Most of the time when it comes to planning, I’m a last minute kind of girl…mostly because I keep changing my mind. That was not the case with this salad that I prepared for my book club last night. Our book was The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (one of my favorite authors) and I wanted to have something that was somewhat authentic to the region and time period of the book. It was set during Biblical times in Israel. This menu might not be totally authentic, but it was totally delicious.
I love Half Baked Harvest and have had this recipe bookmarked on my computer for several months now and knew it would be perfect for book club. I followed the original recipe pretty much to the letter and even though there are a lot of ingredients, it came together pretty quickly and easily. One of the best parts is that you can make it in steps…cook the farro, grill the asparagus, chop the veggies, and then assemble it at the last minute. It’s served room temperature which makes it perfect for entertaining.
I served this salad with the most delicious Turkey and Zucchini Mini Burgers from my Jerusalem – A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi along with an appetizer platter with stuffed grape leaves, and goat cheese filled dates. Dessert was pistachio baklava and slices of olive oil cake. I was pretty pleased with myself over this menu and the evening was so much fun!
My book club is one of my favorite things in the world. I always look forward to getting together with my friends and discussing the book we’ve read. We meet January thru May …take the summer off and come back together in September. We have 8 ladies and have been a club for longer than I can remember. It’s always a special event and everyone goes to so much trouble. I always look forward to hosting and it’s especially nice when the menu can be dictated by the book. Are you in a book club and does your club make dinner or just get together?
This was so delicious! I loved the layers of flavor! So thankful for our Hive!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Book club and our "hive" is one of my favorite things!
Hi Suzanne,
This looks so delicious! The blueberries are a surprise ingredient! I’m always looking for new recipes to try, especially ones that can be put together without adhering strictly to a recipe because that’s just not the way I cook. But now that I have the general idea I think I will try this, altering it slightly by using quinoa to make it gluten free. Yum I’m looking forward to this!
I don’t belong to a book club, or any group, and I miss taking my watercolor classes because that was a fun way to socialize, too. But I’ll be teaching again soon, so looking forward to those classes!
Bet your dinner for the club was a hit!
XO Heidi
Hi Heidi
This dish was very delicious! The blueberries were a bit unexpected, but really delicious! I think you’ll enjoy it! The great thing is that you can tweak to your liking and it’s so easy to put together! Quinoa sounds amazing!
I wish that I lived close enough to come to your painting classes! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Can’t wait to try these recipes that I have found today on your blog! Have you made a book post? I want new ideas for our club. Thanks
Hi Gayle!
I’m so thrilled you found some recipes to try! I haven’t made a book post but I definitely will make one this week! Thanks so much for the suggestion! Have a great day!