Buckwheat Millet Fruit and Nut Bread (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

 

Recipe from Whole Food Cooking Everyday by Amy Chaplin

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Makes One (9" X 5") Loaf

I have a buddy who I walk with once a week.  She calls me her Wednesday Girl.  She is gluten intolerant and so I've had fun testing gluten free recipes for her to try. This one I knew she'd love because it's full of nuts and seeds and other good things.  Instead of waiting after our walk to eat the sample slices, we nibbled while we walked.  I had spread a little sunflower butter on each slice and drizzled them with honey, and, oh, my, was it ever good! This recipe is very simple,(there's no kneading) but you will have to soak several of the ingredients in water overnight and you will need a food processor.  This bread will make a fabulous breakfast, toasted, spread with nut or seed butter and drizzled with honey or maple syrup and served along with a whole fruit, like a pear or an apple.

1 cup raw buckwheat groats, soaked overnight in 4 cups water
1/2 cup millet, soaked overnight with the buckwheat
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked overnight in 2 cups water
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked overnight with the pumpkin seeds
1 cup whole raw almonds or hazelnuts, soaked overnight in 2 cups water
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (gluten free)
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons ground flax meal or psyllium husks
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoons baking powder
3 Tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
Raw seeds for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line an 9" X 5" loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving at least a 1-inch overhang on each long side.  Set aside.  

Pour the soaked buckwheat and millet into a large strainer and rinse until the buckwheat is no longer slimy.  Drain thoroughly.  Set aside.

Put the raisins in a heat proof bowl, cover with boiling water.  Allow them to soak for 5 minutes.  Drain. Set aside.

Drain and rinse the pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  Set aside.

Drain and rinse the almonds.  Roughly chop the almonds. Set aside.

Transfer the soaked buckwheat and millet to a food processor.  Add the oats, 1 cup water, flax meal, baking powder, oil, cinnamon and salt.

Process by pulsing until combined and the grains have broken down, but the mixture still has texture.  Scrape the sides and process again.  

Place the buckwheat/millet batter into a large bowl and add the raisins, the seeds and the chopped almonds. Stir until well blended.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it out well.  Sprinkle the top with the extra seeds.  

Bake for 1 hour and 20-25 minutes or until the loaf is golden and has pulled away from the sides of the pan.  

Use the parchment paper to lift the loaf out of the pan and onto a wire rack.  Be SURE to cool the bread completely before slicing or it will be sticky/gummy inside.  

Store the loaf in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for 1 week.  You can also freeze the sliced bread in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Nutritional Information: (1 of 10 slices) 280 calories; 15 g fat (4.8 g sat. fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 240 mg sodium; 32.2 g carbohydrates; 5.5 g fiber; 5.2 g sugars; 8.4 g protein; 116 mg calcium; 3 mg iron; 478 mg potassium

Slow Cooker Multigrain Cereal

Adapted from The Healthy Slow Cooker

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Making a warm multigrain cereal in a slow cooker is very convenient to prepare breakfast, especially for a busy workweek. Measure the ingredients and place them in the slow cooker before bedtime and when you awake, you’ll have a warm, healthful belly-filling breakfast to get your day off to a great start. Brown rice, wheat berries and millet can be found in the bulk section at Lost River Market & Deli.

You will need a large slow cooker to make this recipe. It needs to be big enough to put a 4-cup glass-measuring cup or glass loaf pan inside.  

In a 4-cup glass-measuring cup, stir together 2 cups of water, 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of whole grains (I use ¼ cup millet, 1/8 cup brown basmati rice and 1/8 cup of whole wheat berries) and a pinch of salt.  You can also add a shredded apple, ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and ¼ teaspoon of real vanilla.    *You can use ½ cup steel cut oats in place of the grains.

Place the cup inside a large slow cooker.

Pour enough water BETWEEN the glass measuring cup and the inside lining of the slow cooker (see photo) to come to about halfway up the outside of the measuring cup. 

