Lemony Farro Salad

Now that we are exiting soup season, my make-a-dish-I-can-eat-off-of-all-week strategy has shifted to grainy salads. This week's adventure was my first with farro, which is kind of like a thick brown rice. I like how nutty and filling it is, so much so that I wasn't even looking for meat.

It meets the standards my mom taught me from her college home ec classes (those weren't in our catalog)- variety of texture, color and temperature (only if your farro's still kind of warm and your cheese is cold, but still).

However, keep your eaters in mind. This is for the grain-adventurous. My coworkers enjoy talking about how farro salad at a new restaurant near us is "bird seed."

Strawberry Baked Doughnuts

Theory: all things small and cute have a positive correlation to requiring hard work. This applies to puppies. This applies to small children. This applies to miniature sugary delicacies.

 Behold, the product of umpteen batches of light and fruity lil' cakes in my miniature doughnut pan (yep, I ordered one of those once upon a time and finally got around to putting it to use).

It's fun to fascinate friends who brunch and who don't have doughnut baking pans on their radar with little cakes in a circular shape. For now, I'll make these and let Krispy Kreme do the frying. Amendment: Maybe I'll invest in a regular-sized doughnut pan so I can cut time of tedium and try again.