I’m now posting recipes on TheDustyBaker.com.  After some time of blogging on this site I realized I wanted to focus my food explorations a bit and have some more fun with a new blogging identity – so the Dusty Baker was born!

Please continue to enjoy articles on this site as I send them over to the new one, and check out new bits of deliciousness that continue to come out of the kitchen.

In yummy, dusty health,

Jacqueline

Hello, meet Monstera Deliciosa, a delicious food of the fruit variety that is easy to prepare and delectable to eat!

I was shocked at meeting this fruit at my favorite local healthy-foods store, Integral Yoga Natural Foods.  Tucked away by mangoes and strawberries was this very phallic, scaly, alien-like fruit that completely weirded me out… so of course I had to try it!  Ends up Monstera Deliciosa is incredibly delicious.  I just want to get that out of the way in case you are already doubting purchasing this fascinating food.

About Monstera Deliciosa:

Alternate names: Ceriman, Swiss Cheese Plant (or just Cheese Plant), Fruit Salad Plant, Monster fruit, Monsterio Delicio, Monstereo, Mexican Breadfruit, Monstera, split-leaf philodendron, Locust and Wild Honey, Windowleaf and Delicious Monster.

Origin: Mexico and Central America

Interesting Facts: This plant is most common as a leafy decorative plant and grows naturally in moist, warm climates, suffering with any frost.  The fruit doesn’t usually grow indoors, but rather in the wild where the plant will hide from the sun in order to find the shade of a tree on which to plant itself and grow upwards towards the light.  The fruit is actually an ‘unripened flower spike’ (source one) that takes at least a year to mature fully before harvesting.

Health Benefits / Warnings: Don’t be afraid by the following: because of its high content of oxalic acid, the unripened fruit can be toxic, causing itching, swelling and asphyxiation.  But if you’ve bought the fruit rather than hacked it off a tree yourself, you’re good.  The mature fruit contains a small amount of oxalic acid, which is common in a few other fruits and may cause a slight itchiness in the mouth and tongue if you’re sensitive to certain allergens.  I am very sensitive to certain allergens and found myself surprisingly fine with this fruit!  Health wise, Monstera Deliciosa has a good amount of vitamin C and is a natural energy booster due to the rush of natural sugar and water content.

Observations: The first observation my roommate and I made was that the flesh smells amazing! Like a really strong Jolly Rancher or an entire fruit salad concentrated into a small kernel.  The fruit itself is soft and a bit slimy, but that only makes it more delicious as it melts in your mouth.  The taste is a combination of pineapple and banana, a surprising delight of both sweet and a tad tart in one bite.

How do you serve and eat Delicious Monster? I was happy just to eat it alone with a spoon, but throwing it over icecream, yogurt or cereal would be an appropriate plan, as would sticking it in a smoothie or baking it into a crepe.

How Do You Prepare Delicious Monster?

1. Place the fruit in a paper bag or upright in a glass, stem side on top.  Let it ripen naturally – which takes 2-4 days depending on the age of the fruit and the humidity.
2. When the scales have started to peel off, gently remove remaining scales with your fingers, revealing the soft white flesh underneath.  Warning: this may remind you of skinning an iguana or a nightmare you had as a child after watching an alien movie.  Keep in mind, the fruit coming to you is named Delicious Monster for a reason!
3. Using a thin knife, remove the now delicate and somewhat slimy scales from the hard and inedible core.
4. Mix into a smoothie, sprinkle on yogurt or cereal, or eat raw for an unbelievably delicious treat!

Step One: Place the whole fruit upright in a glass or in a paper bag to ripen, stem side up

Step Two: Fruit is allowed to ripen naturally and the scales fall off

Step Three: Peel away the green scales to reveal the white flesh underneath

Step Four: Cut the flesh away from the core

Interesting links / sources:  University of Connecticut, Tropical Fruit Photo Archive

Ah, the changing of the seasons.  It brings to mind freshly sharpened #2 pencils, sweaters in orange hues, and the promise of apple and pumpkin pies.

Okay… it’s not quite fall yet.  But the celebration of Labor Day – the last unofficial “summer” weekend of the season -  inspires massive amounts of cooking that combine the fruits of summer with the earthy months to come.

