This is my 100th post! I’m serious. It seems like just a blink ago that I decided to write this blog and miraculously, I am still really enjoying the process of cooking and sharing! Thank you for your emails and facebook messages etc and for trying out a recipe or two. I hope the food on Busy as a Brie continues to make your tummy growl.

And for another milestone, after a year and nine months of being married, I finally am going to meet my in-laws! Ivan and I just bought tickets to visit his parents in Bulgaria and I have already posted a countdown on the refrigerator. I am itchy with anticipation.

Here’s a little end of summer meal to tickle your tastebuds.

For the Recipe, click here:

Mustard Roasted Beets with Grains and Collard Greens

I am hooked on barley. It is such a versatile and satisfying, chewy little grain. This fresh salad sparked when I came upon these cute clementines that looked almost too perfect to eat. Clementines remind me of my childhood and the single orange ball I would find at the toe of my Christmas stocking every year. Once we pulled everything out, my brothers and I would sit and eat our clementines while admiring our loot. Something about them just makes me happy.

So for a lunch date with my friend Jamie, I marinated and grilled some beautiful salmon to go with this spring salad. It was a perfect lazy lunch on the porch accompanied by sunshine and Monty contentedly munching on his favorite stuffed beaver.

For the Recipes, click here:

Orange and Maple Glazed Salmon

Clementine, Barley, and Spinach Salad with Cinnamon Citrus Dressing

So as I mentioned in yesterdays post on Portobello Barley Burgers, there are a million things to do with leftover barley.

Number one: It’s a perfect breakfast. I actually prefer it to oatmeal because of its nutty chewiness. But it has the same benefit of filling you up and pulling you through a long morning run or just keeping you full longer.

There’s no better morning to me than my Vanity Fair, a cup of hot coffee and this barley breakfast! Enjoy.

For the Recipe, click here:

Nutty Barley with Strawberries and “Cream”

I feel so accomplished after my adventures in the kitchen yesterday. Who knew it was so satisfying to make pita? While a wee bit time consuming (you have to wait multiple times to let the little buggers rise), the waiting was more than worth it. And the best part is, when you actually get to put them in the piping hot 500 degree oven, they cook in a flash.

I was glued to the oven, watching in anticipation as they puffed up in the middle like little pillows and could literally see the transformation as the golden edges took on color. It makes it even better that they taste delicious. I hate a thin, textureless pita. These are anything but. Fluffy, yeasty, totally yummy.

For the Recipe, click here:

White Whole Wheat Perfect Pita Pockets

So then there is always the dilemma of what to put in them which was solved pretty quickly as I have been craving a veggie burger like crazy. If you have a meat lover in your house (ahem. I do) I promise you, they will enjoy these too. Just maybe you should call them Portobello Patties instead of invoking the word “burger.” No one needs a lecture about why it’s not a burger without two pounds of ground beef. Pair the patties with some broccoli rabe, sauteed with garlic and olive oil and you have yourself one healthy, satisfying meal!

For the Recipe, click here:

Portobello Barley Burgers

Update! I came in second place for the cupcake competition day! Scott from wardrobe made some lemony, buttercream frosted dreams that were the scene stealer! You just can’t win ‘em all…But now, I am in dire need of something seriously healthy after the sugar rush this week. I am practically buzzing. So, this is my polar opposite to counteract the sugar in my veins.

Quinoa, if you aren’t familiar with it, is a nutty, crunchy “grain” (it’s actually not a grain, but rather a pseudocereal, but who really cares) that is surprisingly filling. I use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Quinoa which is easy to find in the grocery store. I find that it’s best to season the grain while it’s boiling in order to really get the flavors infused. Don’t skip the dressing. It really makes it. I’m hoping you feel as happy and healthy as I did after a bowl of this. (Makes 3-4 servings.)

Crunchy Quinoa Salad with Greek Love

1 cup uncooked whole grain quinoa

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 cucumber, skin left on, quartered

10 calamata olives, pits removed and diced

1/2 shallot, finely diced

4 oz crumbled feta

8 romaine heart lettuce leaves

Boil 2 cups of water. Add the quinoa, zest, basil, salt, and pepper. Cover, reduce heat to medium and let boil for 12 minutes. Remove cover, turn off heat and fluff with a fork. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool.

Once quinoa has cooled, add the cucumber, tomatoes, olives and shallot. Toss with dressing. Place two romaine leaves on each plate, scoop 1/4 mixture over the lettuce. Crumble 1 oz feta cheese over each plate and serve.

Dilly Yogurt Dressing

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup greek yogurt

2 tsp white balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp dill (fresh or dried)

1 tsp honey

1/4 tsp salt

3 cracks pepper

Whisk all ingredients together until oil is fully incorporated.