When I first got married  I used to ask my husband if he wanted salad with dinner, the answer was usually "no." After a few years I wised up and started serving him salad without asking first. But often he didn't eat much of it, despite my raving "Have some salad! It's delicious!"  Lately I've hit upon a solution. I serve salad as a main dish, or pile everything onto it so it's an integral part of the meal. Main dish salads, if only someone had told me 12 years ago! 

During the Winter or whenever it's cold outside salads, either side salads or main dish salads are not top of mind, but they should be. Just as Summer is the perfect time for cold soup, Winter is the ideal season to try a warm salad. I like to start with a cooked grain like farro or quinoa then use seasonal fruits or vegetables and add some heartier elements too, in this case feta cheese and almonds. 

I have to admit, this salad sounds a bit like a parody, it's filled with trendy ingredients and super foods, all that's missing is a little chocolate and kale! I love the sunny colors and hearty crunch to this salad, it's kind of the antithesis of a tossed green salad all floppy and wilted. It's bright and cheerful and yet very hearty. I like combination of citrus, pomegranate, almonds and feta with a touch of ginger but feel free to change up the ingredients in the salad or use a different dressing or spice if you prefer. 

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup diced feta, about 6 ounces

1 cup toasted sliced almonds

2 tangerines peeled and segments cut in half 

3/4 cup sliced celery about 2-3 stalks

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the farro, cook for 10- 15 minutes or until al dente (or cook according to package instructions). In a bowl combine the feta, almonds, tangerines (remove any seeds) and celery. Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and ginger in a bowl. 

When the farro is cooked, drain it and toss it in a bowl with the other ingredients and dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Enjoy!

Years ago I had a Rubbermaid fold away grater and pardon the pun, but it was great. It folded flat, had very large grating panels and was very sharp. Over the years it grew dull and unfortunately Rubbermaid discontinued the product.
Now Zyliss has a very similar product. I was a bit leery because the grating panels were smaller, but it works like a dream, quickly grating cheese and vegetables. What I like best about the Zyliss food grater is how sharp it is, and that it folds up nicely, although it doesn't fold nearly as flat as the Rubbermaid model did. 

Disclaimer: I received the Zyliss product as part of a promotion from GigaSavvy, I also received the Rubbermaid and Microplane products as gifts, I purchased the Chef'n dual grater. This post includes Amazon affiliate links. 

I highly recommend The Kitchen Diaries, A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater.  It�s not actually new, it was written in 2006, but it�s just been published in the US. It�s a really unique format, a journal that covers not quite every day of the year with diary like entries and recipes. Everything is seasonal and it�s just an inspiring book. There's also great advice on choosing ingredients. You'll find both healthy recipes and some very indulgent ones too. If one day doesn�t appeal, you can just skip to another day. You get Nigel Slater�s personal tips and insights. One day it�s spiced roast potatoes with yogurt and mint, and the next it�s lamb shanks with mustard and mashed potatoes. There are desserts too and they are all pretty simple--cobbler, tarts, sorbets and cakes. 

You will end up buying new ingredients like millet, amaranth, teff, wild rice, wheat berries, barley and more.