Every time I dig my gardening spade into the earth or pull another weed, I remember a friend once telling me: "I'm the person I really want to be when working in my garden."

I can't remember who made the remark but it has resonated in my psyche for years, especially in the spring. Gardening, for me, isn't so much about the perennials and lettuce varietals popping up through the soil. It's about the solitude and peace of digging in the dirt, time passing like roving butterflies on their quest for honeyed nectar.

The spinach I planted in early April has survived nature's extremist behavior. It's not quite ready to harvest but there are plenty of limp bottom leaves I'd rather enjoy in a salad than sacrifice to garden critters.

I'm avoiding the grocery store on this beautiful day, and will make a simple salad using up grains in my pantry. There has been much debate on whether quinoa and farro are, indeed, grains but today they are "grains" for simplicity's sake. Less words and more time to soak up the sunshine, swat away bugs and, hopefully, observe a butterfly.

I wish I had enough farro on hand to use exclusively in this salad. I've another absolutely delicious Italian Farro Pilaf recipe with ground beef and peas if you're interested in additional ways to use this wonderful "grain."

Yield: 3-4 servings (4 1/2-5 cups)
Time: 20 minutes
Cost: apx. $3.50

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry farro
1/2 cup dry black quinoa
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
3-4 cups loosely packed fresh spinach, washed and spun dry, torn into smaller
pieces if leaves are large
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper, carrot or tomato
Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

1. In two small separate pots, cook farro and quinoa according to package instructions, noting that older grains may take longer to cook than the package indicates.
2. Combine vinegar and basil and whisk oil into vinegar. Toss with basil, spinach, red pepper and grains; season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Top with shaved Parmesan and serve.