Book of Yum

Picture a little round seed that looks like it belongs in a bird feeder or could be the start of a Chia pet. Imagine this seed surrounded by a million of its friends in a plastic clear bag from Bob’s Red Mill labeled “Amaranth Grain.” On my allergy rotation diet, this seed has become a staple, but not one that particularly thrills me. In the morning I’ve been having it boiled into a porridge with lemon olive oil, honey, nutmeg and raisins. I add all these things to mask the earthy, savory nature of the seed. Boiling it creates this gel-like stuff that seems only appropriate for an astronaut meal.

After eating this gloppy porridge one too many times, I started daydreaming about things I could do to give it a better texture. Somehow I came up with the idea of spreading it out like a pizza on parchment paper and baking it into a tasty flatbread that could be used as a pizza base or crackers. And- miracle of miracles, this technique worked and transformed my martian-gel porridge into this amazing cracker bread that rivals flax crackers for crunch and has amazing flavor too! So lately, I eat my morning glop but leave half of the stuff plain, chill it and bake it later. When I enjoy this gluten-free crunchy, salty cracker flatbread with tasty veggies, it’s hard to remember that it is the same stuff that I eat for breakfast, transformed thanks to the magic of the kitchen.

The baked seed pops in your mouth a little and the high protein count means you don’t even miss t he missing dairy, egg or soy in the recipe- it is simply fabulous, and fabulously easy. I hope the next time you find yourself facing a big bowl of amaranth gruel that you will consider transforming it into some lovely salty flatbread.

And, if like me you need to avoid nuts and dairy, you may enjoy topping it with a lovely pumpkin seed basil pesto and roasted red peppers and calling it pizza. I’ve been experimenting with both pumpkin seed and sunflower seeds… as rare allergens they seemed like a good bet, and they don’t seem to bother Baby Yum. To my delight, pumpkin seed pesto is just as tasty as I could have hoped- and I don’t miss the dairy or nuts in the slightest! What are your favorite ways to cook with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds? Share in the comments and you just might inspire my dinner!

Gluten-free Amaranth cracker recipe Bread  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1/2 cup whole amaranth grain (not flour)- i use Bob’s Red Mill brand 1 1/2 cup water salt to taste flavored olive oil (lemon or basil) fresh basil, torn into pieces to garnish (optional) Directions Boil amaranth with water for 20-30 minutes, or until you have a thick porridge like consistency. Cool and place in refrigerator and thoroughly chill. Preheat oven to 425F. Line pizza pan with parchment paper and baste with olive oil. Remove chilled amaranth and spoon onto your parchment paper into a thin, round disk, much like a pizza. Baste top with olive oil (flavored olive oil is ideal) and sprinkle with plenty of salt. Bake for 20 minutes or until bottom of crust dries out and edges start to get crisp like a cracker. Carefully peel off parchment paper and turn crust over, basting with olive oil if desired. Bake until you get desired crispiness on both sides of cracker. Remove from oven, slice into pizza shapes and use as flatbread, cut into crackers (if you get it really crispy), or top and bake a little more in oven.

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, please do not replicate without permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1471 Added:  December 7, 2009 Last Modified:  December 19, 2009

Vegan Dairy-free Pumpkin Seed Basil Pesto Recipe Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) olive oil (start with 1 tbsp. and add more as needed to form paste) 1 small bunch fresh basil (or more, to taste) salt Directions Lightly toast pumpkin seeds in a dry pan on low heat, turning as needed. Combine pumpkin seed with olive oil and basil in a small food processor and blend. Stir as needed and add more olive oil as necessary until you get a nice texture. Add salt to taste and enjoy! Notes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepita

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Contents of my brain. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1473 Added:  December 20, 2009 Last Modified:  December 20, 2009

