Author Summer Time Reading Delights and Eating, Too!

I’m loving being out of winter and into the warm Summer Time. My outdoor back deck beckons to me each morning … Your back deck is calling … come to me … come to me.

The final touches have been completed on the next book in the Harmonie series—The Secret Rise and uploaded to IngramSpark and Amazon’s KDP.

Earlier this year, I published Cooking with Judith—50 of my favorite recipes for a variety of dishes. With summer here, I wanted to share with you a new favorite side salad type of dish: Farro Mediterranean Summer Salad—to delight your taste buds. It’s below.

And my hot news … The Secret Rise, Book 3 in the Harmonie series is done … DONE. It’s a big book, coming in at 540 pages—whew! I’ve also updated the covers on Book 1, The Secret Journey and Book 2, The Secret Hamlet. You can get a sample of The Secret Rise on Amazon next week. Nichol is back, stronger than ever with her bow. Her three children are approaching their teens and revealing skills that she doesn’t even have; Shadow delivers a massive surprise; and your eyes will feast on the new maps designed just for the book.

If you have only read book 1, The Secret Journey, you want to move to The Secret Hamlet, book 2. Lots more intrigue and action generated from Nichol, our protagonist who can take down four men in one minute with her bow. Barnes & Noble has copies. Book 3, The Secret Rise at 540 pages raises it to level neither my co-author Brian Barnes nor I hadn’t originally imagined … woot!

I will be signing books in the Lone Tree Park Meadows Barnes & Noble on Sunday, July13; Southlands Barnes & Noble on Saturday, July 19; and Lakewood Denver West Village Barnes & Noble on Sunday, July 20. Come out and support the bookstores … also available on Amazon.

Come and get copies you don’t have … it’s SUMMER TIME reading delight—you’ve got a long weekend coming soon! Plus, I’ll have special chocolate nibbles for you.
Enjoy … and Happy Summer to YOU!

Farro Mediterranean Summer Salad
Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Discover FARRO, used in many Mediterranean dishes. It’s hearty and when I make it for friends, there are no left-overs—they take it home—whatever they can get from me. 

Want full Italian? Sub in a rotini type pasta for the farro.

Mix in veggies, feta cheese, and Italian meats and your salad can be a side or a main course. Generously toss it with a homemade with Newman’s dressing—you make—or do the cheat: get the bottled Newman’s Italian Dressing or the Olive Garden Dressing that Costco carries. 

What I love … this is such an easy, Mediterranean salad recipe that carries lots of vitamins with the farro grain. My cheat—I cook the farro in a rice cooker so I don’t have to monitor the cooking process. Then, I can just chop away the other ingredients and then mix with veggies and cheese when the farro is done. I do it all in less than 25 minutes.

Prep Time: 20 minutes  Cook
Time: 20 minutes for Farro or until done
Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 lb. box of Farro per instructions … if you want to perk up the water it’s cooking in, add one generous teaspoon of Better Than Bouillion
7 oz Salami -I’ve use thick and thin … just cut it up
8 to 10 ounces Feta Cheese, cut up
1 C Grape Tomatoes – sliced in half
½ to 1 C Parmesan Cheese
6 mini-Cucumbers – cut up (much crisper than regular cucumbers)
1 C Kalamata olives – cut in half (my personal favorite olive)
1 – 2 avocados – cut up
1/2  Red Onion, diced
1/2 Basil, cut in ribbons
1 or 2 Red, Orange, or Yellow Bell Peppers, diced

Newman’s Homemade Salad Dressing
16 ounces of virgin olive oil
3 to 4 oz of red wine vinegar if you like it really tart, or balsamic if you like it sweeter – why not both, blend the two?
2 to 3 T of Dijon mustard
2 tsp celery seeds
Salt to taste, approximately 1 to 2 tsp
1 to 2 tsp pepper

Putting It All Together …

1. Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt water. Cook farro according to package instruction … OR in rice cooker … water, farro, salt, cover and push button. It stops when the liquid is absorbed. If you want to perk up the water it’s cooking in, add one generous teaspoon of Better Than Bouillion—you can choose, vegetable, beef, or chicken flavors—your choice.

2. Make sure to generously salt your water! Drain and set aside. Or use a Rice Cooker–my preference.

3.Cut the vegetables and cut the meats and cheeses into cubes.

4.Make the dressing in a blender or whisk in a bowl by combining all of the ingredients together. Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper as needed. You will use at least one cup of it … or the bottle of store bought.

Tip: If you make the dressing ahead of time, cork and keep unrefrigerated. When ready to use, shake the heck out of it before you put it on the salad, as it tends to separate. 

Tip: This recipe will fit into one regular wine bottle. Hmmm … why not do a combo? It’s summertime, Sauvignon Blanc could hit the spot. Pour glasses for friends to share the salad with and then store the dressing in the empty bottle for use later.

5.Toss the cooked farro with the dressing and add the vegetables first and then the meats and cheeses. Top with fresh parmesan cheese and basil.

6.Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Garnish option: Fresh Basil (cut into ribbons)
I make a generous amount of salad dressing since it gets soaked up once it is chilled in the refrigerator.

Dr. Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. Often, she must roll up her writing sleeves and become a Book Doctor, juicing up storylines and author words. She empowers authors and works directly with authors who want to be seriously successful and has been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the ’80s. Judith is the author of 48 books and 60 book awards including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty: Success for Authors and Writers, and How to Create a Million Dollar Speech. Her personal memoir When God Says NO-Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present is a #1 bestseller on Amazon and her historical fiction debut The Secret Journey and The Secret Hamlet. The Secret Rise, book 3 and her first cookbook, Cooking with Judith will be published in 2025. Collectively, her books have earned over 50 book awards. Judith speaks throughout the year at publishing conferences. 

©2025 Judith Briles – The Book Shepherd All Rights Reserved.