Is it wrong to be a little bit in love with an 80-something-year-old man whom I’ve never met?
I am.
I’m smitten with Bob of Bob’s Red Mill and everything he represents. A doppelganger for Santa Claus whose cheerful face appears on every package of his grains, Bob has stuck to his roots. Since launching his company in the 1960s, he has stayed committed to grinding grains in old-fashioned stone mills rather than new-fangled steel ones. The result is a line of highly nourishing and great tasting grains of every stripe.
These days, I’m especially crushing on Bob because he sent me a giant box of grains to try. It wasn’t Bob, exactly, who gifted me the grains, but another kind soul at the company whom I met several months back. And so, I decided to use my big box of Bob’s grains as a springboard to make 2014 “The Year of Whole Grains”.
It’s an interesting time to be talking grains because of the great divide on the subject in this country. Lately I’ve seen “grain-free” labels used to market baked goods in much the same way the “fat free” moniker was used to hawk them in the 90s. It’s as if grains were somehow a very bad thing, a mindset led in part by the booming Paleo movement. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the whole grain movement, a camp where I feel very much at home. A number of inspiring cookbooks have hit the marketplace of late, most notably, Whole Grain Mornings, which I’m dying to get my hands on.
While I’ve done a fair bit of experimenting with grains, there are a whole host of them I’ve never touched (hello, teff, amaranth, and sorghum). So, this is the Year of Whole Grains. I’d love to have you join me as I make my way through some new ones and tinker with old ones. It all starts next week with a recipe and a tutorial on MILLET.
I know, edge of your seat.
Stay tuned.
Comments
01.16.2014 at7:00 AM #
kellie@foodtoglow
I am with you in the Super Grain Gang. As a cancer nutritionist and cancer health educator I am all for moderation across the food groups, and not shunning any unless allergic or quite intolerant. I fear that many pale adherents are throwing out the baby with the bath water, if you know what I mean. I have used teff and amaranth (and lovely freekeh too) with fantastic results. But my favourite is the grain-like seed quinoa. Can it be an honorary member of the whole grain family, I wonder. I live in the UK so we have a limited range of Bob’s Red Mill products, but as an ex-pat American I do stock up on visits, and nudge my luggage weight limit with their great grains. Good luck with your year in whole grains, Katie.
01.16.2014 at7:00 AM #
Katie Morford
Hi Kellie,
Nice to hear from you. I will indeed include quinoa in the mix, even though it’s not technically a grain.
As interest for new and different grains blossom in the US, I imagine they will make their way across the pond soon!
Katie
01.16.2014 at7:02 AM #
Christina
So excited about the year of grains! I’d love to try something new.
01.16.2014 at7:02 AM #
Katie Morford
Something new coming your way. I’m excited to dig deep into grains myself.
01.16.2014 at7:48 AM #
Mary Frances
I, too, am rather smitten with Bob Moore (founder of Bob’s Red Mill) – not only for the wonderful grains that they mill, but also for the way he has run his business all these years. And, for his 81st birthday, he gave his business away … to his employees!
(For the details, about the history of the company and Bob himself follow this link – http://www.bobsredmill.com/about-bob.html. Watch the interview with Diane Sawyer by scrolling to the bottom of that page. Just reading all of this ensured my everlasting devotion to this company and its products.)
We need more businesses like this!
01.16.2014 at7:48 AM #
Katie Morford
I heard about Bob giving away his company. Amazing and inspiring. Another reason I love him.
01.16.2014 at7:49 AM #
Cornel
Hi Katie.
We use ground sorghum and make a porridge here in South Africa. Being gluten intolerant I’ve also added it to my babana bread mixture quite succesfully!
And using corn meal(the rough one for porridge) to roll my fishcakes in and mixed with Tumeric & spices over potato wedges to grill.
Excited to see what you come up with- grains wise!
Cornel
01.16.2014 at7:49 AM #
Katie Morford
Thanks for sharing Cornel. It is interesting to see that what is exotic to us, is common in other parts of the world. Sorghum is one good example.
01.16.2014 at7:51 AM #
Kat
Hi Katie! Can you tell me something to do with chia? Latest superfood as I understand it… So love your blog.
01.16.2014 at7:51 AM #
Katie Morford
Chia is yet another superfood, known for Omega-3 fats, protein, and fiber. I keep Chia on hand for adding to granola and sprinkling over yogurt and hot cereal. I’ve tinkered with chia pudding, which is a popular use for it. Here’s some good info about chia pudding from Food 52:
http://food52.com/blog/4391-a-chia-pudding-primer
01.16.2014 at11:28 AM #
Pam R
Looking forward to lots of whole grain info and recipes!
01.16.2014 at5:21 PM #
Lisa [With Style & Grace]
very exciting and so many that are great alternatives for a gluten-free lifestyle!
01.16.2014 at5:21 PM #
Katie Morford
I’m sure you know a lot more about grains than most of us. Gluten-free or not, I think it’s smart to eat a variety.
01.17.2014 at8:13 AM #
Kate
I can’t wait to see what you come up with. I love all the different flavors and textures of these grains but am never sure what to do with them.
01.17.2014 at8:13 AM #
Katie Morford
I’m excited to use this series as an opportunity to expand my own know-how. I’ve been doing a deep study on millet this week and loving it!
01.28.2014 at11:42 AM #
erin @ yummy supper
Katie, I’m a whole grain maniac too and since going GF I’ve had more and more fun exploring, playing, with the less know beauties. And millet is one of my favorites. Yum!
I’m looking forward to following your Year of Whole Grains and seeing what you’ve got in store for us.
xoxo
E
01.28.2014 at11:42 AM #
Katie Morford
I may need to turn to you for expert advice 🙂
12.11.2021 at2:40 PM #
Thom Spengler
I see this is 7 years old, but this still is a timeless subject: whole grains (and their ‘psuedo’ friends)
Hopefully by now you’ve discovered hull-less barley. Developed by Oregon State University, the official name is ‘Streaker Barley,’ named after the 1970’s naked nunner fads. Some also call it simply naked, whole barley. It cooks in the same time as pearled barley but with all the benefits of hulled barley.
It’s got all the good stuff, with a hull that slips off in the threshing stage. Delicious in soups or stews; I have hopes of learning how to ‘par-boil’ them just to soften them just enough to add that chewy essence to cookies and bars while boosting the nutrition along with dried cranberries and nuts.