Cornbread finely walks the line between the seasons, and as a special treat, is a great grain to bake with as it contains its own natural sweetness and its signature consistency.

So enjoy the east recipe for this festive bread that is a perfect accompaniment to a healthy, celebratory breakfast!  It takes only 40 minutes from start to finish, and there are plenty of substitutions to best utilize spare ingredients you have on hand.  It can be made into a gluten-free bread or one that’s both gluten and dairy free, and simply omitting the nuts and substituting the eggs with egg replacer makes it a completely allergy-free cornbread (unless, that is, you are allergic to corn).

Ride-The-Line Summer/Autumn Cornbread

Ingredients**:

1. (all at room temperature, please)
2. I package of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Cornbread Mix
3. 2 eggs
4. 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled a bit or 1/3 cup canola oil
5. 1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
6. 2 pints blueberries, rinsed, sorted and dried
7. 1/3 cup toasted, chopped hazelnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and generously grease an 8.5 x 11 inch pan (a 9×9 also works)
2. Place entire bag of mix in the bowl of a standing mixer and add the eggs, milk and butter
3. Mix on low for about 30 seconds until incorporated, then again on high for another 30 seconds
4. Fold in the nuts
5. Fold in about 3/4 of the the blueberries, being careful not to break their skins
6. Gently pour into pan and smooth out the top
7. Sprinkle with remaining blueberries
8. Bake for 28 minutes or until firm to the touch

**Substitutions: To make dairy-free, substitute canola oil for the butter.  Omit the hazelnuts to make nut-free.  Use egg-replacer to replace the eggs.  Soy milk can also be used instead of almond milk – just remember that any milk with sugar will add sweetness to the bread, and this mix already has a bit of white sugar in it.  Using unsweetened milk gives the bread an almost scone-like sweetness… just a touch so that you can appreciate the sweetness of the fruit!

Now, there are many debates online about the necessity of a rice cooker.  I’m on the side that, no, they’re not necessary.  But DANG is it easy to throw ingredients in a rice cooker and walk away! (Yes, I said dang… I am on the border of Kentucky, after all).

Now, a wok I was not as familiar with.  Really, what’s so big about the difference between a wok and a good sauté pan, right?

Well, two things.  First off, like a cast iron pan, you don’t really wash a wok, but rather wipe it out, rinse it and re-oil it.  So the character of all foods before remains, like a romantic scrap album.  Also, the thin sheet of metal and the flat bottom but rounded sides means you can cook quickly, at a very high heat and with the ease of adding foods in layers and flipping them altogether.  And it’s fun to flip food, right?

Oh, a third thing: you can fit a lot of food in a wok.  And the more the merrier.  Five ingredients or 15, chances are it’s gonna taste good with a little logic and a dash of adventurism.

So today I get back from work and hit round three of moving-back-to-NYC-in-a-little-car-so-I-have-to-eat-everything-in-the-pantry.  A few tips from observing my hosts: diced oranges with the peels are delicious when cooked, cardamom pods make food fragrant, toasting raw walnuts in the toaster oven until they’re browned makes everything taste better.

Here’s the basic logic of WOK-ing:

1. Start with a good oil, such as olive or sesame, depending on what flavor you’re going for.
2. Sautee onions and garlic – these make everything taste better, in my opinion.
3. Then add things that do well with a bit of browning – for me, this was tempeh.
4. When cooking vegetables, layer things for cooking time.  Root vegetables go first, then progressively up to greens that don’t need a lot of time.
5. Have fun with seasonings, but stay in the same family.  I usually go with either what I call the Mediterranean blend of oregano, basil, rosemary, chives etc. or something sweet and spicy like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
6. Adding a bit of oil or water late in the game saves food from being too dry – this is why I added a bit of coconut oil at the end, to pull everything together and retain as much flavor from the oil as possible.
7. When cooking a grain, think about how you’d love it to taste and use a liquid to match. When doing a vegetarian dish, I often use half coconut milk and half water.  A broth or even just a healthy dose of a good olive oil and sea salt also flavors wonderfully.

No, go on!  Stop reading, get out there, and start WOK-ing!

