Book Review: Bob's Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook

Doesn't that look good? It's a dish of Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, pecans, and sorghum.

I've seen quite a few gluten-free cookbooks come across my desk recently, but none have been as comprehensive as Camilla Saulsbury's new Bob's Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook: 281 Delicious Whole-Grain Recipes. While 100 percent of the recipes in this book are gluten free, it reads more like a primer for incorporating ancient grains (oats, amaranth, quinoa, sorghum, etc.) into one's diet. The whole gluten-free aspect is more of a happy bonus. In other words, this book is a great kitchen tool for everyone who wants to switch up their diet a bit, not just for the gluten-intolerant.

Unlike other gluten-free cookbooks, Saulsbury doesn't resort to using gums and stabilizers to give her recipes more familiar textures. Instead, she sings the praises of whole grains, many of which are completely foreign to most Americans.

It's not a vegan cookbook, nor diet-y in any way. Every dish looks really terrific, so of course we had to try a few ourselves, just to make sure.

The first dish we tried is a dressing of Brussels sprouts, pecans, dried cranberries, and whole grains. We chose to use sorghum. Sorghum takes a heck of a long time to cook. Even after one hour, the little round grains were still on the chewy side. But the combination of flavors in the dish, while fairly simple, were really delicious. We ate it as a warm salad entree, but you can serve it as a side dish. It would make a perfect addition to a roast chicken dinner, and would actually work really nicely as a Thanksgiving side, too.

Next we tried spiced bar cookies made with oats and dates, because we had all of the ingredients on hand: dates, coconut oil, teff flour (left over from our attempt at Ethiopian injera), and oatmeal. The flavors were terrific - malty teff and cardamom played really nicely with the sweet and chewy dates - but the bars are a bit dry and crumbly. They're pretty good crumbled over a dish of ice cream, though, and would make a nice combination of flavors to top a fruit cobbler.

Though neither of us are gluten intolerant, we're really enthused about Bob's Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook overall. We've even invested in some amaranth and quinoa so we can try more whole grain eating.

If you can't find Bob's Red Mill products in your local grocery store (we've found some, but not all), you can order them online from Bob's, or even at Nuts.com.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Millet

Ages ago, I used to work with a woman whose last name was Millet. One of my managees at the bookstore, she was fun, enthusiastic, and loyal - she quit when I did. We used to mispronounce her name on purpose, but it's been so many years, I can't remember if her name is "mil-LAY" and we called her "MILL-it," or vice versa. In any case, I found her on Facebook and sent her both a message and a friend request. She hasn't responded to either.

Maybe because I used to mispronounce her name on purpose. :(

In any case, the millet that is the real subject of this post is a grain. One of the oldest known to man, and a diet staple for much of the world. And until recently, it had never passed my lips. Millet isn't often found on restaurant menus in the US, which is a shame, because it's both versatile and tasty. It's actually quite reminiscent of couscous, only it takes longer to cook. Plus, it's a whole grain, so its more nutritious than couscous.

For my first millet experiment, I played with another recipe from The New Whole Grain Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains. Basically I used the method and most of the ingredients, but I changed up the seasoning to work better with the chicken molé I was making for dinner that night. The original recipe was for African millet salad with corn and peppers, but instead of using paprika and allspice, I used cumin. I also substituted lime juice for the lemon juice, and instead of adding tomatoes, a teaspoon of tomato paste went into the dressing.

The result was ok. Somewhat bland, albeit lime-y. But much much MUCH tastier than buckwheat. It definitely was like couscous, so the next time I use it, I might leave it fairly plain and serve it hot with a sauce-y main dish.

Any suggestions? Also, anyone know what I should do with the box of freekah I bought at Whole Foods the other day?

Posted on Minxeats.com.