As you may know, we’ve been struggling with allergies at my house these days- it turns out that our darling Baby Yum has a very sensitive tummy and so I’ve had to go on a rather extreme elimination diet in order to breastfeed her. The good news is that she is doing much better (yay probiotics!)- and the other good news is that while I had to turn my diet upside down, I’m starting to come up with some recipes that rock, limited ingredients or no. This recipe is amazing because it doesn’t contain any of the top allergens (no dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, animal products, potatoes, corn etc) and yet still has fantastic texture and flavor. As I was bemoaning the loss of Ener-g foods egg replacer (which contains a corn derivative AND potato, both of which I’m currently avoiding), it occurred to me that the french crepe/flatbread recipe socca doesn’t contain any eggs at all, and still tastes lovely. It is based in high protein chickpea flour but I thought, what if I used another high protein flour like amaranth, which is one of my current staples? And so, a lovely recipe was born. Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to top it with hummus (no sesame at the moment, sigh) but I raided my admittedly limited fridge and came up with an easy veggie saute that tasted surprisingly savory and delicious. I’ve made this recipe many times since its first inception, and it comes out beautifully every time.

For those of you new to amaranth, you can find gluten-free certified flour through Bob’s Red Mill, sold on Amazon or directly through the company. Amaranth is a traditional food plant in Africa, and only now beginning to be cultivated for use in the United States. It has a long and interesting history with the Aztecs and with the native people of Mexico. “To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn and mixed with honey, molasses or chocolate to make a treat called alegría.” (Recipe for Alegría using whole grain amaranth )

Most interestingly for our purposes, Amaranth contains “large amounts of protein and essential amino acids, such as lysine . . . [and is] reported to have a 30% higher protein value than cereals, such as rice, wheat flour, oats, and rye.” That sounds good to me, especially since Baby Yum is currently sensitive to so many of my vegetarian protein staples. Further, “Amaranth and quinoa are called pseudograins because of their flavor and cooking similarities to grains. These are dicot plant seeds, and both contain exceptionally complete protein for plant sources. Besides protein, amaranth grain provides a good source of dietary fiber and dietary minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and especially manganese.” (Source: Wikipedia) Nutritional value aside, this recipe is worth trying based on flavor alone. I think you’ll agree that in this case, a simple whole grain (or whole pseudograin) recipe is amazingly tasty- and easy, too!

Gluten Free Amaranth Flatbread Crepe Recipe Bread  Main Course  Alternative Grains  European

Ingredients 1/2 cup GF amaranth flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill) 1/2 cup water + 2 tbsp water 1/8 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. olive oil Generous sprinkle of dried rosemary olive oil for oiling cast iron pan cast iron or other oven safe skillet *Makes two crepes- double for larger recipe Allergen-free filling: 1 thinly sliced apple 2 carrots, cut into horizontal thin pieces similar in size to the apple (cut like a very wide matchstick) 1/2 or 1 zucchini, cut into tiny cubes(optional) olive oil to taste salt pepper Directions Whisk together flour, water, salt, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Set on counter and leave for 30 minutes, whisking as needed. Meanwhile preheat oven to 450F and place seasoned cast iron pan in oven, heating. Add rosemary after batter has set. Brush pan with small amount of olive oil and let cool slightly. Pour half of your batter into the pan and swirl to make a round crepe in the pan. Place in oven and let bake for at least 8 minutes or until it starts to brown and lift off the edge of the pan. Take out of oven and carefully peel off flatbread and turn over, letting it brown for a minute or so on the other side if you like it crispy. While you are making your second flatbread, heat a small amount of olive oil in a nonstick or second cast iron pan and saute apples and carrots until apple starts to brown. Season generously and turn. Add a little more olive oil and heat in the center of pan. Sprinkle oil lightly with salt and add zucchini cubes, sauteeing until lightly browned, turning as needed. When done to your desired texture, remove from pan. Fill or top flatbread with your sauteed veggies and enjoy!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by garbanzo bean chickpea recipe, but my own creation. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1470 Added:  December 1, 2009 Last Modified:  December 19, 2009