Celebrate St Patrick’s Day tomorrow with this whole grain twist on cabbage rolls. Our Label Content Manager, Michelle (who also writes the beautiful blog Je Mange la Ville) came up with these delectable cabbage rolls using lamb, whole grain Kamut® berries and Savoy cabbage. Serve this with a side of soda bread for a hearty, Irish meal. If you can’t find Kamut® berries locally, you can substitute wheat berries.

Lamb and Kamut® Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce

Serves 6-8

• 1 small head Savoy Cabbage, separated into leaves
• 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 medium Onions, chopped
• 6 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 medium Carrot, diced
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
• 1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
• pinch ground All Spice
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground Pepper
• 3/4 pound ground Lamb
• 1/2 cup Kamut® Berries
• Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
• One 28-ounce can crushed Tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp dried Oregano
• 1/4 tsp (or to taste) Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
• Garnish: Cilantro or Parsley Leaves

The night before making, add Kamut® berries to a pot and add 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and let sit overnight or up to 12 hours. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage leaves to the boiling water a few at a time and cook for 30 seconds to one minute, or until pliable. Remove the leaves from the water and transfer to a colander; rinse with cold water. Gently shake to remove most of the excess water and set aside.

Put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pot oven over medium-high heat; when hot, add half the chopped onion and half of the minced garlic, along with the carrot and half the bell pepper, cinnamon and all spice. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Add the ground lamb and drained Kamut® berries. Mix until just combined.

With the pan you just cooked the vegetables and spices in, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and turn the heat to medium-high. When the oil is hot, add the remaining onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes (and juice), oregano, and pepper flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Let cook over medium-low heat while you prepare the cabbage leaves.

Cut the cabbage leaves in half by running a sharp knife along each side of the stem, removing the stem. Lay a leaf on a work surface and put some of the lamb and Kamut® meat mixture in the middle of the leaf, and roll it up. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling. Arrange all the leaves into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and spread out as you need to fit.

Pour the tomato sauce over the rolls, spreading it evenly and making sure some gets down in between the rolls. Sprinkle the feta cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 15-20 minutes. Serve garnished with fresh cilantro or parsley leaves.

I admit it, I’ve bought instant oatmeal packets. Shhh, don’t tell Bob, he’d be so disappointed in me. They’re hard to resist. I love oatmeal and I’m always pressed for time in the morning. The packets are so EASY and already portioned for me. They’re also expensive and filled with weird flavors and sugar (even the ‘healthy’ versions).  On top of that, Bob’s Red Mill doesn’t make any.

Not only was I spending more than I wanted, I was buying oats that weren’t our superior oats and I was getting extra sugar and gross chemicals in the mix. I started thinking about it and a brilliant (well, pretty obvious and basic) idea occurred to me. Why don’ t I make my own instant oat “packets?” I didn’t want to waste plastic baggies making “packets” and I didn’t really want to use instant oats. I whipped out a plastic container and filled it with what I wanted in a packet—quick oats, flaxseed meal, chopped walnuts and wheat germ—voila! an “instant” oat breakfast was mine! I threw a quarter cup measuring cup in the container and I was set! I keep the container in my desk, along with a bowl. Each morning, I scoop out 1/2 cup of oats and add 1 cup of hot water from the hot water spigot on our water cooler, let stand for a few minutes and I’m off and charging with a health, easy breakfast.

To make your own, you’ll need:

• 64 oz (8 cup) or bigger Container with a resealable lid
• 5 cups Quick Cooking Rolled Oats (Gluten Free will work too) or Instant Oats
• 1/4 or 1/2 cup Scoop

Mix and match, but be sure not to add more than your container can hold.

