Creamy Wheat Berries with Honey, pg. 300

I forgot my grocery list in the car when I ran into Whole Foods...and yes, I could have gone out and grabbed it, but we were having one of those torrential downpours, and I figured I would wing it.  Somehow I forgot the recipe called for dried dates, and bought dried figs instead, but they worked!  Now I know I enjoy dried figs in hot grains, who knew!

I can't say this received amazing reviews.  My roommate Karen, who has a textural issue with creamy-like foods, told me she wouldn't even try it (only based on texture!) and Jeff took such a small bite I can't imagine he could taste much, but said it was good.  It's sweet and chewy, although I'm not sure it was actually cooked all the way and it's not very "creamy".  I enjoy the flavor, but want it a bit more cooked than the recipe called for.

Ironically, in my first attempt at cooking from the book, I have a dish with Milk as the first ingredient! I'm not tolerant of lactose, so I intend to cook through the book with as little dairy as possible.  This time I used rice milk instead (2 cups original, and 1 cup vanilla).  I imagine the fat content of rice milk vs. 2% is substantial enough to affect the creamy consistency of this dish, so I'm interested to see how Amy's real milk version will compare.  I also didn't top it with whipped cream, although it sounds delicious!  Overall I enjoyed the flavor of the finished product, but think I need to cook it more.  I'll be heating this up for breakfast in the morning.  A yummy start to a day all about food!   -Vicki



1/20/10

This recipe called for chopped dates. I thought a date was some sort of plum that was dried.  Ben said it was the root of a plant or vegetable.  We were both wrong!  "A date fruit is the product of a date palm, a tree native to Northern Africa and the Middle East, although it is also cultivated in other parts of the world. In addition to being eaten fresh, the date fruit is dried and eaten whole as a snack or included in an assortment of desserts." -wisegeek.com

I was pleasingly surpised at how this recipe turned out.  I cooked the wheat berries using my pressure cooker. Goodbye to soaking grains overnight!  Hooray for putting water, a tablespoon of oil, and berries in my Fagor pressure cooker for 35 minutes.  Next time, I may consider adding extra cinnamon and sugar into the water before cooking.  Is that allowed....or will I start a sugar stove fire?

After Ben's first bite, he said it tasted as if he was eating warm apple pie that was mixed with melted vanilla ice cream.  After a few chews, Ben said the flavor goes back to being a grain with the texture of corn.  He would prefer Craisins instead of  dates.  Husband Rating: 3.8/5 grains.

This recipe yields around 3-4 cups so be prepared for breakfast leftovers!  -amy