Oat & Turkey Soup with Tex-Mex Flavors, pg. 126/ Split Pea Soup

Soup season is in full force.  I can't think of a better way to enjoy my Sunday evening after skiing than kicking up my feet while watching Netflicks with a big bowl of soup on my lap.  I usually only cook slow cooker soups.  Recipes that I can toss together all at once and come back several hours later to a soup that is ready to eat.  I'm not one to stir a big pot over the stove continuing to add ingredients.  Lorna's soup was not made in the slow cooker, but rather one I could toss together fairly fast and then freeze extra for an upcoming Sunday.

I started this soup in a large pot and cooked the onion and celery.  I then added the cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles along with several seasonings including cinammon. Once I could smell the spices, I poured the water in the pot along with the 3 chicken thighs.  The turkey simmered, and the oats cooked.  As usual, I never follow the full directions so I added several items in my fridge.  For this soup, I added leftover kamut, butternut squash, fresh cilantro and parsley.  The Tex-Mex flavors came together nicelly and I will for sure be making this in the future. 

While skiing last weekend, my friend Jackie had the pefect idea, soup bowls in the "brown bag" lunch area.  Enjoy.    
Split Pea Soup w/Couscous
Modified from Fix-It and Forget-It
1 lb. pkg. split peas
6 slices of thick ham
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
4 potatoes, diced
1 qt. water
1 qt. chicken broth
Seasoning (pepper, bay leaf, allspice, sugar)
1 cup couscous, cooked (add to soup before serving)

Directions: Wash and sort split peas, removing any stones.  Combine all ingredients except cooked couscous in the slow cooker.  Cover in slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours.  Add couscous to soup before serving.   -amy   

The Whipple in Me

I feel like everyone should visit the Whipple household (Ben's Mom's house).  It's like stepping into Willy Wonka's house.  Three kinds of Kool Aid in the fridge, two flavors of ice cream, and candy dishes around the house filled with chocolate.  I can't control myself in this type of enviroment.  You think with a name like "Grain Girls", I could help myself.

The holiday is just around the corner and I have to make sure Ben and I don't resort back to old habits.  One of my resolutions is to "healthify" old recipes.  My husband has come a long way and everyone knows this hasn't been an easy task! He's eating kamut, spinach salad, and homemade soy/yogurt ice cream. I feed him so many different types of squash that he's now a fan.  Last time I checked, he could name 9 grains!  Impressive. 

Today, I felt it necessary to post one of my not so heathy recipes, however it still contains grains. Lorna would never approve this recipe but as I stated in the above paragraph, my plan is to revamp it in 2011.  When I make this recipe, I can't believe I add a full stick of butter and 1 can of sweetened condensed milk.  Who puts this in a recipe?  GUILTY...right here! Apparenlty, I still have a little Whipple in me!    

Fudgy Bars - Modified from Meals for Month, by Linda Larsen
2 cups chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350.  In a microwavable bowl, combine chocolate, 3 tablespoons butter, and sweetened condensed milk.  Heat for 2-3 minutes until melted.

2. In a bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Pour melted butter over and mix until crumbs form.  Stir in walnuts. Press 1/2 of the crumb mixture in a 13"x9" pan.  Pour chocolate mixture over crust.  Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over chocolate.

3. Bake at 350 for 25-25 minutes.  Let cool, cut bars, and enjoy!  I like to individually wrap and freeze.

Stay tuned  for the 2012 fudgy bar healthy remix recipe.  -amy w.

Don't Forget to Toast Your Oats - Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Pg. 282

Show of hands to those who toast their oats when making oatmeal cookies?  I had to reread the recipe to make sure I was following directions.  Surely it read, " Spread oats out and bake at 400 on the bottom rack for 3 minutes, stir, and continue baking until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes."  You know what to do the next time you make oatmeal cookies! 

Why I LOVE Oatmeal Cookies
1. Spelt flour + oats = TWO grains in one recipe
2. Ben likes anything with the word cookie in it
3. Yellow raisins count as a serving of fruit
4. Toasting your oats brings out the oat-i-ness

A must read for the month of November!