• 1/2 cup Flaxseed Meal
• 1/2 cup Wheat Germ
• 1 cup chopped Nuts
• 1/2 cup Hemp Seeds
• 1/2 cup Chia Seeds
• 1/2 cup Wheat Bran
• 1/2 cup Rice Bran
• 1/2 cup Oat Bran
• 1 cup Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 cup Pumpkin Seeds
• 1 cup Almond Meal
• 1 cup dried Fruit
• 1 cup Shredded Coconut
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon or other spices

Mix to combine and you’re all set. This lasts me about 2 weeks. Because you will probably use it within a month, you do not need to worry about refrigerating the flaxseed meal and other normally perishable ingredients.

This delicious and different cake comes from Nadia Hassani, author of Spoonfuls of Germany. Nadia writes about traditional German cuisine on her blog and wrote a cookbook by the same name. In Germany, wheat farina is used for many different recipes and is not solely regarded as a breakfast cereal, as it is in the United States. She wanted to share this recipe with you, which has been adapted to use our whole grain brown rice farina. Nadia emigrated to the United States in 1998 and found there was a lot left to be explored  in German cuisine here. She took up the challenge of writing Spoonfuls of Germany to bring more awareness to the diversity of German food and get a taste of the German culture. The revised and expanded edition of Spoonfuls of Germany will be available this Spring, see her website for details.

(c) Ted Rosen

Hazelnut Loaf Cake with Brown Rice Farina

• 1 cup Milk
• 1¼ cups + 3 Tbsp (7 oz) Brown Rice Farina, plus more for the pan
• Butter or Oil for greasing
• 2¼ cups (8 oz) Hazelnut Flour
• 1 Tbsp gluten-free, aluminum-free Baking Powder
• 2 Tbsp Natural Unsweetened Cocoa
• Pinch of Salt
• 1¼ cups Sugar
• 1 large Egg
• 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan. Add the farina and stir well. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the sides and the bottom of a 8½ x 4½ x 2½ loaf pan very well. Sprinkle the bottom with farina. Turn the pan upside down over the kitchen sink and knock off any excess farina.
3. Mix the hazelnut flour, baking powder, cocoa, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg and the vanilla to the cooled farina mix and stir well.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold just until evenly moistened. The dough will be quite thick. Pour it into the prepared pan and gently shake the pan to distribute the dough evenly.
5. Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Gently loosen the sides with a knife and unmold the cake onto a wire rack. Turn it over at once and let cool completely before cutting.
    

Makes 12 servings

What a perfect way to cure the winter blues. Sure, mangoes aren’t in season, but you know what else isn’t in season in Oregon? Sunshine! This colorful salad is just the ticket to brighten up your day and beat back the doldrums.

Amaranth Mango Salad

•     1/2 cup plain Yogurt
•     1-1/2 tsp Curry Powder
•     1 tsp grated Ginger (about 1-inch)
•     1/2 tsp Sea Salt
•     1 cup Organic Amaranth Grain
•     1-1/2 cups Water
•     1-1/2 cups chopped Mango (about one 1 lb mango)
•     1/2 cup diced Red Bell Pepper
•     1 Tbsp diced Jalapeno
•     1 Tbsp minced fresh Mint
•     2 Tbsp chopped Cilantro

Directions

Step 1

Combine the yogurt, curry, ginger and salt and chill until ready to use.

Step 2

Bring water to a boil. Add amaranth, reduce heat to low and simmer until water has been absorbed, about 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from heat and drain off excess water.

Step 3

Toss cooked amaranth with mango, bell pepper, jalapeno, herbs and yogurt sauce. Serve immediately or chilled.

Makes 4 servings.

As promised, here is our recipe for Whole Wheat English Muffins. I had to try these out for myself before I shared them so I knew exactly what you were getting yourself into if you attempt these. First off, this recipe takes a serious time commitment. Second, this recipe is painfully easy to put together. With a little bit of planning, you can have fresh, chewy English muffins for breakfast one day (if you get up really, really early) and everyone will be so impressed with your baking skills.

