wheat berry salad with buttermilk herb dressing

this is the sort of week that calls for make-ahead one-bowl meals, food that lends itself well to being stuffed into jars and left to languish in a backpack all day only to be haphazardly scarfed, standing up, between classes or on the way to the library. an essay, a midterm, a quiz, a (terrifying) presentation, and a last-minute scramble to find a ride to san francisco next week, and i suddenly find myself very grateful to last-weekend-jen, that forgotten angel who did all the cooking for the week on saturday afternoon.
this is not spectacular food, not the kind of thing that will make you stop what you're doing so you can direct all your sensory neurons towards your mouth, but it is vibrant, texturally pleasing to eat, and will humbly fulfill all your nutritional needs on those afternoons when you feel grateful to find anything in front of you that isn't a cup of coffee, let alone vegetables.
which is why i scaled back a little on the wheat berries in this recipe: to make for a higher ratio of veggies-to-grains, to give this salad more crunch and more color (that, and had i left the wheat berries as is, i would have had a completely overwhelming amount of food on my quivering, caffeine-addled hands). i used wheat berries because they're always easier to find, but the original recipe calls for farro, and any plump grain like barley (or maybe even oat groats) will probably work just as well. the buttermilk, i should add, was the miraculous byproduct of the homemade butter experiment, and was just as tangy and wonderful as i had hoped it would be.
wheat berry salad with buttermilk & herb dressing
adapted from 101 cookbooks, inspired by a dish served at the wonderful clyde common
serves 8 (i say more like 10)

• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• fine grain sea salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup good-quality white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped dill
• 1/2 cup chopped chives
• 1 tbsp chopped thyme (i swapped in basil)
• 7 small radishes, sliced paper thin
• 3 small zucchini, sliced paper thin (i used two eight-ball zucchini)
• 1 medium head of fennel, trimmed and sliced paper thin
• 1-2 large carrots, peeled and cut into thin coins
• a few handfuls of chopped greens*
  
• 3 cups cooked wheat berries or farro, cooled to room temp
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• chopped chives for garnish

*optional. i used maybe 2/3 cup of my radish greens, both out of convenience and because i love the slight bitterness that they lend to salads, but the original recipe included wild arugula, and i imagine sorrel or garden cress or spinach would all work beautifully too.

combine the minced garlic and a teaspoon of salt on a cutting board. mash into a paste using the flat side of your knife. place in a medium bowl or jar (i use a two cup measuring cup here for easy measuring of each ingredient as you add it), then add the buttermilk and vinegar. whisk together and let sit for 5 minutes or so. gradually whisk in the olive oil, then the herbs.

in a large bowl gently toss the radishes, zucchini, fennel, carrots and greens with the farro grains. add 1 cup of the dressing and toss again. let sit for ten minutes, taste, and adjust with more dressing, if needed, and salt and pepper to taste (you'll probably need lots, especially of salt). serve sprinkled with chives. revive any leftovers with a splash of leftover dressing.