What fun food is!

Every Tuesday I spend a couple of hours with some wonderful women culminating in lunch at Whole Foods or a similar eating establishment. Yesterday many of us enjoyed grains one form or another, most often quinoa, cous cous or wheat berries. It was great fun.

I had a quinoa mixture that included spinach, pepper, onion and of course quinoa cooked in a vegetable or chicken broth with pine nuts added for additional texture. It was fabulous. At home I would have added basil or rosemary for an additional flavor but even as is it was terrific.

I continue to be impressed with the availability of alternative grains to the general population. While many of my friends are not "foodies" they are familiar with things such as quinoa, kasha, millet and cous cous and love them. We also often gravitate to polenta and whole wheat pasta as well. Our experience has been to consume a combination of quinoa, chick peas, cous cous and other grains with vegetables such as garlic, peppers and tomatoes both hot and cold. Cheese is often a welcome addition.

If you think any of these grains are difficult to either cook or eat you are mistaken. Cous cous is simply a form of pasta, typically it is not a whole grain but recently you can get cous cous in whole grain form. That simpy means that all three parts of the grain are included in the milling of this food. For those not familiar cous cous is a small circular pasta like shape and yes it is wheat although the gluten free folks have developed a similar product

I love polenta! While I can't say my family agrees, polenta based on corn and corn type products is wonderful. I add onion, garlic, peppers and whatever else is available. Remember that corn and anything made from it is gluten free. However cornbread is half corn and half wheat so that doesn't. comply. Let me know where you and your family falls and I'll be happy to give some suggstions as well as recipes that meet your needs. Many of the alternative grains including quinoa and wheat berries are available on line. Try googling the name of the grain (quinoa, wheat berry, millet, buckwheat groats, etc) as well as bobsredmill.com as they provide a number of products that might meet your needs.

In the meantime experiment with cornmeal and wheat berries to achieve wonderful whole grain alternatives. One of my favorites is wheat berry chili. http://wheatfoods.org/Wheat-Berry-Chili.177.1.htm) The recipe is available on the Wheat Foods Council website. The only precaution is to prepare the wheat berries so they are ready to be included. But it is worth it. By far this is the best chili recipe around and not only whole grain but really really whole grain with lots of fiber, bran and other phytonutrients. Enjoy!

Happy Healthy Eating!
Marcia

Remove the Whole Grain Mystery

Ever since refined flour became the preferred choice in the 1940's using whole grains has baffled cooks everywhere. A few simple rules coupled with some tricks of the trade easily demystifies the process creating delicious and nutritious choices.

First of all know your grains. When consumed in a form including the bran, endosperm and germ these products are considered whole grains. The most common include:

• Oats - including oatmeal (instant, quick and old-fashioned)
• Rice - whole grain referred to as brown rice
• Corn - both popcorn and cornmeal (as long as it is NOT degerminated)
• Wheat - whole wheat flour and bread as well as cracked wheat, bulgar and wheatberries

Not quite as common but familiar to many:

• Barley - terrific in soup and stews
• Rye - coarse flour used in Eastern European breads
• Buckwheat - common in pancakes, waffles
• Wild rice - not actually grain but used as one
  

Some examples of less familiar grains include:

• Quinoa
• Triticale
• Amaranth
• Millet

Oats and corn may be the easiest to add to our weekly fare in whole grain form. Popcorn is by definition and whole cornmeal used to make cornbread or polenta make those products whole grain foods. Oatmeal whether old fashioned, quick or instant is a whole grain. Quick cooking oats are simply cut in pieces and the instant form has been partially cooked for you but all contain the three essential parts to make them whole grains. Rice is easy as well. Simply choose brown rice which is available in grocery stores across the country. While it takes a little longer to cook, I just soak what I'm going to prepare in the water or broth while I'm doing other things. Then it cooks in no time! Quaker Oats (http://www.quakeroats.com/), USARice (http://www.usarice.com/) and the Whole Grains Council (http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/) are good sources for whole grain recipes using these products.

Wheat presents us with a lot more options. Whole wheat flour can be used to make bread, rolls or any other recipe that uses flour. I use it for cookies, thickening sauces and gravies and similar products. Here are some easy substitutions:

• Use half the white flour with whole wheat flour
• Replace 1/3 of the flour in a recipe with quick oats
• Add half a cup of cooked wild rice, barley or bulgar to bread stuffing
• Choose whole corn meal for your cornbread recipes and use whole wheat flour too
• Use oatmeal in meatloaf and hamburger mixtures

Tomorrow's post will focus on cooking tips for the more unusual whole grains including quinoa and using wheat berries in home cooking. It's easy, fun and really tasty!

Healthy, Happy Cooking,

Marcia