Here’s what you need to know- the time commitment is primarily a matter of rising time. These babies start with a poolish that ferments overnight, then allowed to come to room temp for at least 3 hours. Then the dough is mixed and needs to rise for 45 minutes. The dough is folded and rises again for 15 minutes, then shaped into muffins and left to rise for a final 15 minutes… so maybe you have these more like noon (like we did at our house) or for dinner. While they are something akin to heaven straight from the oven, these are phenomenal the next day and the day after that. We didn’t have any make it past that to attest to their quality. I think my husband ate 3 of these straight from the oven. Fresh, they don’t even need butter to be amazing (but it certainly doesn’t hurt).

I’d consider myself a novice bread baker. Sure, I’ve made basic breads and pizza dough, but I was incredibly intimidated by this recipe. My advice to you: don’t be. It was easy to follow and, even when I flubbed a step, the results were divine.

A dab of butter, a slathering of jam, a smooth layer of peanut butter, a fried egg with a bit of cheese… whatever you opt to top these with will be worth it, I promise.

[A note about equipment and measurements. If you have them, English muffin rings are handy. If you don't, a big biscuit cutter or even just a dough knife will work. The rings helped to make that perfect "English muffin" shape, but they really wouldn't make or break the recipe. We've included household measurements here as a courtesy, but, as I'm learning a baking scale is a kitchen essential for serious bakers. Not only does it improve the outcome of your recipe when you weigh your ingredients, it makes you feel like a real baker! Scales are pretty affordable. We sell a good one, but you can also find quite a selection on Amazon, as well.]

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Recipe by Sarah House

Yield twelve 3 ½ oz muffins

Poolish

• 6 ¾ oz Water (110°F)
• ¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast
• 6 ¾ oz (1 ½ cups + 3 Tbsp) Unbleached White Flour

Bread Dough

• 14 oz Warm Water (110°)
• 1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
• 13 ½ oz Poolish (entire recipe from above)
• 1 oz Unsalted Butter
• 15 ¼ oz (3 cups + 3 Tbsp) Unbleached White Flour
• 5 oz (1 cup) Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• Semolina Flour as needed

Poolish

1. In a large, non-reactive metal or glass bowl (only use plastic if it is clean and free of odors), proof yeast in water until “milky”, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the flour and stir until a smooth, elastic batter has formed.

3. Scrape down the sides and cover with plastic wrap; let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

4. (Optional) For the most sourdough-like flavor, transfer to the refrigerator and chill 8 – 24 hours. Skip step 5 if you do not refrigerate your poolish.

5. Remove poolish from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 3 – 4 hours.  It should have tripled in volume.  Use within 4 hours, before it begins to deflate.

Bread Dough

1. Sprinkle the yeast into the water and let sit until the yeast looks “milky”, about 5 minutes then add the poolish.

2. Meanwhile, combine the flours in a bowl.  Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles sand.

3. Add the sugar, salt and flour mixture to the yeast and mix until a dough forms (about 4 minutes on low with a dough hook), scraping down the sides of the bowl often.  Continue mixing until a wet and tacky dough has formed (about 2 additional minutes at medium speed).

4. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, turn once to coat all sides and cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel.  Let rise until an indentation remains when lightly pressed with a fingertip, about 45 – 60 minutes.

5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and fold it into thirds like a letter.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until an indentation remains when lightly pressed with a fingertip, about 15 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 475°F (use of a baking stone is useful but not necessary).  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. Uncover the dough and lightly dust both sides with semolina flour.  Gently roll or pat out the dough to about ½-inch thickness (take care not to deflate the dough too much).  Using English muffin rings or a pastry/pizza wheel, punch or cut to the desired shape (about 3-inches wide).

8. Place the muffins on one prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rest for 15 minutes.

9. Heat a nonstick skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Taking care not to crowd the pan, cook the muffins in batches until both sides are browned.  Place cooked muffins on clean prepared baking sheet.

