Sourdough Crackers-Customize Your Flavor

Make this recipe your own, choosing the flour and seasoning. I've enjoyed adding specialty seasonings like a garden dill mix and a kelp "popcorn" blend. The college town co-op I visit put together their own everything bagel blend which was very good.

Because I like thin, crisp crackers I use my pasta roller mixer attachment to roll to the "5" position.

Make the dough in the morning and refrigerate. Roll, cut and bake in the afternoon.

There is seasoning on the inside and on top. After the dough is cut in shapes, place them on parchment paper, spray with olive oil and sprinkle on seasoning. I take my rolling pin and roll over the crackers once more, helping the seeded seasoning to stick.

While some seeds do not stick, I pour the seasoning into my cracker container and sprinkle on salad or soup.

I'm loving my whole grain crackers.

Whole Grain Sourdough Crackers

(5 Servings) 

Add flours, oil and seasoning to sourdough discard. Mix and knead together.

1/2 cup sourdough discard (mine is rye)

!/4 cup spelt flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon seasoning of choice

2 Tablespoon olive oil  

 

Pat dough into a 1 inch disc onto plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate.

 

Divide dough in half. Roll dough by hand onto floured cutting board. Starting with the widest "1" setting, roll through pasta attachment on speed 2. Flour dough, turn roller to the thinner "2" setting. Repeat flour and rolling till the crackers are at the desired thinness.

 

Seasoning for sprinkling

 

Place onto parchment paper. Spray with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoning. With a hand rolling pin, lightly roll over seasoned cracker top to adhere seeds.  

 

Bake at 335 F. for 12 minutes until desired darkness is achieved. 

Summing Up the Whole Grains Event

 

I asked the attendees of the Whole Grains Day lunch and learn what new whole grain they were going to include in a meal at home.The results were diverse to include eleven different grains and 4 varieties of wheat.

Whole grains on the list include sorghum, teff, millet, corn, oats, quinoa, rice, rye, buckwheat, barley and wheat. Wheat varieties chosen were whole wheat, einkorn, farro and bulgur.

What would they make? Breads, salads, pilafs, desserts, cereals, gluten containing doughs, gluten free batter breads, pancakes and grain bowls.  Specific dishes include pizza dough, Greek sorghum salad, rice pudding, cornmeal mush, buckwheat cakes, pilafs made with bulgur, farro and quinoa.

Local grains were chosen, including buckwheat, corn and wheat.

C4 grains sorghum, teff, corn and millet were all named.

Though no one chose amaranth, the other grains which qualify as complete proteins-buckwheat and quinoa, were named.

Was my goal to entice participants to find one new whole grain to include in meals at home achieved? I think so. Perhaps most importantly was the diversity of grains chosen-good for the gut and good for the land.

While one participant said she'd like to plant Kernza grain (as an ornamental plant), no one said they were going to buy it.

My favorite survey comment was from a soon-to-graduate Dietetic Intern who said she planned to grow quinoa, oats, native corn and einkorn wheat on the acres of land she owns back home in Pennsylvania. 

The winner of the survey drawing (for a Sue Becker cookbook) purchased einkorn wheat flour for baking at home. Today I modified the Einkorn Banana Bread I made for the event to utilize my sourdough starter. I decreased the einkorn flour to 1 cup 5 Tablespoon, decreased the bananas to 294 grams and added the sourdough discard (about 1/2 cup) with the bananas. That worked just fine.

 

Next year I hope to make 2 salads instead of a salad and soup. (Reheating a soup in the space provided is not easy). I'll include a bread or dessert on the menu as well). 

The Old, the New and a Sundry of Whole Grains

The last Wednesday of National Nutrition Month (March) is the day set aside to sample whole grains. My goal was to entice all to find one new whole grain to include in a meal at home. The light lunch at Life Long Learners featured soup, salad and fruit bread made with three whole grains. The posters and displays covered some 20 different whole grains and examples of how I included them in meals at home.

