Cherries, zucchini, and wheat

There's lots of zucchini popping up now. Which is a vast understatement -- as I write this, I have three 2-pounders sitting on my kitchen table. So I am on a quest to discover every tasty zucchini recipe.

I ran across the idea for this cherry, zucchini, and and wheat combination on the Chocolate and Zucchini blog. Although, surprisingly, there are not many zucchini recipes on this blog, the ones there are fabulous -- expect more reports on these later.

I was considering what local foods would go together in a salad like the one Clotilde showed, and I came up with a mixture of Montana Wheat wheat kernels, Flathead cherries, and of course the prolific zucchinis that are growing by the foot in my garden even as I sit here typing.

Any precooked grain would do, I think, but I have almost as many wheatberries as zucchini, so that was my natural choice. I sprouted some kernels to add to a future salad, so think about doing that with the grain you use. Also, try to cook up a big batch, freeze what you don't use right away, and dig into that frozen supply when you need it again.

As for seasonings, you can look at Clotilde's recipe for suggestions. I like mine rather plain like this, with just a dash of balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper.

Cherry Zucchini Salad

1 cup cooked wheat kernels (or other grain)

About 15 cherries, pitted and cut in half

About 1/2 cup grated zucchini

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Toss together all ingredients and serve at room temperature or chilled.

This makes enough for 2 smallish side salads or 1 large main dish.

Next time I'll add grated carrot and radish. There are lots of possibilities for this salad.