10. Bake muffins until the internal temperature reads 205°F, about 6 – 8 minutes.

11. Remove from the hot baking sheet and let cool on a rack before slicing.

How about a warm, comforting meal for dinner tonight? The warmth of ginger, turmeric, and coriander, combined with green chilies and a dash of cayenne bring a taste of India to your table. The creaminess of Chana Dal contrasts nicely with crisp zucchini for a dish that you’ll want to snuggle up to on these cold winter nights. Serve this hearty, heart-healthy dish with some warm Naan for an easy, satisfying dinner. 

Chana Dal with Zucchini

This recipe is adapted from Complete Book of Indian Cooking by Suneeta Vaswani.

•      1 cup Chana Dal Beans
•     2 Tbsp Oil
•     1-1/2 Tbsp Ginger Root, peeled and minced
•     2 tsp Green Chilies, minced
•     1 cup Onions, finely chopped
•     3 cups Zucchini, chopped
•     1 tsp Coriander powder
•     1/2 tsp Salt (or to taste)
•     1/2 tsp Tumeric
•     1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
•     14 oz canned Tomatoes, diced (with juice)

Directions

Soak chana dal in 2 cups cold water for 20- 30 minutes. Rinse and drain.

In a small sauce pan, heat oil over medium- high heat. Add ginger and chilies

and sauté for 1 minute. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, 6 to 7 minutes.

Add zucchini and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coriander, salt, turmeric, and cayenne. Mix well and cook, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes making sure not to burn the spices.

Add the tomatoes with juice and chana dal with 2 cups water. Stir well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer, covered. Stir every 10 minutes, until chana dal is soft. This should take 20-25 minutes depending on how old you chana dal is.

Lazy Saturday? Why not whip up a batch of these delicious, healthy muffins? Using a granular cereal gives these muffins a bit of bite while adding a beautiful flavor—not to mention the nutritional boost! Balancing the whole grains in the cereal by using white flour, keeps them light and delicious. Swap out the white flour for whole wheat pastry flour if you want a dense, whole grain muffin. If you don’t have our 6 Grain Cereal on hand, any whole grain granular cereal (like our Mighty Tasty or 10 Grain Hot Cereal) will do in a pinch.

Ruthie’s 6 Grain Muffins

•     1 cup Org 6 Grain Right Stuff Cereal
•     1-1/2 cups Sour Milk or Buttermilk
•     1/2 cup Sugar
•     1/3 cup Butter, soft (about 5 Tbsp)
•     1 Egg
•     1 cup Unbleached White Flour
•     1 tsp Sea Salt
•     1 tsp Baking Powder
•     1 tsp Baking Soda

Directions

Step 1

Mix cereal and milk; allow to stand for 10 minutes while preheating oven to 400°F and assembling other ingredients. Grease a 12 serving muffin pan or line pan with paper liners.

Step 2

Combine and sift dry ingredients. Cream sugar, butter and egg together. Add dry ingredients and milk with cereal to butter mixture. Stir only until mixed.

Step 3

Spoon into prepared muffin pan. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Here at Bob’s Red Mill, we love good bread, especially when it’s made with whole grains.  Do you know what we love even more?  Good whole grain bread that has flavor, loft, chewy crumb and hearty crust.  Sure, you can throw together some flour, water, salt and yeast and make a perfectly acceptable loaf.  But with a little bit of natural action (known as fermentation) your loaf can go from good to extraordinary!

In this series, we’ll explore the different types of starters and how to use them, incorporating whole grains, to produce the best bread you’ve ever made.  Once you go starter, you’ll never go back!

You may ask yourself: what is a starter?  Answer: magic.  Kinda.  Starters are fermented cultures much like beer, wine, yogurt, kombucha, coffee and chocolate (betcha didn’t know about those last two, huh?).  The natural yeasts and bacteria that surround us in the air and on the surface of grains are allowed to grow and multiply and create a bubbly little environment that, due to their carbon dioxide output, will give your bread strength, moisture, extended shelf life, color, chewier crumb and fabulously complex flavors.

