Going along with March being Agriculture month, I thought we could talk about wheat.
What crop do you think of when they sing America the Beautiful…” …amber waves of grain”? I always think of wheat and maybe that is the intention of the song. Wheat is so pretty as a ripe golden field. Really, on a sunny “Toy Story Cloud” day, growing green wheat fields in a warm summer breeze is right up there with one of the prettiest landscapes I’ve seen. God truly is the best artist. Have you seen a wheat field before? Living in North Dakota it is pretty hard to miss them.
I want to share this recipe with you for Wheat Salad. Before you think “Oh great” she is trying to get us to eat lettuce with wheat on it, that isn’t true. This is a “Midwest salad” also meaning it has cool whip in it and is probably closer to a dessert than a salad. Ha! We get our wheat berries from the farm – we grow them, get them cleaned and use them for flour and… Wheat Salad. You can’t get much closer to a farm to table experience. Which I find so fun! If you aren’t familiar with purchasing wheat berries your best bet is to look at a local natural food store…or Amazon. I’ve never bought any off Amazon but apparently you can. They can be a little tricky to find but it is worth it if you do!
I’m not sure whose recipe this was originally. I got it from my mom who got it from a lady from our church. Why are recipes from area church ladies so good? Maybe it’s because they have been passed down so many times? I don’t know but some of the best cookbooks are church cookbooks.
Wheat Salad
¾ Cup Wheat Berries
1 Can Crushed Pineapple, Drained
4 oz Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Box Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 Container Cool Whip
Bring to a boil and simmer your wheat in water for roughly 1.5 hours, until soft. You will probably have to add water to the pan throughout the 1.5 hours so make sure not to boil the wheat dry. Drain your pineapple and reserve some of the liquid. Next, beat the cream cheese, pudding, and a little pineapple juice together until well incorporated and smooth. Then add the cooked wheat berries and the pineapple. After this is combined fold in your cool whip.
Perfect for potluck, family get togethers or a treat at home! Now that you have the recipe it is time to find those wheat berries! Good luck! Thanks for reading. See you next week! Oh, and you can scan the QR code to check out my blog thefarmchicken.com. Hope to see you there!
– Mariah Nienhuis | TheFarmChicken
Point your cell phone to this QR code to visit Mariah’s blog.
