Tweaking a recipe

I admit it. I love to tweak other people's and publication's recipes. Maybe it's an ingredient subsitution, maybe it's adding something that I think will make it appeal more to me and The Aussie, maybe it's doubling the veggies to make it more filling... there are many reasons. Every week there is a recipe in the Weight Watchers flyer that we receive at each meeting. The recipe in last week's was for pearled barley sauteed with grape tomatoes and arugula.


I made my version with farro, because I didn't happen to have pearled barley. After I tried a few bites of it, I decided it would be better as a cold salad, so I stuck it in the refrigerator. Having just had a serving for breakfast, I can safely tell you that yes, it is a very tasty cold salad.

Tomato and Arugula Salad with Farro - serves 4 (2 WW +points)
1/2 cup dried farro, cooked according to directions (15 minutes in 3 cups water)
One 10 ounce container of grape tomatoes, cut in half, lengthwise
3 cups of arugula leaves, rinsed
non-stick cooking spray (olive oil flavor)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the farro according to package directions. Drain when cooked, and set aside.

Spray non-stick pan with olive oil cooking spray. Over medium high heat, sautee the garlic for a minute (don't let it burn) and add in the halved tomatoes. Cook very briefly if you're doing this as a cold salad, maybe a minute or two. Add in the cooked farro and cook for another minute. Finally, add in the arugula leaves and stir until they are wilted. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Before serving, mix the oil and vinegar together with the black pepper, and toss together.