Wild Rice Salad

One of my very favorite summer salad recipes, hearty with wild rice, crunchy with vegetables. No mayonnaise or eggs, so especially good for picnics and outdoor parties. According to Objibway Indian legend, 21st century cooks can thank a hungry hunter and a dispatched duck for the nutty delicacy we call wild rice. One late-summer evening, a hunter returned to camp hungry but without game. Perched on the rim of a pot above his cold fire was a duck. Startled, the bird flew into the darkness. When the hunter peered into the pot, he found coarse grains the duck had left behind. He cooked it in water – and happily filled his hungry belly with delicious soup. The next day, the hunter set out in the direction the duck had flown and soon came upon a marsh filled with wildfowl feasting upon the wild grain. The hunter knew he and his people would never go hungry again. For contemporary eaters, wild rice is higher in protein and fiber and a fifth lower in calories than both white and br