In the rice cooker:

• 2 cups of brown, long-grained rice
• 1.5 cups of light coconut milk
• 2.5 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• dash of ground pink Himalayan sea salt

Into the wok (in this order):

Note: When wok-ing, don’t cook things in stages until they’re thoroughly cooked.  For example, cook the yam until it’s just tender to the touch, as more ingredients will add to the overall cooking time.  If you have something that hardly needs to be cooked, like spinach, add it only at the last minute.  Stir a lot, starting at a very high heat, lowering until things are cooked through, and then blasting at the end for a nice browned finish.

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 5 gloves of fresh garlic, minced (don’t use jarred chopped garlic, it’s practically pointless when matching flavor and health benefits)
• 1 orange hot pepper, seeds and veins removed and minced
• 1 package of soy tempeh, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 small jewel yam, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 8 dried green caradmon pods
• a healthy shake of ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground pink Himalayan sea salt
• 1/2 orange, diced into small pieces, and the juice of the other half
• About 16 Brussels sprouts, chopped
• About 2 cups of spouted mung beans, cooked and drained
• 4 teaspoons coconut oil

Put it all together: A healthy scoop of rice, a protein and vitamin-packed scoop of tempeh-veggie mixture and a sprinkling of toasted walnuts… ridiculous!

But my friend Mark  had four very ripe bananas he needed used, and came home a little under the weather today so I ran home and pulled out the baking cart to make some get-better-muffins.  He also emphasized his love for toasting nuts before adding them to a recipe, so pecans were immediately included.

Throwing stuff in a bowl with gusto, I think I’ve got a decent recipe going here.  The challenge is using agave syrup rather than sugar: in such recipes, sugar and butter are beaten until fluffy so that the moisture of the banana doesn’t soup up the batter.  But with agave, which is liquid, there is no such dry and sweet combination.  So I tried adding some cornmeal, increased the amount of baking soda to give it a little extra lift, and thew in some pecans that I toasted ever so slightly.

The result?  The came out light and fluffy while still being dense, and the cornmeal gave them a great, ever-s0-slightly crumbly texture that I love.  The sweetness was perfection for me (if you like your baked goods sweeter, I suggest mixing cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkling on top).  Mark was spot on with toasting the pecans.  Normally I prefer using raw nuts in baking, but these were perfect for the richness of bananas.  Out of all the muffin recipes I’ve been playing with lately, this one comes out on top.

Better-For-You-Banana-Bread

Yields one loaf or 16 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Mix)
• 1/2 cup ground cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp xantham gum
• 1/8 tsp table salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light agave syrup
• 2 eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/3 cup)
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease and flour (preferably with rice flour) loaf pan or muffin tins
3. If you have raw nuts, spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake while the oven preheats. Check in them regularly to make sure they don’t burn – this should take about 10 minutes
4. In a small bowl combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, xantham gum and salt
5. In a large bowl, beat butter with a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes
6. Add agave syrup and beat to combine
7. Add eggs one at a time and beat to incorporate
8. With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in mashed bananas
9. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine
10. Fold in toasted nuts
11. Bake for 1 hour for a loaf pan or 18 minutes for muffins, cool completely before removing from pan

What delighted and surprised me was a bunch of green garlic that I originally mistook to be a second bunch of green onions.

Green Garlic on the left, Green Onions on the right

After a little internet research, I discovered that this bunch is merely garlic pulled early, before the bulb matures and the above-ground greens age to a brown.  Evidently you can use the whole thing, bulb, skin, green and all, and many just substitute it en mass for recipes that require a small amount of garlic.  I did find it true that the green garlic was sweeter and less bitter than normal garlic, as well as being both pungent but more subtle.  And it didn’t linger on the cutting board, knives or in the heat of my kitchen (which, I kind missed…).

I did, however, not have success in using the whole thing.  At first I tried to slice the bulbs up to the white stem, only to discover that the skin was rather thick and the cloves inside rather differentiated.  I also found the white and green stems to be very tough, both when raw and when cooked extensively.  So if your is a bit hard to cut, I suggest slicing the bulb off from the stem, then halving the bulb vertically and removing the individual cloves.

I cooked the cloves and a bit of the white and green of the stem with olive oil and the sliced green onions (bulbs, whites and greens) in a sturdy dutch oven on low heat until both the garlic and onions were soft, then cooked in the rest of the ingredients listed below for a tossed tempeh dish.  The flavor it yielded was incredible, though there were some tough bits that were inedible.

