I love farro, I just don't cook enough with it. This recipe cooks very similar to risotto, which calls for adding a little bit of the liquid at a time and stir. I made Martha Stewart's Farro and Porcini Risotto a while ago and loved it! The farro tasted earthy and nutty, with a splash of green from the basil and parsley. It was chewy and creamy in all the right places. The porcinis added a smokey, woody flavor and the grated cheese gave it a salty depth. This dish is not meant for the light-hearted though; it's hearty and rustic and would do best on its own with a nice glass of red wine. It's definitely not springtime fare, which is perfect for a nice hearty dinner on a cold night. Farro with Porcini Risotto Recipe Source: Martha Stewart Serves 4 Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) walnuts, toasted 1/2 cup fresh basil 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 garlic clove Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups farro 3/4 cup (1/2 ounce) dried porcini mushrooms 1/2 cup dry white wine 5 1/2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 ounce) for garnish Directions To make pesto, pulse walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add basil, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper, and process. With machine running, pour in oil, and puree. To make risotto, bring farro, mushrooms, wine, and 2 cups stock to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high. Continue to cook, stirring and adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, waiting for each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. It should take 20 to 25 minutes. Stir 1/3 cup pesto into risotto. Top with Parmesan and remaining pesto.

I have several Aroma cookers, the multi cookers that cook a variety of rices and grains as well as slow cooker, soups, sauté and simmer where you can brown your meat and vegetables right in the same pot. I love them. My whole family has them. I just recently bought a new one that has all the options at Costco for under $40 which is a steal. There are many variations of these with different options. Never had a problem with any of them and I have had some for many years. I have cooked brown, white, and a multi grain mix all perfectly. I have not yet done oatmeal but my sister does. On the aroma site there's a lot of recipes. I cook full meals in them.

Minestrone to me is an Italian riff on the nourishing vegetable/bean/meat/grain based soups that are common in almost every culture around the world. The idea is careful preparation of simple, common, nutritious and inexpensive ingredients to make some type of comfort soup, which benefits from a little time spent melding on the back burner. My own signature soup is called "Vegetarian Comfort Soup" and is meant to have the role of chicken soup in my home, something comforting, healthful and made by a loved one. I make Vegetarian Comfort Soup with yellow split peas, and chicken style TVP and egg noodles. That's not minestrone in my book. Neither is chili, although it has many ingredients in common with minestrone. Chili gets the name from the seasoning but it can be used in a gazillion ways with several other kinds of complimentary seasonings. Chili peppers can even add zing to minestrone . . . Yesterday I made minestrone. The base was a classic soffritto of onion, celery and carrot. The beans were soaked great northerns. I can't get dried cannellini beans anymore at the grocery store. The broth was a little left over chicken broth mixed with some vegetable bouillon. The seasonings were garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaf. Some dried parsley and a couple of leaves of kale I had languishing in the fridge. I use almost exclusively dried herbs at this point, don't grow them yet and can't afford fresh, but a bouquet garni would have been nice too, very "authentic" country style preparation at this time of year. I added about three tomatoes from the garden that were getting past their prime and a half a can of V8 juice. These soups often have a highly seasoned inexpensive meat added. I'm mostly vegetarian but had two mild Italian sausages that were left over from a meal I made for my meat eating Dad and husband so I sauteed them, broke them up, drained and blotted the fat, and added them to the soup. I often chop up a few vegetarian sausages when I make this soup. I had some left over rice which I added to make the soup heartier, but it wasn't quite enough, so I added some orzo. It tastes fabulous, and the slow cooked layering of flavors and nutrition makes it the perfect comfort food to have made on a grey rainy day. In the interest of nutrition, I am now more prone to adding farro or whole barley or brown rice to these kinds of soups as opposed to pasta, but I still like pasta in them too.

I agree, I like to do their puzzles as well but refuse to pay extra to go beyond the most basic levels. You can usually Google the name of the recipe and find it on another site. Or clear your cookies and the site will let you look at one or two recipes before it blocks you. Is this the recipe? Tuscan Farro Soup By Mark Bittman 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion, sliced 2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 cup farro, spelt or barley 1 cup dried white beans, soaked for several hours or overnight 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; do not drain) 6 cups stock or water, more as necessary ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, optional Freshly grated Parmesan Put oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat; a minute later add onion, celery, carrots, a large pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook until vegetables are glossy and onion is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, and stir; add farro, beans, tomatoes and stock, and stir. Bring to a boil, then adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until farro and beans are tender, at least an hour, adding stock or water as necessary if mixture becomes too thick. Stir in parsley and basil (if using), then cook another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve with lots of Parmesan.