a nice flavor accompaniment to mashed sweet potatoes, and it certainly was. I wasn't sure how to best incorporate it, so I decided to chop and sautee the sage and then add to the mash. He said the pieces of sage were off-putting in the otherwise creamy mashed potatoes; I didn't mind. Next time, I wouldn't bother cooking the sage and would more finely dice it. On the side was also kale, simply sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper, because sometimes that's all it needs.

For dessert, we made apple crisp using fruit from the annual upstate apple picking adventure and topped it with vanilla maple ice cream. The boy loves ice cream so much he eats it every day. I love making ice cream and taught him how. Now he's got himself an ice cream machine and can achieve creamy perfection (especially thanks to Milk Thistle Farm), that my handchurn technique can't quite reach.

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Making Cheese

Following butter, next in the homemade dairy adventures was cheese! As I've mentioned, I get raw milk from the Bushwick Food Coop. I find that the raw milk goes sour tasting faster than I can drink it. I was ready to throw it out, until a fellow coop member filled me in on the fact that soured raw milk is still edible and can be saved for other uses. Apparently, raw milk has beneficial bacteria and enzymes that make it more easily digestible and kill pathogens, so it continues to be safe and nutritious after it starts to taste sour. In contrast, pasteurized milk extends the initial shelf life and eliminates disease risk, but becomes putrified and unsafe after it goes sour. I don't fully understand it, but you can find more information on this here and here and here.





I looked up uses for sour milk - I don't like yogurt so that was out. I wanted to make cheese, but nothing complicated involving rennet. Then I remembered Rachel's simple paneer from Heart of Light. Sold. Then poking through some old magazines I stumbled across directions for making ricotta in an old Diner Journal (offbeat food publication made by the folks behind Diner restaurant in Brooklyn). The directions for both are quite similar, one calling for lime juice and the other for vinegar. After making it, the texture reminded me of the goat cheese my mom made when I was young, and sure enough, she said she used the same process but calls it "farmers cheese." So whatever you want to call it, it was a snap to make.







Heat whole milk until nearly boiling, add an acid such as vinegar (which is what I used) or lime juice, and then let the curds (solids) separate and rise to the top from the whey (liquid). My instructions told me the whey would turn clear, which it never did. I also found curds hanging at the bottom of my pan in addition to the top, so maybe I didn't cook it long or hot enough for them to separate sufficiently. Not sure. Regardless, I spooned out the curds with a mini colander (or slotted spoon would work) and then laid them in a rag (any thin dishcloth or cut up sheet or cloth napkin etc would work here if you don't have actual cheesecloth) over a larger colander and let drain for a half hour. Then twisted the rag around the curds to strain out more liquid and let it drain another half hour before putting in the refrigerator to firm. I added the olive oil and rosemary later, mashing it up into small pieces which is the texture you see below. My cheese was still good in the fridge a week after making it.



Coming from soured milk, it had a little sour tang, and then I thought it still needed a litle something extra, so I mixed in rosemary and marinated it in olive oil. It tasted great on pizza and melted well. I think I will make cheese again next time I have sour milk, although I will play around with a different final preparation.

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Making Butter

I recently joined the Bushwick Food Coop, which gives me access to raw, organic, grass fed dairy from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania. I was strangely craving ice cream last week despite the cold weather, so I ordered heavy cream in addition to my usual milk. However, feeling lazier this week and having run out of butter, I decided to give a whirl at turning my cream into butter instead. You can theoretically do so by shaking a mason jar of cream over a half hour, but I don't have an empty jar to spare right now (all are housing bulk goods), and butter can be made in just a few minutes in a food processor or stand mixer.

I followed Kelly's lead over at eat make read. Sure enough, the transformation went through all the proper phases as I paused the food processor every minute or so to check on progress: cream turned into thick white whipped cream and then into yellower crumbly soft butter. Next, liquid began to spray the sides of the food processor as the buttermilk separated from a mass of solid butter.

I strained the buttermilk to save for baking. The final step was to rinse the butter in extremely cold water while kneading it a bit until the water ran clear and then to dry it in a paper towel or cheesecloth. A pint of cream will give you about one cup of butter, good in the fridge for roughly one week.

I'm going to a potluck this weekend. What should I make to highlight this tasty butter? Bread to serve with herbed butter? Buttermilk scones or biscuits? Empanadas? Any other ideas? Help me decide!

