Try a Teff Parfait for Breakfast

 

A simple parfait with layers of yogurt, cooked whole grain and fruit is a great place to try a new whole grain. Have you tried Teff? Teff is a tiny grain, similar to quinoa, smaller so it cooks in a short amount of time. What intrigued me about Teff is its dark brown color and sweet malty taste.  Teff pairs well with cocoa.

Teff has twice the iron of other grains and three times the calcium. It is part of a class of C4 grains with reduced environmental impact. Teff is more nitrogen efficient and more water efficient. A handful of the tiny seeds can produce a whole field of grain.

Here’s how I made this festive parfait:

Teff Parfait 

Teff sauce

( 2 servings)

2 Tablespoon Teff grain

4 Tablespoon water

On stovetop, bring Teff and water to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Add cocoa, figs, honey and cloves. Simmer 5 minutes.

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

2 Tablespoon diced figs

1 teaspoon honey

2 cloves

Remove cloves.

Refrigerate overnight.

Fresh cranberries in juice

(1 1/2 cups)

I make a bigger batch of this to serve on ice cream, alone, and in smoothies

10 ounce fresh cranberries

3 ounce water 

3 ounce orange juice

6 tablespoon sugar

On stovetop, bring berries, water, juice and sugar to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 15 minutes.

To assemble parfait

2 tablespoon Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat

2 tablespoon Teff sauce

1 tablespoon cranberries in juice

2 tablespoon Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat

1 tablespoon Teff sauce

1 tablespoon cranberries 

 

To assemble these the night before class, I strained the yogurt. 

Fire Roasted Freekah Adds Flavor to Salads

 

The harvesting of this spring wheat is fascinating. The wheat is picked green and set on fire where only the straw and chaff burn. The grain is threshed and dried, then cracked similar to bulgur but with a distinctive smoky flavor. Here’s how I cooked it to maintain that savory flavor.

Freekeh

(1/2 cup)

Soak 1/4 cup freekah in tap water 10-15 minutes. Drain.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil on stovetop. Add grain. Sauté in oil 1 minute. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add 1/4 cup boiling water. Lower heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. (Keep an eye on the pan in case you need to add more boiling water.)

Because I wanted to maintain the distinctive flavor of the grain, I placed the dressing in the bottom of the salad, added layers of fresh produce, grain, then finished with lettuce. To eat, I turned the salad onto a plate.

The dressing per 1 salad has 2 teaspoon pomegranate molasses and 2 teaspoon lemon juice. Drizzle olive oil as desired.

Diversify Your Grains with Millet

 

Millet may be that little yellow seed in birdseed, but it’s also a human whole grain perfect in hot cereal and rice type dishes, soups and salads.

This cereal is much like oatmeal in taste and texture. Unlike oatmeal, which is steamed and rolled, millet requires cooking time. Because I cooked this recipe in the “slow cooker” 6 servings took 3 hours to cook. Here is the recipe:

Millet Porridge

6 (1/2 cup) servings

Combine ingredients in cooker.

2/3 cup millet

1 1/2 cup water

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt 

2 Tablespoon brown sugar 

Cook cereal on low setting until liquid is absorbed.

This amount took 3 hours to cook. 

There are many reasons to diversify our foods, try different varieties, especially the ancient ones. Eating many different plant foods in a week leads to a more diverse microbiome.