(When I make this, it takes about 4 cups of water for it to come halfway up.)  Doing this will keep the cereal from scorching and will make cleanup a lot easier.

Put the lid on the slow cooker. Set the slow cooker to LOW. Go to bed and get a good night's sleep. When I did this, it was 10 p.m. and I woke up at 7 a.m. (From others who have made this, overnight is pretty flexible because the water bath slows everything down. I'd say "overnight" is not less than 6 hours and not more than 9 hours.)  When you wake up refreshed and ready to go, the multigrain cereal will be perfectly cooked. The glass cup will be quite warm, so be sure to use oven mitts to lift it out of the slow cooker.  Put some of your perfectly cooked oats in a bowl and add your favorite embellishments.

Try adding a bit of almond butter, a touch of local honey or real maple syrup, a banana, some pecans, almonds or walnuts and a few dried cranberries or raisins.

My husband adds pumpkin seeds, walnuts, lots of cinnamon, prunes, dried apricots, ground flax seed, plain Greek yogurt, skim milk and to top it all off, he adds berries.

Sprinkling your morning cereal with just 1 Tablespoon of wheat germ will significantly boost your nutrient intake. It contains fiber and vitamin E, along with a wide range of minerals.  It also contains healthy omega-3 fats.

If you have cooked multigrain cereal left over, you can put it in an airtight container and chill it in the fridge, and then you can just zap them in the microwave the next day.

Millet Fritters (or Scramble) with Feta, Spinach, and Golden Raisins

Here Millet Scramble with Feta, Spinach, and Golden Raisins
makes a great breakfast served with
 non-fat Greek yogurt with a bit of local maple syrup; ½ banana; local plum.

Here are a couple of Millet Fritters served with
Pasta with Chicken, Tomato and Feta

Serves 6

Recipe from Vegetarian Times

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

We had never tried millet before and we were delighted to find a “new” food that we love!  I made these fritters as part of a lunch for friends, but saved half of the mixture and sautéed it for a delicious breakfast the next day.  Wow!  Millet will now be on our regular grocery list and I’m looking forward to trying other recipes that include this grain. Millet is a good source of some very important nutrients, including copper, manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium.  

2 cups cooked millet**(See recipe below for how to prepare millet.)

1 medium onion, chopped (1 ½ cups)

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage or ½ tsp. dried sage

½ tsp. kosher salt

2 cups finely chopped fresh spinach

½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs, plus more if needed (regular breadcrumbs will work too.)

⅓ cup feta cheese

½ cup golden raisins

2 Tbs. olive oil

1. Stir together millet, onion, eggs, garlic, sage, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in spinach, breadcrumbs, feta, and raisins; let stand 5 minutes. If fritters still feel wet, add more breadcrumbs. You should be able to pinch together mixture and have it stick together without oozing. Shape into 12 1/2-cup fritters.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add 6 fritters, making sure not to overcrowd pan; cover; and cook 5 to 10 minutes, or until bottoms of fritters are browned. Flip, and cook 5 minutes more, or until browned on second side. Repeat with remaining fritters.

Nutritional information per Serving (2 fritters or ½ cup scramble):

Calories: 253; Protein: 8 g; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 33 g; Cholesterol: 106 mg; Sodium: 317 mg; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 10 g

**Basic Millet (Rice Cooker Method)

1 cup dry, raw millet yields about 3 ½ cups cooked millet.

Recipe from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Millet is an ancient seed, originally hailing from Africa and northern China, and it remains a staple in the diets of about a third of the world's population. Rich in iron, B vitamins and calcium, millet has a nutty, mild corn flavor and is naturally gluten-free. Millet has a really lovely, light texture when cooked.  It’s relatively quick cooking because of the small size. Millet is incredibly versatile in dishes ranging all the way from breakfast to dinner. When preparing millet, toast it in a skillet before adding any liquid to enhance the nutty flavor of the grain.