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Roasted Brussels Sprout, Potato, and Egg Salad

People like to know about meals that can be easily made at home when cooking for one and cooking from scratch. This is mine, with minimum prep and minimum fuss, making just enough for dinner and lunch. I like to roast the brussels sprouts and potatoes until they are so crisp and brown that I'll happily snack on them on their own. Then I add chopped up hardboiled eggs to the equation for protein. The creamy hardboiled yolks find their way into all the nooks and crannies of the salad, transforming what could be soggy leftovers into more goodness for lunch the next day. If you prefer runny yolks, poached or soft boiled eggs will also work, but I feel that hardboiled are best for leftovers.


My only problem is that I haven't found a new reliable source for brussels sprouts. Having access to good produce at the Park Slope Food Coop made me lazy. I used to get cheap brussels sprouts there almost every week. Last winter was the year of brussels sprouts, and I was continuing on that path this year until I moved back to Williamsburg this month, away from the Coop. I can't always count on finding brussels sprouts at the farmers market. Last Saturday at Union Square there were just a lot of onions, apples, carrots, and squash. But it all depends on the day and the market, so it's time to recommit to my former routine of going to the McCarren Park farmers market every Saturday, and stopping in at Union Square on weekdays to check out the selection, (which should be especially easy now that I work downtown within walking distance - no more corporate midtown for me!)


Roasted Brussels Sprout, Potato, and Egg Salad
Preheat oven to 450. Rinse and chop one medium potato into small wedges (the smaller, the faster they cook). Pour olive oil liberally over a baking sheet, as well as salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes onto the tray, adding more oil, salt, and pepper and stirring around until thoroughly coated and evenly distributed so that each potato slice gets surface space. Put in the oven to roast.
While they start cooking, rinse about a dozen brussels sprouts, chop off the ends, and slice in half. Likewise prepare the sprouts on an oiled and seasoned pan. Roast for about half an hour, removing both potatoes and sprouts halfway to flip each vegetable slice over to allow the other side to brown. This is also a good time to munch on the leaves that have fallen off the brussels sprouts and crisped. Meanwhile, hard boil three eggs. I like these instructions for hard boiling. Once the eggs have cooled enough to peel and chop, mix it all together and enjoy. Makes two servings.

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Canning Pickles and a Word about Skillshares

At the skillshare in September, we also made pickles and pizza, in addition to beer. We followed a recipe for canned garlic and dill pickles that Sarah learned at a pickling class at the Brooklyn Kitchen led by Bob McClure. I thought I didn't like fresh dill in my pickles, but I was wrong, because these were great and tasted simply as pickles should. In fact I liked them so much that I was willing to join a daring round of shots of pickle brine when we found ourselves snacking on the finished pickles a week later.



I'd only ever made lazy refrigerator pickles using storebought pickling spice mixes, which is easy and quick for making a jar at a time. Canning is a longer process, but worth it if you want to stockpile pickles. Afterward, we worried that the cans didn't sealed properly and decided to store them in the fridge, but it turns out they had indeed sealed. We put them in the fridge too early, but you should leave your cans out overnight to completely cool before testing the seal. Click here for more on how to know if your cans sealed.





As for skillshares, they have been popping up as a cheap alternative for learning new skills and trying new activities without having to pay for classes. Brooklyn is now home to its own annual Brooklyn Skillshare day each fall with classes ranging from composting to yoga to bike repairs. Skillshares can also be a great way to spend time with friends or get to know your community better. Ours was smallscale with just three people and three food-related skills, but even so, I have a few tips.

* Figure out ahead of time what you will need to bring with you. We got a late start because our host didn't have all the kitchen tools on hand (tongs, etc) we assumed he might, so there were some runs to pick up supplies.

*Plan complementary activities. For example, beer brewing and canning both require long periods of boiling in a giant pot, and there was only one giant pot, so it probably wasn't the best idea to do them in the same day. It all worked out okay, it was just a late night by the time everything was finished.

*You might also want to make plans for food or breaks. Originally I was going to bake bread as my skill, but I am really glad that I made pizza instead so that we were able to have a meal during the long day.

What skill would you teach if you organized a skillshare with your friends?





