I almost peed myself this morning when I saw the amount the fundraiser has raised so far!!
I am THRILLED beyond belief and I can’t thank you enough. Let’s see how much we can raise in the next 12 hours! I also appreciate those of you who are spreading the word and posting about the fundraiser on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for rallying for such an important cause.
Pipe Dreams
This is a little story called Pipe Dreams.
Growing up, two of my idols were Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod from Body Break. You may have heard of them. They are a pretty big deal.
And because I was so cool, I decided to email them at the ripe age of 17 years old, asking them to hire me. Yes, at 17. My momma always told me you miss all the chances you don’t take!
In a lengthy and passionate email, I told them exactly why I was the perfect candidate for this made up job. My love for fitness and nutrition made me a great fit for Body Break! I dreamed of us cycling around town together, hiking on the trails, and enjoying mini bags of grapes and trail mix as we chatted about phytonutrients.
In closing of my email, as a last desperate attempt, I believe I offered to work for FREE!
Need less to say, working with Hal and Joanne didn’t pan out, but I guess when life gives you lemons you just cook with them, right?
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Carrot Raisin Spelt Berry Salad with Cumin and Cilantro
Adapted from Leslie Beck, RD.
Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked spelt (or wheat) berries
- 4 medium sized carrots, peeled and chopped into small 1/4” pieces
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- Pinch or two of red pepper flakes (or ground red pepper)
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 bunches of Cilantro, stems removed and minced (yield about 5-6 tbsp minced)
Directions:
1. Place spelt berries in a pot and cover with water to 2 inches above the berries. Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium until tender, about 35-45 minutes. Add more water if necessary.
2. Meanwhile, chop and prepare your veggies. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the chopped carrots, olive oil, minced garlic cloves, lemon juice, vinegar, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes and raisins. Stir well and add into a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or so. You just want to lightly cook this mixture. After about 5 minutes of cooking, place back into the bowl.
3. When the spelt berries are cooked, drain and rinse. Now stir them into the carrot mixture. Stir in your cilantro, salt, and pepper to taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. I added another teaspoon of olive oil. Serve warm or cold. Makes about 3 cups.
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This salad rocked my world! It’s so pretty, isn’t it?
I adapted this recipe from my homegirl, Leslie Beck, RD. I call her homegirl because I feel like I know her personally (I don’t).
But, I have been reading her column in the Globe and Mail for a long time now and I feel like we are BFF’s.
Maybe she feels the same way?
A girl can dream.
This recipe turned out fantastic! The flavour is very unique…almost hard to put a finger on. The raisins added a fun pop of sweetness as a nice contrast to the tangy and fresh lemon dressing.
We also really loved the texture of this salad. It was super chewy! Chew, chew, chew. Just love that.
Eric preferred it heated up while I enjoyed it cold. It works both ways. He also said he would like more raisins next time, but I won’t get into his obsession with raisins… ;)
I’ve got to try this salad! I’ll leave out the cilantro, though – it’s one of those herbs you either love or hate – and I fall into the latter category. I’ll bet some fresh parsley would work just as well.
yes parsley would work wonderfully!
I’m with you, Becky, cilantro tastes like soap! Sadly, it spoils so many dishes for me! I like the curly parsley instead. I’m told I used to eat it raw in the grocery store when I was little and out shopping with my mom :)
Yeah – I hate going out to eat and scouring the menu for something I can eat, only to find it has cilantro embedded in it and it can’t be left off.
Angela – I made this yesterday, but with a few tweaks – quick-cooking barley instead of spelt berries, and shredded carrots vs. chopped. It is delicious! I was a little heavy-handed with the cayenne pepper, though….
Hehhe this post made me laugh! Sorry to hear things didn’t work out with Hal and Joanne – they missed a good opportunity!! :) This salad looks awesome. I saw your tweet about it yesterday and got really excited because I’m on a mission to get through all the grains in my kitchen – I’ve got loads! Have a great day Ange!
This looks awesome Angela! I’ve never worked with speltberries before. Are they similar to wheat berries in taste/texture? (They look it!)
yup!
I was wondering that as well. I’ve never ‘worked’ with either but I think I ate wheat berries once. I can’t wait to get me a bag!
