My goal for the annual Whole Grains Sampling Day is to entice participants to find one new whole grain to include in meals ar home. Todays layered salad had 3, the accompaniments added 4.
The layered salad in a jar is what was on the menu for Life Long Learners. After demonstrating the assembly of one salad with a description of ingredients, I led the 23 attendees through the buffet to make their salads. I’d placed the dressing in the bottom of each jar prior to class. (1 Tablespoon each lemon juice and olive oil and a dash of salt).
Classmates went through the buffet and assembled the salad in a jar.
The layers from bottom up were:
Chopped radishes
Rye berry and cabbage salad with caraway seeds and a orange vinaigrette.
Chopped hard cooked eggs
Sorghum salad with roasted beets tossed in chopped pistachios and an apple vinaigrette.
Feta cheese
Kamut, carrot and raisin salad with orange juice, cinnamon and honey.
Spring mix and fresh spinach blend.
Portioned into a 2 cup jar, the scoop for each layer is 3 tablespoons except feta cheese (2 tablespoon) and the final layer of greens to fill the jar.
Accompaniments included:
Sourdough Crackers (made with rye starter, spelt and whole wheat flours)
Bread of the Prophet (made with Kamut wheat, millet and whole wheat flours)
When seated, classmates inverted the salad onto plates and while eating I reviewed featured grains using the posters and displays around the room.
Rye has a low glycemic index promoting a feeling of fullness. It can grow locally but our local grain farmer quit growing it when her flour didn’t sell. Most of the commercial rye bread is not whole grain. Look for whole rye. Baked rye products are good with chocolate. Both grain berries and baked products are often made with caraway seeds and orange.
Sorghum has high antioxidant activity and a mix of phytonutrients. It is a C4 grain, with a high rate of photo respiration, nitrogen and water efficient. It is economical.
Kamut wheat is trademarked as a guarantee it is never hybridized with modern wheat. The seed remains largely unchanged.
Oats have a prebiotic beta glucan fiber that lowers cholesterol. It is a gluten free flour that works best in fruit breads, muffins and smaller pans.
Like Kamut, spelt grains have been largely unchanged for hundreds of years, though some have been hybridized with modern wheat.
Wheat grows locally . The Vegetable Garden and Davis Brother Produce Farm sells the whole wheat flour at our farmers markets.
Millet has high antioxidant levels and is a C4 grain.
I have costed the grains for some 8 years (an unscientific average cost of prices on Amazon). I was pleased the average cost per serving of the grains only went up a penny from last year to $.42. I was disappointed that the price from 2 years ago has increased 25%. Three grains have compete proteins - Amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa.
Drawing prices included local grains buckwheat, popcorn and whole wheat. Other prizes were Kamut and spelt grains.
I ended by recommending the book list on Whole Grains Council, pointing out that our WV Public Library System carries many of them.
