Wild Rice Salad

 Wild rice salad. It's nutty and crunchy with a sweet, tangy vinaigrette.

 Something different from the same old, same old! 

Did you know wild rice isn't rice at all? It is a high fibre edible grass. A delicious whole grain that contains protein, carbohydrates, Vit. B, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and magnesium

You will need:

• 2-3 cups cooked wild rice
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 small apple chopped
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 green onions/scallions- chopped finely
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt/pepper

Step 1: in a large saucepan cook wild rice. 1 cup wild rice and  4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off heat but leave pot on burner for 25-30 minutes with lid on. Then drain any water left. It will make 4 cups of cooked rice.

I used 3 cups in this recipe and I saved 1 cup which I used in my Wild Rice Cranberry Bread (that will be another post tomorrow)

Step 2: add cooked rice to a medium sized bowl.

Step 3: add chop dried cranberries (I used orange cranberries) add apples (optional) and green onions  as well as crushed garlic.

* I bought these from a little town near me called Ft. Langley, BC. www.cranberriesnaturally.com have all kinds of favors. They are located just near the Yellow Town Hall which is used as the Mayor's office in the TV Show Once Upon a Time. They film the show here and also in a little town called Steveston Village which is about an hour away ( main street in Story Brooke, Maine) 

As soon as I saw the first episode of the show (which I love!) I had a weird sense of being there! I looked it up and sure enough we discovered that is where the show is filmed.

Back to the Recipe!

Step 4: add vinegar, orange juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, cranberries, apples, green onions, garlic, almonds, salt and pepper. Toss, taste and re-adjust seasoning if necessary.