Basically, I boil them in water and mix with honey, flax seed meal and nutritional yeast. I would love ideas on cooking them in the crockpot. I do toast millet then boil and serve instead of rice. But, my family prefers rice in those instances. We eat a lot of these (especially since I also grind them for flour) but I'd like to vary the ways.

I make quinoa in the rice cooker. 1.5 C. quinoa, 2 C. water, 1/4 teaspoon salt - program for plain rice. It is light and fluffy and several people who thought they didn't like quinoa have told me it is great this way.

I usually serve it as a side grain. DS#2 has declared a hatred of brown rice but will eat multiple servings of quinoa. He eats it sprinkled with sea salt. DH and I usually top it with whatever one-pot meal we're eating that night (last night was steamed kale with cannellini beans and cashew cream sauce). I'll also eat it with wheat-free tamari and gomasio.

Sometimes I use it in a cold grain salad. Just quinoa, small chopped veggies, beans, or whatever, dressed with a combo of lime or OJ and balsamic vinegar.

We haven't tried millet or amaranth. I'm loathe to spend money on new grains that they will probably reject as they are in a "no new foods" phase right now.

I love cold quinoa and red bean salad - basically as Kimberly described. It's a recipe from Feeding The Whole Family. I think it uses lime...will type it up when I get a minute.

I have made millet muffins - not that they were great but if you play around with a recipe they might be yummy. Feeding The Whole Family has a recipe for Millet Croquettes that sounded good.

Haven't tried amaranth yet.

Millet cooked with chopped carrots in the pressure cooker is very delish. Add a little salt to the water.

Kimberly, I'd love the cashew cream sauce recipe. That sounds delish!

Lauren, I'd love the salad recipe. There is lots I am finding surprisingly the girls will eat.

I wonder if I could cook the carrots with the millet on the stove. My girls LOVE carrots.

Kimberly, I'd love the cashew cream sauce recipe. That sounds delish!

Lauren, I'd love the salad recipe. There is lots I am finding surprisingly the girls will eat.

I wonder if I could cook the carrots with the millet on the stove. My girls LOVE carrots.


Yep, I do it that way sometimes. Millet cooks quickly, so cut the carrots small, or shred them.

Kimberly, I'd love the cashew cream sauce recipe. That sounds delish!


The cashew cream sauce is really easy, and I simplified it from the original source. I use a Vita-Mix (which I think you have, right?) but any good blender should work.

1/2 C. raw cashews
1 C. hot water (I use boiling)
1 t. onion granules (or powder)
1.5 t. nutritional yeast

Blend it all until super smooth and creamy. If you want it thicker use less water, and you can use it as a dip! We don't add salt, but you can if you want to.

I'm so glad I found this recipe, because DH will now eat kale! I also use it to make "creamed" spinach, and you could use it to make a "cream" soup (but add at the end and don't boil).

I don't have a vita mix but I do have a good blender. I thinkg I can also get organic cashew butter that might work. Thanks.

kimberly, can i come for breakfast, lunch and dinner at your house for a week?! :)

i've made amaranth apple muffins that were yucky-- i don't know if it's b/c i had to use cherry/apple juice b/c we didn't have any pure apple juice in the house, but they were sorta bitter. yuck, bitter muffins!

we make great yummy quinoa applesauce bread that is awesome-- ds and dd gobble it up. i got the recipe from the yeast connection cookbook.

i also just serve quinoa and millet wherever a recipe calls for rice. i always toast the millet beforehand, but just b/c that's what the instructions said to do!

i also eat "quinoa flakes" as an alternative to oatmeal now. i make it with almond milk and sweeten it w/ stevia extract. can you tell i'm on a yeast-free diet?! :)

i wish i could find a grain mill which would also "flake" so i could make my own quinoa flakes...

kimberly, or mamax4, or lauren, if you're still reading this, do you think you could post or pm or email me a menu of what you guys eat for a week or even a few days?! :) not to hijack a thread, i'm just soooooooooo needing *easy* but healthful meal ideas.

also, kimberly, what cookbook did you get the recipe out of? do you recommend that cookbook? that's how i usually do my meal planning-- i sit down w/ a few allergy-free cookbooks on the weekend and make a list of meals and the items i need for them. *sigh* very time-consuming. that's why i want just some easy meals...

sorry for hijacking this thread, michelle!
alycia

The Family grain mill has a flaker attachment. I got mine (mill not flaker) at www.pleasanthillgrain.com

I boil millet in veggie or chicken stock, then drizzle with a little olive oil and snipped fresh garlic greens. Even health-food-phobic DH eats it this way. :)

For quinoa, we love this recipe (it's a really great light summer meal): http://organicvalley.coop/products_recipes/recipe_detail.html?id=110&pagenum=7 If the link doesn't work, you can search for "Mayan Quinoa" on that site.