If starters seem a bit intimidating, using a preferment will be a great big baby step into the world of natural yeast cultures.  Preferments are similar to sours and levains and provide many of the same benefits.  They also have a limited life, so there is no obligation to remember to feed them and keep them alive.  Essentially, a portion of the flour, water and yeast are mixed and allowed to ferment for up to 48 hours before tossing it in with your bread dough.

Let’s begin with two of the easiest preferments:  pâte fermentée and sponges.

Pâte Fermentée, which sounds so fancy and sophisticated, is essentially old dough.  That’s right, old dough.  And it’s so easy!  If you bake bread daily or every-other-day simply pinch off 1 – 2 oz of dough per loaf and save it in the refrigerator.  The next day, toss that same ratio of dough into the fresh batch you’re currently mixing.  You are not going to notice a huge flavor boost but the gluten strength, moisture and crumb will definitely benefit.

A sponge is another super easy and approachable preferment.  With the sponge method, a portion of the flour, water and yeast are mixed together and allowed to sit at room temperature for 30 – 60 minutes.  This mixture will begin to rise just like bread dough and you will see a marked difference in the height of the final baked bread.  To use a sponge, follow this formula:  from your bread recipe use 30% of the total flour for the sponge.  Add an equal amount (by weight) of water and all or half of the yeast.  You’ll know your sponge is ripe and ready to use when the batter is slightly bubbly.  Add this sponge with your remaining liquid ingredients and proceed with your recipe as usual.

Bob’s Red Mill Rye Bread Mix made with the standard method (L) compared to the mix made with the sponge method (R).  The sponge method has more height, an even crust and a more open crumb.

Sponge

Prepare 30 – 60 minutes before baking.

Flour                30% of the total flour from your bread recipe

Water              equal weight as 30% of total flour

Yeast               50 – 100% of total yeast

Arancini are little fried rice balls typically stuffed with cheese and meat. This traditional Italian food is usually made with white rice, but our Label Content Manager, Michelle (who also writes the beautiful blog Je Mange la Ville) came up with this version using millet for a delectable whole grain treat. Arancini take a little time, but these are worth every minute! Delight your special someone (or someones) on Valentine’s Day by serving these with a green salad and a wholesome soup. (If millet is hard to come by, try our version using Steel Cut Oats.)

Spinach and Lemon Millet Arancini

(makes 10-12 golf ball-sized arancini)

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 small Shallot, finely diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• ½ cup Millet
• ¼ cup White Wine
• ¼ cup frozen Spinach
• ½ tsp Lemon Zest
• 1-3/4 cup low-sodium Vegetable Broth
• ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Egg, separated
• 10-12 small cubes (about ¼-square inch each) fresh Mozzarella
• ¼ cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup Italian Herb Breadcrumbs

Heat olive oil in a pot and sauté shallot and garlic over medium heat, until soft and starting to color, about 5 minutes. Add the millet and toast for 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine, spinach, lemon zest and broth to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid is absorbed and millet is soft and a bit creamy, about 20-25 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

Add egg yolk to cooled millet mixture and using a small ice cream scoop, scoop some millet into your hand. Add a small cube of mozzarella to the center, rolling the millet around the cheese to form a ball. Repeat with the remaining millet.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Have flour, bread crumbs and whisked egg white set out in bowls, with a parchment-lined, non stick spray-coated baking sheet nearby. Roll each arancini in the flour, then the egg, and then the bread crumbs. Set on the baking sheet and repeat with each arancini. Spray arancini with non-stick, olive oil spray.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Cool 1-2 minutes before serving.

Deep Fry Option:  Add about 3 inches of vegetable or peanut oil in a large pan with tall sides. Heat oil to 350°F. Fry arancini until golden, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool briefly (about 2 minutes) before serving.