The highlight of the event was the local farmer. The group is eager to arrange a tour of the farm.

All attendees listened attentively to a short talk, then actively participated in sampling and discussion.

Excerpts of discussion and posters are below.

 In recipes, substitute any grain in stir fry, bowls, soups, sides and cereals. 

In baked goods, gluten free grains work best in batter breads, sponge cakes, muffins, cookies and pancakes. 

Some grains are grown locally. The foundation of any sustainable food system is locally grown grains.  Davis Brothers Inc. and The Vegetable Garden farm in Preston County has grown oats, rye, sorghum, barley and currently sell buckwheat, corn and whole wheat flours and several varieties of popcorn at the Morgantown and Bridgeport Farmers Market.

My posters list where in the United States each grain is grown. Some grains bought off the shelf or online are packed in the United States but grown in other countries.

Some grains are designated as "C4" grains (there are C3 and C4 plants). C4 grains are more water efficient and using nitrogen and survive in hot dry climates. 

The Greek Sorghum Salad served today is a C4 grain.

 Eating more plant based meals is more water efficient and produces less greenhouse gasses. The water needed to produce 1 calorie of grain is half the amount needed for vegetables, 1/3 the amount needed for fruit and 1/10th the amount needed for beef. Amaranth, Buckwheat and Quinoa are complete proteins.

I've been costing grain prices for some seven years. The price of quinoa went down. Previously it was one of the highest priced whole grains, second only to wild rice. Interesting in comparing the cost of all the whole grains that the price per serving ranges from a low of 20 cents per serving to a high of 66 cents per serving. This is reasonable compared to other foods in the United States grocery cart. Price per ounce of all grains was listed on the posters.

 

What's new? Researchers are working to create perennial grains like Kernza that sends down long, hardy roots to sequester carbon and prevent soil erosion. Tillage is expensive and releases carbon (greenhouse gasses) into the air. 85% of the world's plants are annuals. Kernza is not genetically modified. There is no GMO wheat.

Today's soup featured Kernza vegetable soup.

What's old? Einkorn wheat is the only wheat that has never been hybridized-a true "ancient" grain. It has a low potential to form gluten and is easier to digest. Einkorn has just 14 chromosomes. Farro has 28. Common wheat has 42. Today's bread is Einkorn Banana Bread.

 Whether we know it or not, the cereal we eat for breakfast, the bread we eat for lunch and the snack we eat later may all be made with the same seed. That's not good for many reasons, especially the health of our gut microbiome. Those with a diverse microbiome have a lower resistance to antibiotics. Diversifying grains is good for the environment. Diversify grains to stay atop market fluctuations.

 

 

Fuel for the Future, Good for the Environment

 

Whole grains, the staple of many ancient civilizations, remain key players in fuel for the future.

What's good for the environment as well as the body?

• Local foods.
  
  
  C4 Grains
  
  
  
  
•  Plant Based Meals.
  
• Perennials. Kernza Wheatgrass
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
   March is ©️ National Nutrition Month . 
  The Academy of Nutrition encourages all citizens to become concerned 
  about nutrition in hopes of achieving optimal health today and tomorrow. 
  
  
  
  

Vegetable Soup made with Perennial Wheatgrass

Kernza's uniqueness as a whole grain wheat is that it is a perennial. Most of the world's food crops are annuals. Less than 15% of the food crops (including fruit trees and olive trees and asparagus) are perennials. That means this whole grain is not only good for the environment but good for the body.

This is the recipe I’ll be making for the Whole Grain Sampling Day event this March at OLLI.

Kernza Vegetable Soup

(6 cups)

Cook Kernza in countertop pressure cooker for 25 minutes.

2/3 cup Kernza

1 /2 cup water

On stovetop, sauté vegetables in olive oil for 10 minutes.

2 3/4 cup assorted diced vegetables

4 teaspoon olive oil

Mine has onion, carrot, yellow squash and mushrooms so to not compete with vegetables in the sorghum salad I’ll be serving.

