Wheatberry Apple Salad

Wheat Berry Apple Salad Salads are what I should be eating for about a month after I indulged in eating the most delicious chocolate cake (which was described as addictive by my Father) for about a week. And this one is a great one. I love this salad for many reasons: it’s tasty, it fills you up, and it’s full with nutrients. What else can you ask for?

What attracted me to it initially was the fact that it called for wheatberries. I love them. They have a buttery-nutty flavor that is mildly sweet and very distinctive. They are crunchy and chewy at the same time, which means they’ll fill you up and you won’t feel hungry after eating this salad. However, if you don’t like to chew, they are probably not for you. I digress, the mild sweetness of the wheatberries and salad dressing are a delightful contrast to the tartness of the apples and cranberries. And the leafy greens add freshness to this dish. It is a delicious way to get all the nutrients you need if you are not a big salad fan. So, without further ado, here is the recipe:
Wheatberry Apple Salad
Adapted from Ultimate Party Food Book
Portion: 6 cups

Wheatberries

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked wheat berries
 ½ teaspoon salt
2 Apples
½ cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Grated peel and juice of one medium orange
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Lettuce and spinach leaves

Directions:
1. Place wheat berries and salt in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 45 min. to one hour or until what berries are tender, but chewy. You may have to add additional water if what berries become dry during cooking. Drain and let cool.

2. Cut unpeeled apples into bite-size pieces. Combine wheat berries, apples, cranberries, walnuts, orange peel, orange juice, extra virgin olive oil, and vinegar in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to blend. Serve over lettuce and spinach leaves.

Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut and Rum Frosting

“Where have you been?” you may be asking. Between work, new projects, and family and friends, writing has taken the backseat. However, that does not mean that I have taken a break from cooking and trying new recipes. In fact, I just made my first chocolate cake from scratch (frosting included). My intention was to post this recipe on Sunday so you could make it for your significant other for Valentine’s Day… but, as I mentioned earlier, life got in the way and I didn’t have time to type the recipe. Oh well, you don’t need to wait until next Valentine’s Day because you can make this cake anytime of the year for anyone who occupies a special place in your heart… or when you are going through a bad breakup since there are few things chocolate cannot fix.

Enough chatter. Let’s talk about this recipe. I was looking for good chocolate cake recipe when my friend and coworker Cheryl shared with me a chocolate cake recipe she found online. I read the recipe and it looked easy to make. I decided to make it this past Saturday for Gayle’s birthday (my brother’s girlfriend). I wanted to make her feel special by making her a luscious and decadent chocolate cake. I spent all Saturday morning (and part of the afternoon) baking the cake and making the frosting. When I started decorating the cake, the snow that had been falling since early in the morning, turned into sleet. Not a good sign. Minutes later, cake in hand, we left home to meet Gayle and the family at our favorite Mexican restaurant (which was featuring live Mariachi). Half way there, Mother calls me to cancel. The roads where slippery and they didn’t feel comfortable driving all the way to Harrisburg… Nate and I looked at each other and then looked at the cake that was sitting on the backseat. What to do know? Well, we took it home and could not resist having a piece. Yes, I know it’s rude to eat someone else’s birthday cake but it looked so very good and we are not very good at resisting temptation. We’ve been eating a piece of cake daily… but we saved the other half in the freezer for Gayle.

This chocolate cake is very, very good. The cake is a bit dense with a clear chocolate flavor that is not overwhelming. Although it did not call for it, I decided to use raspberry jelly as filling, which added a bit of tanginess to the sweetness of the cake and frosting. Which reminds me to tell you about the frosting: it was combination of butter (of course), hazelnut cream (I used Nutella), and rum (because rum makes me smile). The cake is very decadent and probably not very good for your figure but it is so worth it. I’m not going to lie to you, making a cake and frosting from scratch is time consuming and at times frustrating. So I recommend you make either the cake or frosting a day ahead of time.

Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut and Rum Frosting

Ingredients:

For the Cake
1 1/4 cup of sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup good quality cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Filling:
3/4 cup raspberry jelly

For the Frosting:
1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 cup Hazelnut butter (I used Nutella)
1 tbs. dark rum

Directions:
For the cake:
1. Heat oven to 350 Degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, mix at medium speed for 2 minutes.
4. Pour into a floured cake pan/
5. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and let cool for approximately an hour before removing it from pan.

For the frosting:
1. Beat all the ingredients until completely mixed. Chill for 20 minutes (not more) before using.

To finish the cake:
1. Slice the cake horizontally in half.
2. Spread the raspberry jelly over the bottom part of the cake. Add the top part of the cake.
3. Spread the frosting on top of the case and sides.