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I had a packet of farro in the pantry that I bought a little while ago because I loved it in the cheesy baked farro I made so much, I wanted to find something else to use it with.  I also bought a bunch of veggies at TJ’s the other day and needed to use those as well.  The weather is warming right up around here along with most of the country, so I thought I’d whipped up some kind of summery salad.

I had some lemons in the fridge that were on their last leg, so I decided to make a lemony farro salad with roasted heirloom tomatoes, asparagus, haricot verts and fresh mozzarella.  It turned out really well and refreshing!  Because I still have a few big bags of pistachios left when I won a year supply from The Green Nut on Twitter, I decided to also make coconut-pistachio crusted chicken tenders again to go alongside.  

This recipe would be perfect for a potluck or a nice picnic outside in the sunshine 🙂

Lemony Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Serves: 6-8

• 3 heaping cups cooked farro, chilled
• 16 oz heirloom cherry tomatoes
• 1 pkg asparagus spears, chopped (about 1/2 – 1 cup)
• 1 pkg haricot verts, chopped (about 1/2 – 1 cup)
• 1 cup bocconcini fresh mozzarella balls, cut in 1/2
• Seasonings: salt, pepper, herbs de provence

For the dressing:

• juice from 2 small lemons
• 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• seasonings: salt, pepper, all-purpose (like Mrs. Dash)

Pre-heat oven to 425 F.  Place all the veggies on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, sprinkle with seasonings and roast for about 25 minutes until slightly charred. Place the veggies, farro and mozzarella in a large bowl.  Mix up the dressing ( I mixed mine in my Blender Bottle) and then mix it all up!  Easy!  You can refrigerate it for a bit if you like it cold.

I really like the Blender Bottle because it’s not only good for shakes and batters and such, it’s also good for dressings.

This is the coating mixture for the chicken:  pistachios, shredded coconut, and parmesan mmm

I just love roasted veggies 🙂

This coating comes out perfect every time and we love the addition of the coconut.

This salad is great for leftovers and I had it for lunch today!  Beats what they serve at the school cafeterias, ick.  I won’t even go there.

I also tried a new flavor of the Zing Bars called Blueberry Almond and I really liked it!  It’s not crunchy, but kind of chewy and smooth, full of warm, nutty almond flavor and fresh blueberries.  It’s also gluten, wheat and soy free.  Pretty amaZING if I do say so myself lol

Chunks of real blueberry in there!

I couldn’t resist baking another batch of Gelareh’s banana bread when I saw I had three brown and ugly looking naners on the counter.  I added some more spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove, along with dates instead of raisins. This recipe is the bomb, we absolutely love it!

I put 1/2 in a baggie to have this week and the other 1/2 in the freezer to enjoy later 🙂

Thank you for all your well wishes on the looong bike ride!  I actually felt pretty good afterwards, but was much tired the day after the ride than the day of.  I’m feeling so much better about the LiveStrong Century coming up, because for awhile there I was getting a bit worried.  I still have more to work on though!

The winds have of course picked up again here and should last a couple days, but I’m hoping to get in another weee early morning ride or two this week and hopefully a longer ride this weekend.  Heck, maybe I’ll just go for 100? ha, yea right.  I need to focus on climbing because there’s going to be a good, steeeeep climb for 4.5 miles on the Century and I’m determined to not clip out.

I can’t believe I’m going to be the big 2-5 tomorrow!  Kinda crazy.  We don’t have plans since it’s during the week, but we are using our Napa trip as an all-in-one vacation, century ride, and birthday celebration 🙂

Any new summer salads you’ve made?