"Will Write for Food is for food lovers who want to express themselves, guiding them from their earliest creative impulses to successful article writing, restaurant reviewing, and cookbook writing. Dianne Jacob—journalist and food-writing instructor and coach—offers interviews with award-winning writers such as Jeffrey Steingarten, Calvin Trillin, Molly O'Neill, and Deborah Madison, plus well-known book and magazine editors and literary agents, give readers the tools to get started and the confidence to follow through." -www.goodreads.com 

Facebook Fan Page

I'm not sure if we consider ourselves a company, BUT as you know we are owners of the domain graingirls.com and NOW you can join us on Facebook!  Grain Girls

Millet + spelt + quinoa + barley, you name it, we are cooking with it, or at least trying!

If you have never given grains a chance, we hope to inspire your taste buds and invite them into your home.  If you hate grains and everything about their taste, texture, and appearance, it's time to get your grain on! We are here to help! Join us on Facebook for fun updates about what inspires us and keeps us cooking grains. 
amy w.

Early Morning Grains

I have been eating unique varieties of grains now for nearly 6 years! I can hardly remember a time when I didn't have a pantry full of bulgur, millet, quinoa, amaranth and 5 kinds of rice.  Yet I still have moments when I eat plain, lightly-salted grains for breakfast.  I generally start my day fairly early, but try not to leave the house with a healthy hot breakfast in hand.  I am the girl with the "crazy grains" as some of my classmates would say, and it feels odd to have anything else for breakfast (OK, bacon is always an acceptable substitution!).  But, it can be hard to be creative at 5:30 am, and if I did not prep the earlier in the week, salted bulgur with nothing else will be my morning meal along with my 12 ounces of french press coffee.

This week however, was a strong one, a moment of hope in a gray grain world.  On Monday, my weekly prep day, I cooked a few cups of barley from Finn River Farms. For three days, I reheated the barley with roasted acorn squash (cooked with a sauce of butter, brown sugar and orange juice) for a delicious treat. It was fantastic! Of course then the end of the week hit, I was tired and sick of repetition and resorted to plain old quinoa this morning, not bad in my eyes, but not terribly exciting for a culinary student to be cooking up!

I love pairing my breakfast grains with veggies, something I picked up on a detox diet when I was first introduced to the world of whole grain goodness. This meal planning habit is now second nature to my AM food ritual. When I allow time to actually make something tasty, these are some of my favorite combinations:
Quinoa with Broccoli or Peas
Barley & Acorn Squash (new favorite!)
Amaranth & Zucchini
Corn Grits & Sweet Potatoes (this one was a Karen invention and I love it...and she does a better job than me too!)
Buckwheat & Peas
Millet and Steamed Carrots

The list goes on and on. Fresh herbs & Homemade Seasoning salt (Yum!) add another flavor dimension to experiment with.  Keeping prepped grains, along with frozen and/or pre-roasted veggie options will help you toss together a quick and nutritious breakfast. Even if you're barely awake, the sun hasn't rose and you're tiptoeing around the house, so as not to wake the still sleeping roommates...my daily routine ;)
OK, I've actually made several dishes from the grain book lately too, so more to come!  The kids loved the Kibbeh too, so I'll be making that again.
-Vicki

Popcorn-Crusted Fish, Pg. 174

Vicki and I have great chats about our weekly cooking adventures.  The conversation usually end how we wish we could be more like the other.  Vicki can be described as the A+ chef.  Instead of barely reading a recipe, Vicki reads it three times.  If a recipe calls for an exotic spice, she refuses to skimp. Vegetables are cut perfect, presentation is everything, serving dishes are used and garnishes are added. Vicki goes all 9 yards.  Her recipe looks like the magazine example.  I, on the other hand, tend to be the unpredictable cook.  I barely read the entire recipe, add three spices in substitution instead of buying a new spice, my vegetables are cut to various sizes, and additional strange ingredients are added.  My finished product looks nothing like the published picture. My husband is asking, "What did you make?"

Let me explain why I needed more "Vicki" in me this week.  I decided to make the popcorn-crusted tilapia from Lorna's book.  I already freak out every time I make fish due to it turning about bad. My husband insists he's not a huge fan, I insist he is!  Popcorn fish sounded like the perfect dinner.

