Orange Cranberry Wild Rice Salad

           Last night the weather was mild enough (yay) to inspire a burger night, so some church friends fired up the grill and we gathered for an evening of food and games and good laughs. We dove into burgers and quite the spread of chips and cookies and conversation hearts, as well as this salad, which ended up to be a great hit! I'd had similar salads in the past that I loved, but had never mixed one up at home before. It was so easy and filled my house with the yummy, buttery, cooking-rice smell I love. In one bite of this salad you experience the tang of orange, the crunch of pecan, the sweet bursts of cranberry and grape, the textured, hearty bite of wild rice...it's a lovely experience all around. I'm sure you'll love it. Serve it warm, at room temperature, or chilled, however you prefer (I like it somewhere between warm and room temperature). 

Orange Cranberry Wild Rice Salad

adapted from simplyrecipes.com

serves approximately 12

ingredients:

2 cups brown rice/wild rice mix

4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons butter

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup green grapes, halved

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1 tbsp orange juice

salt and pepper, to taste

directions:

1. Bring rice, 1 teaspoon salt, butter, and water to boil. Reduce to low heat, cover, and cook for 50 minutes. Do not stir or uncover, however tempting! Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for 10 more minutes. Uncover, stir a bit, and let cool to almost room temperature.

2. In a large serving bowl, mix the rice, cranberries, pecans, grapes, and green onions together.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, orange peel and juice, sugar, honey, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix dressing in with the rice mixture. Serve warm, chilled, or room temperature.