Wheat Berries with Winter Squash and Chick Peas

It's interesting to me that I chose not to write this post on Sunday. I cooked this dish on Sunday. But I used the excuse that I had a take home final due not to write about it until now. I am not doing that again. From now on, posting on Sunday will be happening. Unless I'm sick again. That is an okay excuse I suppose.

The New York Times published a series of interesting recipes for people going Vegan during Lent (no, I'm not going Vegan during Lent, in case anyone was wondering). This recipe just seemed like it would be amazing so I gave it a go, and I'm really glad that I did, because besides finding another recipe with my new favorite cheapest grain product around, also known as wheat berries, I got to buy some new spices and now I'm excited to use them more often. Who knew that allspice was actually a spice in and of itself? I'd kindof always thought that it must be a blend of spices.

I also wanted to provide a status update on my health this week. Since the high blood pressure conversation with my doctor about four weeks ago, I've lost almost 10 pounds. I've cut out cheese except on limited occasions, and most salt. I've cut out as much sugar from foods as possible, and am trying to eat it only in it's natural form, so eating a lot of fruit. And I feel ten times better. It's amazing, because even as I was stressing around finals, the stress felt different. I didn't feel it in my chest the way that I normally do. I have also re-dedicated myself to working out, and ran almost 5 miles on Sunday without walking. When I stop to think about what I'm eating, it sounds pretty highly restrictive, even to me, but when I don't stop to think about it, it's just working. I really don't feel deprived at all. On the contrary, I am experimenting with new foods and recipes that I would never have considered before. And more importantly, I feel like I can keep doing this. I still have about 18 pounds to lose, and I want them gone by Summer. I'm also confident for the first time now that I'll really be able to run the entire Colfax Half Marathon on May 15. Yay!

Onto the recipe. As noted earlier, this recipe is adapted from one I found on nytimes.com ORIGINAL RECIPE. It states that this will serve 6. I think it's more like 4 if this is served as a main course. The only real change that I made was to reduce the olive oil called for from 3 tablespoons to 1. This recipe has a WeightWatchers PointsPlus value of 9 per serving (assuming 4 servings). The link to the original recipe includes a full nutritional breakdown with 6 servings and the extra olive oil. From start to finish this recipe took me just under an hour and a half. The squash can be prepped while the wheat berries are cooking.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (Okay, I changed that too... I used three. AND, very exciting, I treated myself to a garlic press at the grocery store! I'd never used one before. So much fun!)
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 cup wheat berries
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups water (the recipe initially calls for 5 cups, and then I think they forgot about the 5th cup, because they only mention 4 later... so anyway, 4 cups water)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or mint (I used dill. Okay, and I cheated too. I used dried parsley and dried dill. There was so much flavor provided by the allspice and cayenne that I don't think it really mattered.)
1 pound winter squash (I used butternut), peeled, sliced and cut into small bite sized pieces
1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained

Note: This recipe did not specifically call for pre-soaking the wheat berries. I was surprised by this, and I think they're better for you and easier to digest if you do, so I still soaked mine ahead for about 6 hours. This also cut down on the overall cooking time, which I appreciated. If the wheat berries are note soaked ahead, I think step 4 will need to be 45 mins to 1 hour instead of 30 minutes.

Instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or similar pot with higher sides. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion just starts to cook.
2. Add the garlic and the allspice and cayenne. Stir together.
3. Add the wheat berries, 4 cups of water and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, with the pot covered for 30 minutes or so.
4. Add the winter squash, chick peas, half the overall amount of parsley and dill, and bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes more. At this stage the squash and wheat berries should be fully cooked.
5. Bring the cooking temperature back up to high, stir in the remainder of the parsley and dill (if not using fresh) and cook off the excess liquid until it takes on a syrupy consistency. I found that this took about 20 minutes (If using fresh dill and parsley, add the remainder at the end).

And that's it. This dish is meant to be served warm or hot.

The verdict: The more I cook butternut squash, the more I am learning to really like it. I loved how the cayenne gave this recipe a great kick, and the whole dish just tasted great. It was fun to make too. I'm somewhat disappointed in the photo that I didn't pick a bowl that coordinated better color-wise with the dish, but I'm learning. Won't make that mistake again. There's also a fair amount of protein in this dish from the combination of wheat berries and chick peas, and the portion that I had for lunch at work stuck by me all afternoon. I'm really glad that I came across this recipe.