That’s awesome that you got such a great response on the raffle! You’re going to be able to help a lot of people :)
Angela I am so thrilled to see how much you have raised!!! I knew you’d smash your goal of $1000! Thanks for setting that up!
This dish looks amazing — I think raisins make almost any dish taste great. I just love their texture.
I know – I’m obsessed with raisins!
Do you eat this as a main meal Angela or for lunch?
Whatever you prefer!
That salad looks great. I’ve never had spelt berries, but they look like they’d be nice and chewy, which I like.
Congrats on raising so much so far!!
That dish looks delicious! I’m on a carrot kick and seem to be adding them to about every dish I eat :]
Wow! This salad looks so colorful and flavorful. Great mixins!
Btw, I’m hosting a coconut oil giveaway on my blog this week, starting today! Check it out! :)
Raisins and Cumin go SO well together. It is such a sweet yet savory combination. Can’t wait to try this salad!
That salad looks gorgeous. I love how cumin can really add a punch of flavor and really change a dish.
This looks amazing, I love adding raisins to salads. Hal & Joanne were my favourites too…I wonder whatever happened to them?
I still see them on TV from time to tiime!
I just tried to go to the raffle page and it says it is disabled. Is it over?
Mmmmm looks tasty. I’m going to try this. I have not had much success with cooking wheat berries.
Congrats on the raffle being a success… keep it up!!! :)
What a cute story! It’s always worth it to try, and just figuring out where our passions are is definitely a huge step towards the future.
AWESOME salad recipe!!!
xxoo
Heather
The link to donate says it’s been disabled?
it’s back up!
Hmm, tried the donation link again today to see how much the total donations are and the page said ‘We are sorry. This GivingPage is disabled.’
Did the timer go off on it or something?
[Awesome looking salad by the way]
it’s fixed now. we had an issue…
Congratulations on your fundraiser that is incredible to have raised so much money in one day! Salad looks beautiful im not a big raisin person but I might have to give this one a try :)
How come I see the giving page as inactive? :(
it is back up now….thanks!
Great, thank you :)
This recipe looks yum- I have a few carrots to use up! I will definitely leave out the coriander though (cilantro)! It’s funny- I used to think my Mom was insane adding raisins to salads, now I love it!
Congrats on the raffle success :)
That salad looks great ~ I’m always looking for new salad variations! I like that you can use parsley instead of cilantro b/c that is the one herb that I just don’t like.
Congrats on your raffle ~ you have many amazing followers!!
I also would like to donate, but the site says the giving page has been disabled… :-(
it is back up now, sorry about that. we had a problem!
the page was down but we are back in business now :)
I bet the raisins are fun in there…just a little burst of sweetness!
I really want to donate but when I go to the website it says the the page is disabled. Hopefully it’s fixed soon so people can still donate up to your deadline!!
we are back up, sorry!!!
That salad looks amazing!!
Also, I totally support more raffle items but that’s just because it will increase my chances to try some Oh She Glows yummy treats!
I can’t wait to see how much this raised for the Red Cross!
This sounds so unique and fun! I love salads like that cold too. I think the flavor tends to stand out much more.
hahahahaha BodyBreak? you ARE the biggest dork ever!
Yum – I love the combination of raisins and carrots, and it seems like such a good idea with spelt or wheat berries. This one is bookmarked!
Mmmm, I love salads like this. There’s something so tasty about the combo of raisins and carrots!
This salad looks so fresh and vibrant- perfect for Spring time :D
I am so happy to see how much money has been made so far! Great work everyone :)
Congrats on the fundraising success!!
Your pictures are phenomenal. That salad looks fabulous, too.
WOW! The amount you’ve raised for Japan so far is amazing! I was floored to see the amount!
hi angela,
wonderful blog, delicious recipes and extremely creative spirit!
quick question: where do you source your medjool dates from?
thanks!
I purchase them from Ontario Natural Food Coop. :)
thank you!
I saw Hal and Joanne on city line a few weeks ago, they were canadas fitness rock stars!
This recipe is definitely being saved and i’m with the hubby, LOVE raisins, you can never have enough :)
ahm, thanks for the fun memory, angela! i totally loved the body break commercials on tv, way back when. i thought joanne and hal looked like such nice people!
i read leslie beck’s column every week in the globe, too. i had the opportunity to hear her give a presentation about five years ago~she was awesome in person, too!
congrats on the success of the fundraiser – wonderful!!
