Greek Spinach-Pasta Salad with Feta and Beans

I pulled this recipe from the February issue of Better Homes & Gardens. (I "borrowed" their photo, too.) It is fantastic! I had it for lunch today and came away feeling super nourished and taste-bud-satisfied.

1 5-to-6 oz. pkg. fresh baby spinach
1 15 oz. can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), snipped
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (or crushed)
1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (freshly squeezed is especially good)
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
12 oz. dried cavatappi (also called cellentani) or farfalle pasta
Shaved Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

1. In a large serving bowl combine spinach, beans, cheese, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lemon peel and juice, oil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover, let stand at room temperature while cooking pasta or up to 2 hours; stir occasionally.

2. Shortly before serving, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Toss cooked pasta and pasta water with spinach salad mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese. makes 6 (2-cup) main-dish servings.

*My modifications:

I mixed the garlic, lemon peel and juice, oil, herbs, salt and pepper together as a vinaigrette. Once the pasta was cooked, I rinsed it with cold water and omitted the cooking water, then combined the remaining ingredients and tossed it all together with the vinaigrette. It looks like this recipe was intended to be a warm salad but the way I did it, it was a cold salad. I may try it as written sometime, it looks great that way too.

Oh, and I skipped the shaved Parmesan. It was fine without it.

Blender Pancakes

This is probably one of the most common recipes for using whole wheat berries in real cooking. It is a stand by in our house. It takes practically no time, dirties as few dishes as pancakes possibly can and keeps us full until lunch time. How could you ask for more? This recipe feeds our family of two grown pancake-eaters and two small pancake-eaters just about perfectly.

Blender Pancakes

3/4-1 cup whole wheat berries
1 cup milk
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 TBS honey
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 eggs
dash salt

Combine milk and wheat in the blender. Mix on low for a minute or so, then on high for two or three minutes. We like it a little grainier and not perfectly smooth, but it makes no difference. Add remaining ingredients and blend on high for a minutes. Cook on griddle.

NOTE: Karene has a gingerbread pancake variation. Add 1/4 cup molasses, and 1/8 tsp each of cinnamon, cloves and ginger. So good!