The Splendid Grain

Who says whole grains have to taste like health food? Rebecca Wood lays out everything you need to know about the common grains (oat, wheat, barley, rice), the not-so-common (quinoa, millet, amaranth, buckwheat) and the downright rarely eaten in this country (tef, Job's tears). For each one she explains how/where it is grown, how to buy and store it, what it is used for, its nutritional advantages, etc. She gives basic recipes for cooking the grains plain or nearly so, as well as more complicated recipes and suggestions for what to pair with what. The chapters are divided first by the continent to which each grain is native and then by the grains themselves, and then for each grain there are recipes for plain grains, soups, main dishes, side dishes and desserts. I like this organization, although if you want to make a whole grain dessert, for instance, you'll have to look through the chapters on the various grains or in the index, as there is no organization by type of dish, e.g., soups, desserts, etc. The intros to each dish give you a good idea of what to expect, the instructions are pretty clear, and the results are spectacular. The Winter Squash and Quinoa Pottage is amazingly great (especially if you make it with homemade stock -- it is particularly awesome using the vegetable stock recipe from The New Basics Cookbook, but was also good with Swanson low-sodium chicken broth), is ridiculously easy, and extremely high in protein and vitamins. Just wash the quinoa really well first. Takes less than 1/2 hour plus the time to wash the quinoa and cut the onion and squash. The pinon (pine nut) crackers with amaranth are all whole grain, super easy and the only problem with it is that it's hard not to eat the entire batch myself as soon as it's done. Recipes include a good mix of vegetarian items and ones with meat so it's a good book no matter how you eat. My only quibble is that measurements for baked goods are given solely by volume, rather than by weight, which is more accurate, but it's a small one. This is my new favorite cookbook.

This book is layed out by grain, making it easy to navigate, and has a good range of recipe-types (main dishes, breads, desserts, breakfasts). The recipes are healthy in a very holistic and balanced way. I have already tried several recipes, all of which I was extremely pleased with- they were easy, and delicious. I can't wait to keep cooking from this book, it will surely be turned to again and again.

Where was I when The Splendid Grain won the James Beard Foundation Award for Excellence and the International Association of Culinary Professionals Julia Child Cookbook Award? Usually I am waiting with bated breath to see who wins these awards and I have read and digested all the cookbooks in the running. It is like the Academy Awards for the cookbook world. "The Splendid Grain" by Rebecca Wood did win the award and deserved it. It is filled with text that engages and recipes that have kept us cooking since I first discovered it about three years after it came out.My only excuse for not having found it earlier is that I had one year old twins who never slept and all I did was nurse, look about with bleary eyes and try to make noodles for the fifth night running. I guess The Splendid Grain would have been of no use to me then. I would have cried when I read it. All these recipes for bagels made with barley flour and Strawberry Blue Corn Waffles that I could not cook because I was on the floor baby-proofing the outlets or cleaning up oatmeal from the baseboards. I read an article on bread by Laurie Colwin back before I had children. Wisdom wasted on the uninitiated. In it Laurie Colwin said that she found a bread cookbook when her daughter was young and she read it as fiction because that is what bread baking is to people with babies. This is not just to let me off the hook for missing a great cookbook when it came out but to say buy it even if you have no kitchen because it makes such a good read.The recipes in "The Splendid Grain" are easier than they appear. I made bagels with my three kids and a few assorted extras over on play dates. We made the dough in a few minutes and then let it rise while we kept the dog from scaring one child and we forgot about the dough all together by the time the dog was on a leash and the child pacified. When we came back to the dough it had a strange gray color from the barley flour but this was a plus for the under seven set. Making the bagel shapes was easy enough for three year olds. Boiling was fun and baking easy and we were done. The dozen were gone immediately. I had one that I split with my husband. They were an eerie Halloween gray but had a complex taste from the barley. I forgot about them in my rush to try the next recipe from The Splendid Grain. I was informed at school a few days later that my son's friend, the one who is scared of the dog, was never coming over again if I did not stop upstaging her mom by doing things like making these great homemade bagels. I guess they did not forget about the bagels for a while.We made waffles, and breakfast cakes; winter squash potage was the hit of a Hanukkah party for which we promised to make Matzoh Ball soup but I just couldn't leave old Rebecca Wood to do it. No one missed the Matzoh Balls, and I make excellent Matzoh Balls. We had cornmeal mush instead of oatmeal. Real Vietnamese Spring Rolls are the plan for dinner tonight. She makes it look so easy. On t

I have had so much fun (and great meals) trying recipes from this book. There are so many grains available to us, besides the everyday rice and corn, but if you are like me, you don't always know what to do with them. The Splendid Grain is full of terrific ways to use locally available grains such as Quinoa, Millet, Amaranth and Wild Rice. The book also contains excellent meat recipes such as the oatmeal and spice coated "Better than fried chicken." I took "Onions stuffed with Millet and sun-dried tomatoes" on our last camping trip and cooked them in the campfire. They were superb alongside smoked pork chops. Try the popped Amaranth cold breakfast cereal, or just sprinkle it on your next tossed salad for a boost of crunch and nutty flavor. It couldn't be easier to do. You will never make waffles with plain wheat flour again, once you try "Tef waffles" Tef tastes almost like hazelnuts, and combined with cinnamon it is truly a treat. I must say I was most amazed with the "Couscous Marmalade Torte," it is very tasty and very light (even with the whipped cream on top). It is the easiest and quickest dessert I have made in a long time, and all my guests wanted seconds! I highly recommend The Splendid Grain, it is a terrific resource, taking you from selection, storage and the cooking methods for specific grains to delectable recipes with a new twist. Put it in your shopping basket, you won't be sorry.