The recipe called for 2 cups of "POPPED" popcorn, flour, and spices.  Here's where the #1 Vicki rule comes into place....read the recipe again.  I GROUND whole popcorn kernels in my Magic Bullet.  What the heck was I thinking?  I battered the fish in hard kernels and proceeded to then brown the fish.  The kitchen started stinking like burnt popcorn, the coating turned black, my fish was still raw, and small pieces of popcorn were popping everywhere.  At this point, I panicked and put on my safety goggles (jk).  Not once did I think to reread the recipe, I just kept on cooking.  Finally I had blackened fish with a gravel-like texture, all fans in the kitchen were on high, and bits of popcorn pieces covered my stove.

 "Shoot, I ruined another fish night!"  I resorted to the taco fish idea and scraped some of the kernel crust to dispose of the burnt evidence.  I layered small pieces of fish on the bottom of a tortilla and turned to my fridge to add every taco-like ingredient I could find on top.  Ben's seemed to not notice, and recipe was completely edible.  (For viewers sake, no pictures will be shown.) Vicki, I can't wait for you to cook this recipe the correct way!!

For a fast snack Ben and I enjoy popcorn in the Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper  with lime and salt or fresh popcorn with nutritional yeast and salt.  Enjoy.  -amy w.

The Garden of Greatness - Amy's Organic Garden (AOG)

I started a garden on our patio back in May.  After talking this through with Ben, he was pretty convinced it was not one of my best ideas.  I'm the type of person that will start something without thinking about the entire process.  My husband on the other hand addressed several questions, but will support my decision either way.

"Amy, I'm really busy with school and I don't want this to become one of those WE projects."  No worries, I've read a few people's blogs on container gardening.  I know exactly what I need to do.  Shortly after, Ben is drilling holes in buckets, carring large bags of dirt to the patio, and helping me dump soil into the buckets.  WE started a garden together!!!  

"Amy, maybe you should wait a few weeks to start your garden.  It's still pretty cold at night." Naaa, I think the weather is fine, besides it's starting to warm up.  After planting all of the containers, I realize it's a bit early.  My nightly routine consisted of hauling 7 containers into the living room, telling Ben that I need help because the tomato pot is too heavy. 

Amy, I would still like to be able to grill and put our table and chairs out like we did last year.  Yeah, we'll have plenty of room.  Note to self, if you plant pumpkins and zuchinni on your patio, vines will be everywhere. Welcome to our patio pumpkin patch and watch out for the crazy tomato plants.  October 9th, our table and chairs are still in the storage unit.

For the past 5 months, I've watered, our garden. Every morning, I make three trips with the watering can from my sink to the patio.  Here's the output:

Strawberries -15 berries
Lettuce - 4 servings
Spinach - 4 servings
Basil, parsley, and cilantro - plentiful
Cucumbers - 5
Zuchinni - 0
Pumpkins - 2 (fist size)
Cherry Tomatoes - Maybe 7 tiny tomatoes
Regular Tomatoes - 4

Next year, I should stick to herbs and cucumbers.  I also need to read on how to properly grow tomatoes.  As you can see by the pictures, we had a tomato jungle on our porch.  How did my plants not produce tomatoes?  I guess we will see what next year brings!!  - amy w.

Bulgur and Lamb Kibbe

If you're sensitive to onions and chopping them can make you tear up like I do, whirling it around in the food processor does not help!  I definitely thought to myself, the lid on this will help keep the onion fumes contained and I probably won't cry nearly as bad. Somehow the gases seeped out of the food processor and found me!  I'm seriously considering some onion goggles during my next culinary necessities purchase so I can cook without looking like I'm having an emotional breakdown.

These things are delicious, so the tears were worth it :)  Kibbe or Kibbeh (both are correct) are a baked mixture of grain and meat, in this case bulgur and lamb, blended with some onions and herbs.  It's just another country's form of meatloaf, which I'm always a fan of.  When I make them again, I may add an egg.  My mix didn't hold together very well after cooking and that would help bind it together.

I may make a dipping sauce to serve with my kibbe tomorrow, but I haven't gotten that far yet.  I put the meat on skewers, hoping to get the kids excited about food on a stick?! We'll see if they like it as much as I did!  -Vicki

Bulgur and Lamb Kibbe on a Stick!