I’m going to try to procure another batch and make a bed of them with shallots and rosemary, to lay lamb shanks on.  I have a feeling they’ll be a pungent addition to a hearty dish, and I’ll be able to use more of them than I would normal garlic, which I find is sometimes too much for the flavor I want to have seeping out of good lamb.  And I just wanna try out another bunch, hoping to further discover what potential those green stalks and white bulbs have!

Great article on green garlic from The New York Times: Click here

Tempeh with Green Garlic and Green Onions

Gluten-free / Vegan

Tempeh with green garlic and green onions

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of green garlic, cloves removed and chopped and soft white parts chopped
• 1 bunch of green onion, bulbs and white/green stalks chopped
• 1 package of tempeh, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• olive oil
• tamari or soy sauce (most tamari is gluten free – check the label – whereas soy sauce is not)
• 1 bunch of green beans, trimmed OR one small head of cabbage, chopped thin

Directions:

1. While chopping vegetables, heat a large skillet or dutch oven on medium heat (I prefer cast iron for these as it pulls out and retains more of the moisture from the vegetables.  If you use stainless steel, you may need to add some water with the tempeh.  If you use non-stick… well… we should talk…)
2. When hot, add olive oil and turn down to low, bring oil up to heat.
3. Add green garlic and green onions, cover and cook on low until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes.
4. At this point I removed about half of the garlic/onion mixture, as it was a large amount and seemed excessive. And I know it’ll taste great with my eggs tomorrow morning.  But that’s your call.
5. Turn the heat up to medium (or if using cast iron, medium/high) and add tempeh.  Cook until brown on all sides, stirring continually and letting any retained water from the onions and garlic release, about 6 minutes.
6. When browned, add about 3 tablespoons of tamari / soy sauce, and continue to cook, stirring, until about half of the moisture is gone.
7. Turn heat to low, and add green beans / cabbage.  Stir to combine, then cover and let cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are just soft.

Voila!  I love to serve this with cooked quinoa or millet, and find it easily digestible, filling and satisfying.

Notes: Usually I have fresh ginger on hand and grate some in around step six, which adds a delightful kick and spice.  And/or red pepper flakes.  And sesame seeds make a great garnish when plated, as does some fresh, coarsely chopped parsley.

Tart Cherry Tart - May 2010

One thing I love about spring is the abundance of fruits and vegetables that start to locally grow and swell into markets – apricots, green vegetables, rainbow carrots and cherries so red you just want to kiss them!

And one thing I love about living temporarily in Cincinnati is the abundance of backyards and BBQs.  No rooftop grilling for me this summer! After a few days of tough rehearsals, our director Mark had a few of us over for a cookout.  He grilled peppers, onions, eggplant and scallops to perfection.  And, as I rarely go to a social event empty-handed, this cherry tart came with me.

Warning: cherries are not cheap.  I used an entire two-pound bag which cost about $13.  Well worth it, as the cherries were perfect and a decadent way to finish a meal, but not the most rustic of fruits with which to use.  And this recipe takes a little pre-planning so that the fruit has released its own delicious liquid and the gluten-free crust is par-baked enough to handle it.

Health factor: this recipe is completely gluten-free and only uses light agave syrup to sweeten, so it’s low on the glycemic index for those with diabetes and hypoglycemia.  Though it does combine grain and fruit, which is against the food combination rule some follow, I find it to be easily digestible.  Cherries are extremely high in anti-oxidants, as well as containing fiber, lots of vitamin C and more beta-carotene than strawberries or blueberries.

Variations: I use a tart pan with fluted edges and a removable bottom for most of my gluten-free baking.  But to make this recipe into a pie, simply use a good Pyrex or French pie plate.  The crust recipe is enough for either a tart or open pie.  To make dairy-free, use 9 tablespoons of soy-butter or shortening, and add a bit more agave to the fruit to sweeten it up a bit.  I’m working on a better gluten-and-dairy-free crust recipe… it’s been interesting.  I served this plain, but with vanilla ice-cream would be killer!! This basic idea also works well with thinly sliced apricots (I made that two days later!), strawberries, rhubarb, plums, figs… arranged delicately or thrown in the shell, with cinnamon or fresh ginger… mmmmmm…..

