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Cook Grains in Half the Time

11/23/2016

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Everyone needs to add more whole grain to their diets, but cooking whole grains requires time.  Quinoa is a great grain, cooks up quickly but does not have the flavor like some of the more interesting grains. Spelt, wheat berries and even hulled barley all are far more interesting but take forever to cook. When dinner needs to be on the table in 30 minutes it's not practical.

This is a tip that will cut your cooking time in half, put the kamut, rye, spelt, hulled barley, wheat berries and any other whole grain in a food processor or blender and pulse for about 20 seconds to 1 minute, until every grain is broken in half-ish. The idea is to have the grains be coarse, more like steel-cut oats not pulverized into dust. Breaking open the grains increase the surface area and makes the grains soften more quickly.

Combine one part grain with 4 parts water in a pot on medium to high heat. Bring this to a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer and stir occasionally, until the grain is tender and the mixture is thick and porridge like, which will take about 25 to 30 minutes. You can thicken the cooked grains with any cheese or fat if you like.

Now that you have your base you can top this with anything. Think greens, or sausage and cheese, even an egg. You have a nutritious quick meal or side dish in no time.

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Baking With Oat Flour

2/16/2015

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Oat flour may be a bit more difficult to find if you don't mill your own flour. If you do have access to a mill buy oat groats they look like wheat berries and mill very nicely. Oat flour and wheat flour can be used for breads, cookies, cakes and many other baked goods. There are some important differences that you should be aware of when converting wheat flour recipes to oat flour ones.

Many people are attracted to oat flour for their baking because it's gluten-free, unlike wheat flour. Some people avoid gluten because of medical or dietary concerns. Gluten is a protein that makes dough elastic and baked goods chewy. Without gluten, oat flour can leave your baked goods heavy or the item may fall apart. Some cooks remedy this by adding more liquid or rising ingredients to their recipes. I find it's best to use oat flour in baked products that will benefit from the flours properties.

Since it has no gluten it's not the best choice for bread unless you mix it with a gluten flour like hard red or hard white flour in  ratio of 1/3 oat flour to 2/3 hard red or white. If does make a great shortbread cookie, pie crust,   or any baked item that does not need to raise and you want a very tender product. When making recipes that require baking powder, add 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder per cup of oat flour. If you are using buttermilk in your recipe, add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of buttermilk or any acid. This will neutralize the acid in the recipe and allow the baking powder to work more effectively.  Adjusting the leavening agents will give your baked goods a bit more lift.

Oat flour has a lovely slightly sweet taste compared to a soft white wheat flour (pastry flour). Oat flour also tends to make  baked goods more moist compared to wheat flour. Which again makes it a good choice for cookies and quick breads. In your cookie and  quick bread recipes, replace up to 1/4 cup of the wheat flour with oat flour with usually no adjustments to the recipe.

Have fun experiment with different grains
Happy Baking
Tamara
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How To Cook Grains

1/14/2015

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Use these basic guidelines for cooking whole grains including amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgar, cornmeal, couscous, Kamut, millet, oats, pasta, quinoa, brown rice, rye berries, sorghum, spelt berries, wheat berries and wild rice
Cooking Tips
  • In order to get more nutrition from your grains try soaking them overnight in half the liquid. This will  make them more digestible. The next day add the remaining liquid to finish cooking them. Another benefit is the cooking time is greatly reduced, which uses less energy.
  • Try lightly roasting grains in a dry skillet before cooking. This gives them a lighter texture and a nuttier taste.
  • Most grains become sticky if stirred, so leave them alone while they cook. The result will be fluffier and tastier.
  • Some grain dishes, such as bulgar and couscous, are actually fluffier if you do not cook them. Just pour boiling water over the grains, let them stand for 15 to 20 minutes, then toss them with a fork before adding other ingredients or serving.
To 1 cup of this grain


Amaranth

Barley, hulled

Buckwheat

Bulgar

Cornmeal (polenta)

Couscous,       whole wheat

Kamut grain


Millet, hulled

Oats, steel cut

Pasta, whole wheat

Quinoa

Brown rice

Rye berries


Sorghum

Spelt berries


Wheat berries


Wild rice
Add this much water or broth:
2 cups

3 cups

2 cups

2 cups

4 cups


2 cups


4 cups


2 1/2 cups

4 cups

6 cups


2 cups

2 1/2 cups

4 cups


4 cups

4 cups


4 cups


3 cups
Bring to a boil then simmer for:


20-25 minutes

45-60 minutes

20 minutes

10-12 minutes

25-30 minutes


10 minutes


Soak overnight cook 45-60 min.

25-35 minutes

20 minutes

8-12 minutes (varies by size)

12-15 minutes

25-45 minutes

Soak overnight cook 45-60 min.

25-40 minutes

Soak overnight cook 45-60 min.

Soak overnight, cook 45-60 min.

45-55 minutes
Amount after cooking


3 1/2 cups


3 1/2 cups

4 cups

3 cups

2 1/2 cups


3 cups


3 cups


4 cups

4 cups

Varies


3+ cups


3-4 cups


3 cups


3 cups


3 cups



3 cups



3 1/2 cups
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