Wheat Berry Salad

This salad is an awesome alternative to pasta salad for a summer time picnic.

1 cup Wheat Seed
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
3 tbsp black olives, pitted and halved
Dressing:
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup chopped fresh dill
3 green onions, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Rinse wheat seed and cover with water overnight. The next day, boil until soft – about 45 minutes then let cool. While the wheat is cooling, whisk together dressing ingredients and let set for an hour. Mix the cooked wheat seed, feta, pine nuts, olives and dressing together. The salad is best if it sits in the fridge for an hour or overnight first.

Buckwheat Apple Cake

Buckwheat flour has a very distinct flavour (think of buckwheat honey) which pairs well with the cinnamon and apples that this recipe calls for. We've had it for both dessert or breakfast. 

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups buckwheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
6 medium apples peeled and roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon and buckwheat flour until well mixed. Finally, fold in the apples. Pour batter into a greased cake or loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Barley 'N' Blueberry Muffins

Or really any kind of muffin you please … rhubarb and pecan anyone?!

2 cups Barley Flour
½ cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
¼  vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl, combine Barley Flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Beat in eggs, oil and milk just until moist. Add in blueberries (or whatever else you choose). Pour batter in a greased or lined muffin tin almost full. Bake for about 15 minutes or until centre springs back when lightly touched.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

I know it's hard to believe - a cupcake recipe under Whole Wheat. But trust me... these are sooooo good! You can smother these guys in cream cheese icing (which I did, naturally) or just sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar before you pop them into the oven. Heavenly either way.

1½ cups Whole Wheat Flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1½ cups or 1 can of pumpkin puree
1½ cups brown sugar
¾ cup oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together the first seven ingredients in one bowl and the eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar and oil in another. Combine the two just until moist. Pour the batter evenly into a lined cupcake pan (we made 18 good sized cupcakes) and bake for 25 minutes.

Focaccia Bread

I've been too nervous to put a bread recipe on our page just because bread can be tricky. Trust me – we've eaten many dry, flat or burnt loaves. But this recipe is so simple that even I can't mess it up. It's great because you can top it with whatever you like, and you sound so sophisticated when you say that you made focaccia instead of just bread. 

1 cup warm water
1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
2 cups Partially Sifted Flour plus extra for flouring

Toppings:

olive oil, rosemary, sea salt, strongcheese, garlic (whatever you'd like)

Mix together all ingredients except the flour and toppings. Let the yeast activate for about 10 minutes. If the mixture isn't bubbly, start over with new yeast. Slowly add in the two cups of flour. The dough is better too wet than too dry. It should be moist but cling together. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Once risen, shape the dough into a rectangle on a lined baking sheet. To get that dimply look, use your knuckles. Next, top the dough with whatever you like. I love olive oil, rosemary, garlic, sea salt and sharp cheese. Get creative! Finally, bake the bread for 20 minutes or until golden at 375°F. Let cool slightly and eat up!