Weight Loss Recipes - Cranberry and Wild Rice Salad

Cranberry and Wild Rice Salad
(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:
	1 cup wild rice
	1 teaspoon salt
	1/2 cup walnuts
	8 ounces cranberries, fresh or thawed frozen
	1/2 cup sugar
	2 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
	1 tablespoon rice vinegar
	3 green onions, chopped (including green tops)
Directions:
1.	Combine wild rice, salt and 1 qt water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until rice is tender to bite and most grains have split open, 45 to 60 minutes. Drain in a colander and let cool.
2.	Meanwhile, spread walnuts on a cookie sheet and toast in a 325 degree oven until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Coarsely chop.
3.	Sort cranberries, discarding any stems and bruised or decayed fruit; cut each cranberry in half.
4.	In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir the sugar and 1/2 cup water until the sugar is dissolved and mixture boils. Remove from heat; stir the halved cranberries. Gently stir occasionally until insides of cranberries have turned red but are still firm, 8 to 12 minutes. Pour through a strainer into a bowl, reserving the cranberry-sugar syrup.
5.	In a large bowl gently mix wild rice, cranberry halves, oil, and vinegar. Stir in 2 tablespoons cranberry syrup; taste and add up to 1/4 cup more syrup to sweeten and moisten salad as desired. Stir in green onions. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.
6.	Stir in walnuts before serving.