Dinner this week - Whole Grains

There's been a lot of talk about whole grains in my world this week. It got me wondering if we are getting enough whole grains in our diet. I do try to make brown rice or pasta now & then, but I probably don't do it enough. That's easy to remedy, so, this weekend I made some quinoa AND millet for our meals this week. These are kind of tricky to work with together as they both have different cooking times and if I am not careful, I can measure them out and forget which is which. Can you tell the difference?

The Quinoa is on the left, the Millet on the right. The only difference is that the millet is a bit more yellow, but not much. I buy these in bulk and make sure to put them in their jars as soon as I get home. Those little twist ties come off those bags and it is very difficult to tell these grains apart until they are cooked.

The Quinoa has a simmer time of 10-15 minutes. The millet has a cooking time of 25-30 minutes. If I get these mixed up, as I have done, I can have a mess. One is over cooked and the other under cooked. I use sticky notes to remind which is which. I cooked one cup of Quinoa and one cup of millet. Here's a SITE with grain cooking times for your reference. When I fluffed the grains as you do rice. I used a little garlic chili fax oil, about a tablespoon for each grain. I diced and sauteed two yams in coconut oil until tender and a little browned and set them aside. I then sauteed sliced red onion and diced red pepper together until the onions were carmelized. I added a little balsamic vinegar into the pan and put the yams back in. I added the cooked grains and tossed together. I served the grains on a collard green. I often use the collard greens as wraps just like a torilla.

 

So, no surprise I made some beans this week too. Our main source of fiber and protein besides all the vegetables we eat. I cooked some pinto beans this week. Very simple, Celtic sea salt, fresh ground pepper, diced onions, garlic and celery. I didn't do too much different other than add some lime juice before adding the vegetable broth. That should enhance the flavor a bit. I thought I would do something different this week and provide you with some cooking times. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and she told me one of her biggest problems was cooking her beans the right amount of time. She has problems getting them too soft or too hard. She said she has never gotten pinto beans right. As long as I have been cooking, I still consult a chart before cooking my beans or grains, especially if I haven't used that particular variety in awhile.

How to Cook Dried Beans