Add seasonings.

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add cooked, drained Kernza, diced and crushed tomatoes, water and bouillon cube.

1 cup diced tomatoes in juice (no added salt)

3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoon crushed tomatoes (no added salt)

1 vegetable bouillon cube ( low sodium)

Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes.

The Land Institute in Kansas spent years working with other researchers to create this domestic version of an annual crop. Kernza is not GMO modified, but created using traditional intermating techniques.

Kernza has a thick root system that can yield food for years to come. It has an incredible soil carbon sequestration system that pulls carbon out of the air and into the soil. The plant's deep roots reduce soil erosion and resist drought.

Cooking Whole Grains in the Countertop Pressure Cooker

                        

This winter I’ve enjoyed a variety of hot whole grain cereals for breakfast thanks to the countertop pressure cooker. This cooker is smaller-3 quart (versus the original 6 quart size) and more practical for cooking single or smaller servings. Cooking whole grains and beans from scratch in the pressure cooker takes less time than stovetop and I don’t have to keep constant watch nor do I need to worry about turning the stove off.

Grains and legumes that require little time to cook on stovetop (bulgur, buckwheat and lentils) did not work in the pressure cooker. Some small grains, like grits, amaranth and teff cooked to perfection in just 10 minutes in the cooker.

Here’s my tested guide:

To 1/4 cup grain:     Add water:     Set timer:          Yield

Amaranth                1/2 cup          10 min.              1/2 cup

Barley                      3/4 cup          20 min.              1 cup

Black beans             1 cup            20 min.              3/4 cup

Grits                         3/4 cup         10 min.         

Kamut                       1 cup           25 min.              1/2 cup

Millet                         1 cup           10 min.              1 cup

Navy beans              3/4 cup         15 min.        

Oat groats                 1 cup           20 min.             1/2 cup

Quinoa                      1/2 cup        10 min.             3/4 cup

Rice brown/red          1 cup           15 min.            3/4 cup

Rye berries                1 cup           25 min.            10 T.

Sorghum                    1 cup           25 min.            3/4 cup

Spelt berries              3/4 cup         25 min.           1/2 cup

Teff                            3/4 cup         10 min.           1 cup

Wheat berries            1 cup            25 min.          3/4 cup

Diversify Whole Grains (Sorghum Cookies)

 

Whether we know it or not, that cereal we eat for breakfast, the bread we eat for lunch and the snack we eat later may all be made with the same seed. That’s not good for many reasons, especially the health of our gut microbiome. So many reasons to diversify our foods, try different varieties especially the “ancient” ones, shop local foods, plant seeds and share them.

Diversifying grains is good for the environment. The foundation of a sustainable food system is locally grown grains. Many commercial grains have been altered from their original state through extensive breeding and often lack the nutrients available in locally grown whole grains.

• Some whole grains (Amaranth, Buckwheat and Quinoa) afford complete proteins.
• Whole grains better for the environment include Amaranth, Corn, Millet, Sorghum and Teff.
• All but a few whole grains can grow in the United States.
• Corn Grits, Whole Wheat and Buckwheat are grown locally and available at our Morgantown, West Virginia Farmers Market.

Santa isn't the only one who would benefit from one of these whole grains. Here's one made with sorghum flour. These are soft and tasty, 100% whole grain and only 4 grams of added sugar per cookie.

Sorghum Cookies 

(15 Cookies) 

In a separate bowl, mix together sorghum flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cloves and allspice. 

14 Tablespoon Sorghum Flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/16th teaspoon allspice

 

In bowl of electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar.

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

Add molasses, then egg beating on medium speed for 2 minutes.

1 Tablespoon 1 1/2 teaspoon molasses

1 egg

Mix in dry ingredients.

 

Drop by Tablespoon onto parchment paper lined baking sheet. (Allow 1 1/2 -2 Tablespoon between cookies as they will spread.) Finely grate nutmeg onto top of cookies. Bake at 375 F. for 7 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pan.