Eat well, love hard,

- Jacqueline

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of cherries, stemmed and pitted
• 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch (you can also use corn or potato starch)
• 1 half cup of light agave syrup
• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour
• 3 tablespoons ground cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons light agave nectar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tart pan (I use a 9-inch pan with a removable bottom)
• flour for flouring tart pan (I usually use rice flour as the grainy-ness releases the crust well without adding a particular taste

Directions:

1. Place the stemmed, pitted cherries in a large bowl and toss with the starch.  Pour on agave, stir thoroughly, and let sit for at least 20 minutes, or for a solid hour.
2. To make the crust, mix the gluten-free flours, cornmeal and salt.  With your fingers, rub in the butter until the flours have a grainy consistency.  Make a well, and pour in the agave, egg and lemon juice.  Mix until it just pulls together.  Chances are the dough will be rather soft – in which case, pat it into a cake, wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper, and refrigerate for a half hour or so.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare your tart pan by greasing and flouring.
4. Now, I usually only roll this crust to a certain point; I put fresh wax paper on a pastry board, flour with a little rice flour, well flour my french rolling pin, and roll it until it starts to stick.  Then I flip it into the pan and use my fingers to pat it to the edges and lip.  If there’s enough crust (and there should be – technically this recipe yields two crusts, but as I don’t roll it out I pat it in rather thick and sometimes use the extra for on top), let it hang a bit over the edges so you can crimp it around the fruit later.
5. Bake the crust in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until it’s just set.
6. Meanwhile, put the cherries in a large pot and heat on medium until the starch just starts to dissolve into the fruit.  Do this slowly and stir constantly, or the starch may become gummy.
7. When the crust is baked and the fruit just starts to soften, lower the oven heat to 375 degrees, pour the cherries into the crust and bake for approximately 25-35 minutes (this will vary depending on many things, so just keep an eye on it).  The tart is done with the cherries are soft through and darker in shade.
8. Cool on a cooking wrack until any of the juices have thickened, serve warm or at room temperature.

I made these light, cake-like cookies yesterday for a gluten-free social event, but need to work on them a bit… recipe coming soon!

These muffins make me happy…

Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, full of fiber and protein… and delicious!!!  This is an adaptation of the “Eat-a-Baker’s-Dozen-Gluten-and-Dairy-Free-Muffins” I made last week.  After the discovery that muffins are a great way to experiment in the gluten-free world given their naturally looking ‘rustic’ and inclination to work with healthy grains, I’m all agog with playing with them.  So this Sunday (after tearfully saying goodbye to my favorite friend who was visiting for the weekend), I’m back in the kitchen making them easier, healthier and (somehow) more delicious!

Why the changes?

Hemp protein powder: Hemp is one of the greatest sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom, beating its higher-protein-content cousin soy because it is more absorbed by the human body. Hemp contains 65% of the protein edestin, which closely resembles the protein found in our blood.  Because of that it is more readily absorbed and put to work.  It also contains the albumin, which is a power-house free-radical scavenger.  Hemp also contains all 21 essential amino acids, including the 8 not made by adults, and has no reported allergic reactions!  Read more about hemp protein by CLICKING HERE.

Flax meal:   Flax is extremely high in omega-3 fatty acids (also contains omega-6), and contains protein and high levels of fiber.  I primarily use it in my diet for the fiber content, as in larger doses it can be a healthy laxative (don’t worry, in levels such as what’s used in this recipe, you won’t get any tummy grumbles!).  Flax also contains the phytonutrient lignin – current studies are exploring it as a possible cancer fighter for its ability to flush estrogen out of the body, reducing the risk of breast and colon cancer.  Lignins also have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Happy Muffins