McClure's Garlic and Fresh Dill Canned Pickles

3 lbs small pickling cucumbers (Kirby)
6 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of dill
1 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar (5%)
little less than 1/2 cup picking or Kosher salt
crushed red pepper (optional)
6 canning jars

1) Wash cucumbers and place in a large deep bowl with ice. Cover and put in fridge.
2) Wash dill and chop off roots
3) Place minced garlic in a small bowl and pour hot vinegar over it. Let stand for 1 minute then pour vinegar out.
4) Fill a large pot with water. Place a jar in the pot and make sure the water is at least 1 inch above the top of the jar. Remove the test jar and bring water to a boil.
5) In another large pot, combine the vinegar, water, and salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil. Stir the salt to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot
6) While pots are getting up to a boil take cucumbers out and quarter them. Make sure cucumber will stand 1/4 to1/2 inch below the rim of the jar.
7) After water is boiling, submerge mason jars and lids in pot and sterilize for about 90 seconds. Remove carefully with jar tongs.
8) In each jar, place garlic, dill and then enough cucumber spears to fill the jar, making sure cukes are below the “neck-line”.
9) Fill jars with hot brine and add an optional pinch of crushed red pepper.
10) Cap and seal jars. Turn them over to make sure you have an adequate seal. Repeat until all jars are complete
11) Place jars back in boiling water pot. Process sealed jars in boiling water for 10 minutes.
12) Let cool. Wait a week to two weeks before eating. Pickles will keep up to 1 year if stored in a cool, dry place.

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Garlic Scape Pesto Pizza / Quinoa Salad

I've written about garlic scapes here before. Bright green stalks that shoot from the tops of young growing garlic in June-ish, scapes evoke a wild flavor similar to how you'd imagine summer grass to taste.
To create a vivid and creamy garlic scape pesto: Collect a handful of scapes, a handful of parsley or basil, depending on what looks good in the garden, a handful of walnuts or pine nuts or almonds, many glugs of olive oil, a little bit of vinegar for a kick (optional), and shreds of whatever hard cheese might be found in the fridge, and blend it together.

I used this scape spread to assemble a green and white pizza, along with crumbles of goat feta, fresh chopped leeks, bits of kalamata olives, and a scattering of crushed hot pepper. The combination was delicious, but almost over-the-top so from all the salt in the cheese and olives. Next time, it's one or the other - parmesan in the pesto or feta in the mix - not both.

Extra pesto-feta-olive-leek mix went into a quinoa and chickpea salad. Despite repeated attempts, I have a hard time enjoying quinoa, but hiding it in the garlic scape pesto worked for me. I think this pesto also has a future in a pasta salad with some tiny sliced cherry tomatoes.

Have you tried garlic scapes? What's your favorite preparation?

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Vegan Party Salads

I didn't expect to be hosting any vegans at my party, but you never know, and I thought it would be nice to have a couple healthy salads as a complement to the big cheese plate. I have never understood why potato salad with mayo is such a popular dish for outdoor gatherings, anyway, considering the health risks, so I made a mustard-shallot vinaigrette. Whenever celery is not in season, colorful swiss chard stems are the pefect crunchy stand-in. I don't bother with bacon or pickles or other crazy fixings because I think this simple variation on potato salad tastes justs fine.

For the bean salad, I opted to use wheat berries because they are available cheaply from Cayuga Pure Organics, but rye berries, farro, brown rice, or other grains could work here. I made an exception to my local role and went exotic with avocados to add a creamy element in place of cheese. I also just realized that I forgot to add fresh herbs, but parsley or cilantro would definitely enhance the brightness of the avocado and lemon.

Both salads can be served warm, room temperature, or cold, and are best served the same day they are prepared - the flavors dulled after the leftovers spent a night in the refrigerator. Check out more of my fun party salad recipes, here.

Potato Salad with Swiss Chard Stems and Mustard-Shallot Vinaigrette
potatoes
1/2 small onion
stems of 1 bunch swiss chard
1 shallot
3 tbsp mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp dried or 2 tbsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Chop and add potatoes. Cook until fork tender, drain, and set aside. Dice onion and the stems of a bunch of swiss chard (reserve chard leaves for another use). Dice shallot. In a small bowl, whisk together shallot with remaining ingredients and adjust levels to taste. Add onion, chard stems, and vinaigrette to potatoes and stir until thoroughly combined.

Bean, Avocado, and Wheat Berry Salad
1 1/2 cups dried black beans
1 1/2 cups wheat berries or other grain
1/3 head of cabbage
1/2 small onion
4 fat cloves of garlic
1/3 cup fresh parsley or cilantro
3 avocados
zest and juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper

Soak beans and wheat berries together overnight or for several hours. Simmer in a large pot for about one hour, or in a slow cooker on high for about 4 hours or low for about 8 hours, until beans are tender and grains are just slightly chewy. Drain and rinse thoroughly. The beans and wheat berries can be made up to two days ahead, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Chop cabbage into shreds, dice onion, garlic, and herbs, and chop avocados. Combine with bean and grain mixture, and add lemon zest and juice, a generous drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

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