1 cup whole millet

1 ¾ cup water or broth

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Pinch of Kosher salt

Place the millet in a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Toast, stirring constantly, until the color deepens a few shades and the grains pop, about 4 minutes.  Immediately place the hot millet in a deep boil, fill with cold water, and swirl with your fingers.  Drain in a fine strainer.

Place the millet in the rice cooker bowl.  Add the water (or broth), butter, and salt; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular/Brown Rice cycle.

When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the millet steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the grains with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon.

This millet will hold on the Keep Warm for up to 1 hour. 

**Basic Millet (Stovetop Method)

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Recipe from http://www.thekitchn.com

Ingredients

1 cup raw millet


2 cups water (or broth, if you'd prefer)


¼ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Measure millet and cooking liquid: You'll need 1 cup of raw millet and 2 cups of cooking liquid (water or broth).

2. Toast millet: In a large, dry saucepan, toast the raw millet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until it turns a rich golden brown and the grains become fragrant. Be careful not to let them burn. 



3. Add the water and salt to the pan: Since the pan is hot, the water will sputter a bit when you pour it in. After adding water and salt, give the millet a good stir.

4. Bring the liquid to a boil: Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.

5. Lower the heat and simmer: Decrease the heat to low, drop in the butter and cover the pot. Simmer until the grains absorb most of the water (they'll continue soaking it up as they sit), about 15 minutes. Avoid the temptation to peek a great deal or stir too much (unless its sticking to the bottom). Stirring too vigorously will break up the grains and change the texture.

6. Remove From Heat and Let Stand: Like most grains, millet needs a little time off the heat to fully absorb the liquid. Allow it to sit, covered and removed from heat, for 10 minutes.

7. Fluff and Serve! After millet sits, fluff it with a fork. Taste and add additional salt if you'd like. Millet does not keep well and is best served warm (see Additional Notes below). ]

Additional Notes:

• To make millet porridge, increase the liquid to 3 cups and stir every few minutes as the millet simmers.

• In terms of texture, some of millet's little beads will cook more quickly than others. You'll likely have some softer grains and some chewy or even crunchy grains. I find this to be a good thing!

• In addition, millet is one thirsty grain and doesn't keep incredibly well overnight. So while I often double or triple many grain recipes to have leftovers for the week, I don't do this with millet as I find leftovers to be quite dry.

• Millet is best served warm.

Curried Millet, Shiitake, and Corn Salad

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine January 1996 and Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Serves 4 to 6


Jim and I had never eaten millet before. After several customers at Lost River Market & Deli asked us what to do with it, I decided I'd better do some homework. Millet is a small round golden whole grain that has a high vitamin and mineral content. Although millet is unfamiliar to most people in this country, it is a staple throughout Africa, India, and Asia. I found tons of information about the benefits of eating millet on the internet and there are many recipes as well to be found. For the recipe below, I used corn that I had bought (and then froze) from Steve Hays last summer at the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market. If you don't have corn in your freezer, you can buy it, of course, at Lost River Market & Deli. Some time in the past few years, Jim developed an allergy to shiitake mushrooms. He eats just one and gets a rash all over his body! So, for this recipe, I substituted the baby bella mushrooms from the produce department.
Right now millet is only 99¢ a lb. and can be found in the bulk section at Lost River Market & Deli.

4 tablespoons vegetables oil

1 cup millet

2 cups water

1/2 onion, chopped fine

1/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 cups fresh corn (cut from about 4 ears), or frozen, thawed

1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I used hot curry powder.)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar

1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed well, spun dry, and chopped fine



In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat and cook millet, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes, or until it makes popping sounds and begins to turn golden. Remove skillet from heat.
In a small saucepan bring water to a boil and stir in millet. Cook millet, covered, over low heat 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Transfer millet to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
In cleaned skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté onion, stirring, until softened. Add shiitake and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add corn and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Still in curry powder, soy sauce, vinegar, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste and add to millet.