Raspberry (Peach) Jam Cookies, pg. 284

I won't even try to beat Amy's thumbprint cookies with Homemade Jam!!...they look amazing!  It is ironic that we both picked this recipe in the same week without even knowing it. Great minds think alike ;)

Raspberry Jam was my flavor of choice for me...I have a hard time straying from suggestion?!  The ingredients as a whole are very nutritious, they're like the ultimate fiber cookie.  The kids I cook for thought they were just OK, so perhaps they're not for everyone. But, Britt, an "official tester" gave them a delicious and ate 2 or 3...that's a win for me :) 

Now, I just spent 30 minutes trying to figure out how to upload more than 1 picture and how to keep the photo and next paragraph from running into one another and I can't do it.  Help?! So here the cookies are in raw form. Cookie Parade!

-Vicki ;)

My husband asked for seconds!  Yup, and the cookie didn't contain chocolate.  Lorna made these soft cookies using raspberry jam. I decided to switch the flavor and use my homemade peach preserves that I canned with the hybiscus peaches a few weeks ago.  Click on the highlighted link to view the recipe that I used: Recipe for Peach Preserves

This cookie tasted like I was eating a soft graham cracker with jam spread on top.  The dry ingredients were very unique; rolled oats + walnuts + cinnamon food processed with whole-wheat flour.   The dry ingredients combined with honey to sweeten gives this recipe a 5 grain rating!
Get excited, Vicki just got back from Spain!  I can't wait for her to post a blog or two about her travels.  -amy w.

Preserving Fresh Fruit/ Upside-Down Peach-Berry Cobbler, Pg. 291

Aren't they beautiful! The pink colored sauce is due to adding dried hibiscus. This is the second weekend in a row I've canned peaches.  Last Saturday, I decided to do a trial run to make sure everything turned out.  This past weekend, a good friend Tom from the yoga studio joined the fun. I strongly advise 2  people when canning. We canned preserves and peach halves in 3 hours.  Click on the following link to view the canning recipe -  Hybiscus Peaches

I baked Lorna's upside-down peach-berry cobbler. I had almost everything on hand except buttermilk and anise.  I made the buttermilk by adding a bit of vinegar to regular milk and I left out the anise. 

For the fruit mixture, peaches, mixed berries, peacns, brown sugar, cornstarch and freshly squeezed lemon juice were mixed together. 

The cake layer was a bit more interesting.  Whole wheat flour and cornmeal were the base mixed with the regulars.  This was a definately a new combination.  I liked the grainy stone-ground taste.  Peach season has arrived! 

-amy w.

Buckwheat Meets Tilapia Tacos

I think Lorna and our followers are going to fire us! Maybe we'll post once a week or maybe we'll skip a few weeks, you just never know!  If only we weren't soooo tempted with the outdoors, traveling, and summer fun. I guess until we go on Oprah and become famous, we have some time to slack!

This past week, Ben's dad was in town.  Before he arrived, Ben told me that I should cook "normal" food.  Within the first hour of his arrival, Sid asked me if I was going to try "one of those" recipes on him this week and post.  This is when I give Ben my evil I told you so eyes!  Thank goodness for bags of random grains in my fridge. I'm tyring to become a master at whipping up recipes and spiking them with grains!


Tilapia Mango Buckwheat Tacos
2-3 tilapia fillets
1 mango
6-8 corn tortilla shells
1 can of black beans
lettuce
tomato
avacodo
shredded cheese
lemon and lime juice
sour cream

Guacamole - My rule, no guacamole recipe should be the same.  Tonights creation was simple, mashed avacodo, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, a handful of chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, and several squirts of lime juice. 

Tilapia - Season tilapia.  I make and store an all purpose seasoning in bulk thanks to Vicki's great find.  Cut small slices of mango and spread over fish.  Top with fresh lemon juice.  Bake fish.

Bean Spread - 1 can of black beans pureed in the "Magic Bullet" with cumin, a handful of chopped tomatoes, and a spoonful of sour cream.

Buckwheat - Ohh yes I did cook buckwheat in my pressure cooker and stuff it in the tacos! One of my favorite pages in Lorna's WHOLE book is page 112 consisting of a whole grains timing chart.  I will admit that I was pretty stumped when I turned to the page and buckwheat was not on the timing chart.  I examined the grain and decided it needed to cook for 20 minutes.  YIKES.....apparently Lorna was NOT being forgetful, buckwheat is not supposed to be pressure cooked due to it being such a quick cooking grain. 

Corn Tortillas - Fry tortillas shells on both sides in shallow hot oil.  Pat off any extra oil with a paper towel.

