So Tuesdays we get up at 5:35am so that Ani can hit the road before 7am to beat the traffic down the Blue Route (our local Philly western beltway I-476) to her 8am chemistry lab class at Widener. Bob takes an hour rest after that to catch up the lost sleep (his nonteaching day at Villanova this semester), but Ani will return tired from a long day at work needing her nap, leaving dinner responsibility to her partner. Farro was already in mind from a cancelled potluck dinner dish that had to be vegan/vegetarian, so bob goes grousing around the cubbard for the farro, and finds black rice and whole wheat orzo first, then the farro. The black rice awakes other fond food memories and a change of carb base is finalized after considering all three for the part. We had also just seen a chick pea and tuna fish salad a few days earlier on Lidia's Italy, so bob grabs a Bumble Bee can and opens it, but baby shrimp are revealed, so the sea food component is also altered from the original game plan. The half can of chick peas were also left over in the fridge from pasta salad a a few days before . Ripe avocados were not available during our recent shipping trips, so we were down to a half of a leftover avocado. And grape tomatoes were our usual go to tomato choice these days.
We wolfed most of this down with second helpings, leaving only one modest portion for another day. It was satisfying.
These quantities and choices of add-ins are not to be taken seriously here. This is a creative endeavor to be approached with whimsy. Only the black rice needs cooking, the rest is just size reduction. And don't hesitate to try this with farro or whole wheat orzo. Both are nutritious grain products.
So this idea of a black rice salad is a not a hard recipe, just a sort of suggested ingredient collection with amounts to taste ("quanto basta" in Italian). This time we forgot the avocado after finding some nice ripe ones at Trader Joes for a change where we went specifically for the mozzarella pearls that replaced the shrimp protein above. We found some in-season smaller farmer's market strawberries at the ... Farmers Market (in Wayne). Reminding us of Italian strawberries. Thanks, Ornella for this tip.
We sauteed chopped half onion then chopped peppers then baby zucchini rounds in olive oil. Set aside. Meanwhile cooked black rice and drained it before starting this experiment. Toasted some walnuts. Combined everything tenderly, tossed in a handful of sliced almonds. A touch of balsamic vinegar at the very end.
Be inspired. Black rice is a super healthy carb. Photos added to the above illustration link.