Good post, love anything with cilantro and I too loved Hal and Joanne, sometimes I even see a BodyBreak commercial!
This looks amazing! I wish I had the ingredients right now to make this:) I’ve still yet to try spelt!
looks delicious! i really need to broaden my horizons when it comes to food combining and creating.. i keep stick w/ the same old stand bys!
“I call her homegirl because I feel like I personally know her, but I don’t!” made me almost spit my coffee out laughing — it’s totally embarrassing, but I feel that same way about some of the bloggers I read every day! Whenever I spout off some new running tip my bf rolls his eyes and asks how CaitlinHTP is doing, and now whenever I make a dish he designates as, “odd,” he immediately asks when you posted about it (he is obsessed with the tomato-basil-crouton casserole, btw, as is my Dad)! Creepy yet flattering?
I love the idea of your spice combination for this! It reminds me a bit of a biryani, turned vegan. I can’t wait to try making it here in Nepal — just have to find a replacement for spelt berries, which I don’t think I will be able to find in the local grocery store. Not as interesting, but might brown rice be an okay substitute?
Great job with the raffle fundraiser!
Funny how you say that about Leslie Beck…I feel like I know you personally! A girl can dream right?? I have been reading for over a year now. You’re attitude and spirit are so inspiring!
I am gluten-free, do you think this would go well with quinoa or wild rice? I don’t know what spelt tastes like so I don’t know how to compare.
Yes I think wild rice would work great!
I have not tried out this recipe, but wild rice would certainly have that nice nutty flavor and similar texture to wheat/spelt berries. In fact. . . I actually think that sounds even better! ;)
haha Hal Johnson and Joanne McCloud…. i grew up watching them on body break too!!! that made me smile… were they a toronto/ontario thing or maybe all of canada?? i always used to wonder if they were a real life couple :) what a great job that would be! i just started reading your blog recently, i really enjoy it and the recipes and in short i find your life experiences and outlook super inspirational!!
I’m not sure, I would guess they are WORLD superstars! heh
If I’m not mistaken, I think they are married, and in more ‘modern’ segments, I thought they were doing exercise and cooking with their kids. Maybe I’m wrong, but I also thought that I may one day be part of their show:)
Going to try your salad this week!
yes I think I have seen that too!
I grew up in AB/BC, and they were definitely all over TV when I was a kid. Not sure about world-wide fame, but they are definitely Canada-wide famous. :)
This salad sounds wonderful Ange. I bet the lemon dressing is refreshing. I’ve never tried wheatberries, but I know I’d love their chewy texture. Great recipe!
The success of your fundraiser is unbelievable!!! The blog world amazes me everyday! I need to try making whole spelt and see what my stomach thinks!
OH man I remember body break!! Haha, always on during my saturday morning cartoons. :D They’re bring body break back, so you know, maybe your pipe dream isn’t such a pipe dream…
Bahahahaha you wrote Hal and Joanne a letter???? Ahhhh this just made my day. I loved them too. Keep fit and have fun :D They were so on their game lol.
sadly yes, yes I did. lol
Thanks for hosting the fundraiser Angela. I donated through the Canadian Red Cross site just the day before. I know the need is great, so yay you for doing this!!!
OMG, I remember Body Break!!! Did Hal and Joanne at LEAST reply to your email???
yes they did reply with a kind email!
The combination of flavors in this dish sounds great! I think I may try it tonight! :-)
After seeing a few of your posts on spelt/wheat berries I decided to get some at the store. Of course I didn’t make a grocery list and somehow I came home with raw spelt groats instead of berries! Do you have any idea what they are and what I can do with them?
Im not positive on this one (someone correct me if im wrong!), but they might be the same thing? I would try cooking a 1/2 cup in water for about 35-40 mins and see if they become tender.
I’m loving this recipe angela! I’ve never seen spelt berries before but I have wheat berries on hand! I am going to make this for a potluck tomorrow! Luckily they are all dietitians and I know they will appreciate something other than traditional things like potato salad! Thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to try it!