My mom uses amaranth as a breaded coating (I guess intead of flour or crackers) and says it's delish on fish. :) I don't have any experience with this grain yet.

Jaina,

The recipe looks good. I would appreciate it if you could get some details from your mom. We eat a lot of fish. Does she cook it first? Or does she use amaranth flour for breading? Thanks.

kimberly, can i come for breakfast, lunch and dinner at your house for a week?! :)

kimberly, or mamax4, or lauren, if you're still reading this, do you think you could post or pm or email me a menu of what you guys eat for a week or even a few days?! :) not to hijack a thread, i'm just soooooooooo needing *easy* but healthful meal ideas.

also, kimberly, what cookbook did you get the recipe out of? do you recommend that cookbook? that's how i usually do my meal planning-- i sit down w/ a few allergy-free cookbooks on the weekend and make a list of meals and the items i need for them. *sigh* very time-consuming. that's why i want just some easy meals...

alycia

Sure, come on over! I love to cook for people who like this kind of food.

Breakfasts: DH and I always have fruit, either as smoothies (with flax but nothing else but fruit and juice) or cut as as fruit salads with lime juice. The boys have a variety of things: gluten free waffles, sweetened rice flakes, cornmeal mush, etc. plus a serving of fruit.

Lunches: DH and I almost always have green salads, with raw nuts, beans, avocado, etc. We use mixed baby greens, or red leaf and romaine lettuce mixed with arugula. Sometimes we'll have veggie soups in addition to salad. Either simple bean/vegetable soups or something fancy like "creamy" sweet-potato fennel soup. On super rushed days there might be some leftovers to heat up. After our trip I needed to detox and did a couple of days of fruit salad for lunch.

The boys eat whatever they are in the mood for, plus a veggie. So brown rice noodles, leftover quinoa or brown rice, beans and tortillas, edamame, etc.

Dinners: This week we had pinto beans with corn tortillas, spinach, and black olives on Sunday. Monday was stir-"fried" veggies and tofu with brown rice. Tuesday we had the kale and beans with cashew sauce, plus quinoa and a side of steamed broccoli. Last night we did pinto beans again (always on Wednesday, and on the weekend if we are out all day). Tonight will be curried veggies and tofu with brown rice, plus steamed veggies and grain for the boys (one eats brown rice, one eats quinoa). Friday I will attempt GF pizza crust again for the boys, and will make a big bean/veggie soup for DH and I with the leftover beans and broth from this week, plus whatever veggies we have.

The boys snack all day long, mostly on fruit and raw carrots. They also eat fruit leather, popcorn, soy yogurt, etc.

The kale recipe is from www.fatfreevegan.com but I added the beans and changed the cashew sauce. I like a lot of their recipes. I also adapt from cookbooks I already have, like Marilyn Diamond's American Vegetarian From the Fit For Life Kitchen, and some Moosewood recipes.

Most of my meals are really simple, at least to me. Dinners are usually based on beans, grains, and veggies. I try to make a new recipe every 1-2 weeks, and if we like it then I add it to the list of meals I can make.

ok, thanks for the ideas! what is the recipe for the creamy leek sweet potato soup? also, what do you use for flavorings/ seasonings, like on the beans/veggies, or the pinto beans w/ corn tortillas, etc.?

i'll have more questions later!
alycia

kimberly, or mamax4, or lauren, if you're still reading this, do you think you could post or pm or email me a menu of what you guys eat for a week or even a few days?! :) not to hijack a thread, i'm just soooooooooo needing *easy* but healthful meal ideas.
alycia


You sound more creative than I am, that is for sure! I cook 60-70% vegetarian foods, but we do eat organic meat. Are you sure you want my boring week? lol

I can be creative, but tonight is one of the 'not creative' nights (as most are lol). It's whole wheat penne tossed with diced tomatoes and browned ground turkey. It's pretty much what my mother used to make. I added onions, basil, red pepper, garlic, and tossed it all together. I served it with whole wheat garlic bread, sauteed spinach, salad (carrots & olives added) and that's it. What can I tell you. Pasta is my *friend*. I have to feed 6 people and nobody complains about pasta.

ok, thanks for the ideas! what is the recipe for the creamy leek sweet potato soup? also, what do you use for flavorings/ seasonings, like on the beans/veggies, or the pinto beans w/ corn tortillas, etc.?

i'll have more questions later!
alycia

Okay, we don't use seasonings a lot of the time. I've come to really like the flavors of most foods with just a little salt (but not cooked with salt). We use Real Salt which is so much more flavorful than regular table salt. For tacos, etc. I don't season, but I do cook teh beans with crushed garlic. DH uses oregano and Real Salt Seasoning Salt on his Mexican food. I do use New Mexico chili powder in guacamole.

For curries I use curry powder, mustard seeds, turmeric. I use pretty much the same for Indian dishes, but not curry powder, pretty much cumin instead, with the turmeric, ginger, mustard seed, etc.