Yields 12 large or 36 small muffins

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Tom’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
• 1/4 cup ground hemp protein powder
• 1/2 cup ground cornmeal
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon xantham gum
• 1 teaspoon egg replacer
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup light agave syrup
• 1/2 cup hot almond milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used sugar-free cranberries)
• 1/4 cup dried raw nuts (I used pecans)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease and flour muffin cups with gluten-free flour
3. Put first 11 ingredients (all dry) in a large bowl and whisk together
4. In a medium bowl, whisk egg.  Add agave syrup, oil and lemon and whisk together.  Slowly pour in almond milk, whisking thoroughly.
5. Make a well in the flour mixture, pour wet ingredients in, and mix until incorporated with a wooden spoon.
6. Add fruit and nuts and stir in.
7. Fill muffin tins and bake for 18 minutes for large muffins, 12 minutes for mini-muffins.  Cool in pan for 2 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Note:  These can be made with a variety of fruits and nuts, or with maple syrup instead of agave (which will, of course, yield a sweeter muffin).  Soon I’ll be trying variations with carob powder!  I stuck my finished muffins in a bag then tossed it in the freezer – a quick toast and they’ll be a good as fresh!

buckwheat kernals

Enter BUCKWHEAT.

This gluten-free grain is often overlooked when compared with its massively produced cousin, Oatmeal, but it’s now readily available in health food stores large and small.  It’s not actually a grain, but a seed somewhat related to rhubarb.  It cooks very similarly to oatmeal, though, is as deliciously versatile and is wonderfully filling on mornings when there’s a lot of day to face.  It’s completely gluten-free and a very healthy-happy food.

Healthy-Happy Buckwheat!

• Completely gluten-free as it’s a seed, so it’s digestible for those with celiac and gluten sensitivities
• Contains a very high level of magnesium, which relaxes blood vessels and therefore contributes to healthy blood flow and is good for the heart
• Lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL cholesterol (that’s a good thing…)
• Helps lower and regulate blood-sugar levels by containing chiro-inositol.  Researchers are not sure why this does what it does quite yet, but in humans and animals alike, whole grains containing this compound lowered blood-sugar levels by 12-19% when compared with those given a placebo (check it out at WHFoods)
• Generally high in antioxidants, so is generally an on-your-side superfood

Let’s Cook It!

Some cook buckwheat as an alternative to rice.  I prefer it as a porridge, all gooey and slightly sweet.  Below is my recipe for a coconut-buckwheat cereal.  Alternatives would be to cook with water or an animal milk, then add any variety of vanilla extract, cinnamon, dried or fresh fruits, carob powder, fresh nutmeg, chai… the list goes on.  I prefer coconut milk on some mornings because it makes the porridge thicker and naturally sweet and creamy.  I pressure cook my morning grains normally, as it adds to the digestion ease and also makes the grains that much more moist and fluffy.  Toasting them for a few minutes on dry heat before adding the liquid increases their digestibility.  Directions for pressure-cooking and stove top cooking are below.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of buckwheat
• 2 cups of liquid – I used a can of light coconut milk and then topped off the rest with water
• 1 tsp light agave syrup (per serving)
• dried cranberries, golden raisins or blueberries (preferably sugar and nitrate-free)
• raw nuts (I used pecans, but hazelnuts or almonds would also be delightful)

Directions:

1. Pressure Cooking Grains: Add grains and liquid into a pressure cooker, bring up to full heat (you’ll know because it’ll be sizzling away, making lots of noise and releasing some steam), cook for 12 minutes, then turn off the heat and let pressure release naturally.
2. Stove-top Cooking Grains:  Toast the grains in a dry pot on medium heat, stirring continually, until they become nutty and fragrant.  Add the liquid, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer.   Cook about 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.
3. Serve with 1 tsp of light agave syrup per serving, and a small handful of raw nuts and dried fruit.

Note: Adding a non-animal protein such as nut-butter or eggs is a great way to make this breakfast a perfect protein and aid digestion.  I actually rarely do such heavy grains first thing in the morning as I can’t digest nuts well in the early day, but as a sweet-treat and with some extra digestive boosting supplements, it’s a great way to face the rain.

How to make this a dessert? Simmer about 2 1/2 cups coconut milk on the stove, adding 4 tablespoons agave syrup, 2+ teaspoons each of vanilla extract and cinnamon and, if you want to live dangerously, a little dark rum.  Add grains and cook on low until thick and sweet.  Whip a whole egg and add in just before the grains are fully cooked, stirring thoroughly.  Taste and add seasonings to your preference.  Remove to a wide pan and refrigerate until cold.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, raisins and (if desired) a little more agave.