Taco Assembly - Smear the entire torilla shell with the bean spread, add the fish and cut mangos.  Sprinkle buckwheat, cheese, tomato and lettuce over fish.  Add a dollop of guacamole.  Enjoy!  amy w.

Oh dear...I'm behind!

Do you ever have those moments where you suddenly realize you completely forgot a part of your life for a period of time? Like missed a credit card bill for 2 months straight, haven't checked an email account in weeks or (like me!) forgot you were writing a blog with a partner?! Haha... well, I do those sorts of things. For as organized and habitual I attempt to be, I have these memory lapses in my life. So, here I am weeks since my last post and no grain practice to share!

Over the last few weeks I have finished my summer quarter of school, begun a workout routine (with the help of my great roommate and workout motivator Brittany!) and planned several trips that will begin this coming Sunday morning precisely at 7 am.  I leave for Farm School (yes Farm School!) for 7 days in Eastern Washington, followed by a reunion with my Sisters and Mom and some solo camping sprinkled in between.  Then I'm home for a few days and off for my first big European adventure in the wonderful country of SPAIN!!  I'm going on a guided culinary tour of the Castile-Leon region, northwest of Madrid for 8 days.  Yes you should be jealous because it is going to be amazing!

What I haven't done much of is grain cookery, well...creatively anyway. This morning I had cooked roasted buckwheat with two eggs on top...notthing too exciting, but definitely inspired by Lorna's buckwheat hash recipe which I absolutely love. I've made it a couple times since that first recipe test back in January.  I've also had a few servings of plain old quinoa, going back to the basics!  I'll be back in a couple weeks and promise to make something new from our book and share my new domestic skills knowledge. Until then, I'm sure Amy has more great Utah foodie stories to share...and maybe even another cat picture or two  :)
Cheers and happy Summer! -Vicki

Raspberry Muffins, pg. 268

Ahh yes, the time of year when grocery shopping becomes fun! The Farmer's Market has fruits and veggies galore, I can barely wait until Saturday.  After buying fresh raspberries, I couldn't resist Lorna's recipe where the muffin meets fresh fruit. 

Lorna uses only 1/2 cup of brown sugar trying not to defeat the purpose of a healthy muffin. Ohh, and make your own brown sugar it's simple, fast, and cheap! (sugar + molasses + a whisk to mix = fabulous brown sugar)

After making a double batch of sugarLESS banana bread by accident last week, I've really been rethinking the cup(s) of sugar mixed into baked goods. I'm on week two of cutting the sugar in all baked goods by half - Ben has no idea!

Do I like frozen rasberries in my morning smoothie? YES!  How about on my ice cream? Ohh yeah!  However, I do not like raspberries in my muffins.  Too mushy!  I don't think I did anything wrong it's just what happens. I'll be sure to use the several options Lorna suggests in her book.

Check out the following website: http://www.gardenguides.com/416-freezing-vegetables.html. This is a wonderful tool to save money and time.  My freezer is empty and it's about time to stock up.  This past weekend I pitted and froze 2 large bags of cherries, blanched 7 small bags of green beans, and froze a batch of oat zuchinni muffins for breakfast on the run.  This coming weekend, I hope to stock up and prep onions, carrots, zuchinni, and potatoes.  How great would that be, I'll chop for a day but have items prepped for weeks to come.   -amy w.

Wanderlust Yoga Music Festival

We've been super busy!!!  Stay tuned.....

Brown Basmati Rice Custard Pudding, pg. 298

"Rice is NOT a dessert food!"  He we go again, Ben at his finest.  He told me to not make this dessert unless I enter the worst dessert contest...jokingly - 1.2/5 grains.  Yikes, I even put fresh mango slices on top to complement the rice.

I LOVED this dessert, looks like I will have the entire pan to myself!  If you're a fan of creme brulee, this recipe is for you. If you hate pudding like Ben, stay away from this rich, custardy treat. Who knew milk, eggs, sugar, and a bit of honey could produce such a lovely dessert! 

Since Ben can get a bit worked up about SUPER healthy desserts, I caved in and made him dirt cake!  He even ground all the Oreos.  Yup I know, I really mixed pudding, cream cheese, butter, and Cool Whip together and layered it between crushed Oreos.  Ben ate soo much dessert at the party, he woke up with a stomach ache in the middle of the night.  He should've stuck to the rice pudding!  -amy w.