For stir fry I like Soy Vay sauces, but they have gluten so I am trying to approximate the sauce. It is basically tamari, ginger, sesame oil, sesame seeds.

For soups I am very basic, I like salt, pepper, and bay leaf, plus of course onion and garlic. If after cooking it needs flavor I add Bragg's liquid aminos or tamari.

I also cook with veggie broth, which adds some flavor. So steamed spinach with pintos has garlic, plus the flavor from the broth. Sometimes I use mushrooms and onions (if I have time).

Here is the basic soup recipe. For potato soup I use just potatoes for the vegetable. For sweet potato-fennel I use sweet potato (yam), white potato, and fennel. I mess with the measurements a lot and can't really tell you everything I do (ie. more veggies, more water, etc.). It's different every time. Also, I blend it all with a hand blender, and don't leave any of it chunky. For company I will even put it through a sieve to make it super smooth.

Title: BASIC CREAM SOUP
Categories: Vegetarian, Vegan, Soups
Yield: 4 servings

1 md Onion
1 md Celery stalk
1 md Garlic clove
1 tb Olive oil
4 c Vegetable; chopped in 1/2 to
-1-inch pieces:
Cauliflower
Asparagus
Broccoli
Any other vegetable
5 c ;water
2 tb Miso, light OR
2 Vegetable bouillon cubes
Pepper, freshly ground, opt.

1. Bring water to a boil in a tea kettle. Coarsely
chop the onion and celery. Thinly slice the garlic.

2. In a soup pot, heat oil, onion, garlic and celery.
Cook and stir 1 minute over medium heat, then add
vegetable. Continue cooking and stirring 1 minute
longer.

3. Add boiling water and bring back to a boil over
high heat. Stir briefly and reduce heat to medium.
Cover and cook 8 minutes. Lift cover, stir in miso,
and continue cooking and stirring for another 2
minutes, until miso is dissolved and vegetables are
tender. (At this point, you may puree soup directly in
the pot with a hand blender, liquefying a small amount
of soup with the tahini in a separate bowl and
returning it to the pot. Or, follow steps 4-6.

4. Pour soup into a bowl to cool. Remove 1/2 cup of
broth from soup and stir remaining soup to cool it.
While soup is cooling, place tahini and 1/2 cup broth
in a blender. Blend to a smooth cream. Set aside.

5. Place three-fourths of soup in blender and
liquefy to a cream. Pour into original soup pot. Place
remaining one-quarter of unblended soup in a blender.
Pulse-blend for 2 to 3 seconds, allowing mixture to
remain lumpy and textured. Pour it into creamed
portion in the original soup pot.

6. Place soup over medium heat and stir in tahini
mixture. Gently reheat soup, taking care not to let it
boil and stirring frequently. Add pepper to taste.

Variations:

If you don't have light miso, substitute 2 vegetable
bouillon cubes, 2 tbs powdered vegetable broth, or 5
cups of homemade stock in place of 5 cups water.

Creamed soups can be served hot or cold. If serving
cold, skip the reheating.

Add 1/2 tsp dried thyme, basil or marjoram to the
sauteeing vegetables for fuller flavor.

Add 1 tbs nutritional yeast to the soup pot when you
add the water.

Note: After the tahini mixture has been added to the
cream soup, boiling will make the tahini itself
thicken and the soup will be too thick. Take care to
reheat it GENTLY, _not_to_boil_!

The American Vegetarian Cookbook by Marilyn
Diamond/MM by DEEANNE

what are the exact cooking directions for millet and quinoa (sp?_)

thanks, kimberly, for the advice! i really appreciate your time, as i do the time of all the wise mamas who advise me!

and mamax4, oh, my gosh, that dinner sounds INCREDIBLE! i wish i had eaten at your place tonight! yuuuum!

alycia

I haven't read all the replies...

Feeding the whole family has a great recipe for Quinoa chili...so good.

Otherwise we eat quinoa in cold salads or as sort of a pilaf side dish.

I have been reading Rachel Ray's books lately. I know she's been around, but I just discovered her. I got RR 365 No Repeat Meals (or something) , RR Veggie Meals, and RR Get Real Meals from the library recently. I am so enjoying her! I would highly recommned going to the library & seeing what you can find. I am going to buy the 365 Days one. It's great. The recipes are not complicated, and she writes in an easy, fun way that shows a great love and realism regarding food and food prep.

Anyway, this seemed like a good thread to spread the RR love. :waving:

to cook quinoa, rinse 1 cup in a callendar and add it to a pot. pour 2 cups of water into the pot and bring it to a boil. cover and turn down heat to medium and boil for 15-20 mins. very simple. :)

Kimberly,
How much tahini do you use in the soup recipe? Am I totally missing it?

THANK YOU!!!!