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Simply Ancient Grains-Cookbook Review

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I thought I knew everything there was to know about whole grains! Boy was I pleasantly surprised when I opened up Simply Ancient Grains by Maria Speck.

http://images.randomhouse.com/cover/9781607745884?height=450&alt=no_cover_b4b.gif

This is the author’s second cookbook where she helps to demystify the use of some of the more obscure whole grains and help the at home cook easily add them to their weekly menus. Maria brings flavors from her Greek and German family background to present a Mediterranean menu that is mostly vegetarian and gluten free.

I learned that quinoa and buckwheat are not grains at all but seeds! Who knew? I also thought that I had tried “all the grains” but I learned of a few, new to me, that I can’t wait to try.

The author remarks that often home cooks are leery of cooking or experimenting with whole grains for fear that it is too time consuming. She offers an extensive lesson on how to prepare and prep your grains for easy cooking with descriptions of soaking and cooking methods.

Maria suggests that the reader approach cooking grains as a 2 step process the same way you might marinate a meat for a few hours before cooking it. She explains in depth how to do this for everything from steel cut oatmeal to amaranth so that you can easily incorporate whole grains into every meal.

Her creative use of spices and flavor profiles has me wanting to make everything in here. From “minted summer couscous with watermelon and feta” to “Greek inspired artichokes with barley and tomato”.

Maria Speck (source)

Photo credit  (PenguinRandomHouse)

I learned so much from @MariaSpeck about #wholeGrains check out my review

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Could you find her recipes on Pinterest or online? Probably- but you would be missing out on the extensive information she offers on cooking, storing and introducing all these whole grains easily into your diet not to mention the mouth watering photos.  This cookbook is a great reference to have and a keeper in my mind. You can easily find it on Amazon (affiliate link) and it would make a great Mother’s Day gift.

 

(I received a copy of Simply Ancient Grains from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.)

What was the last Cookbook you purchased? What’s your favorite whole grain?

Wow workout link up linking up w Diatta and Shiela

Comments

  5. This cookbook sounds really good. I’ve been wanting to try to cook with more whole grains so I might have to check it out. I’m usually the type of person who tries to get most of my recipes off the internet so I don’t have cookbooks cluttering up my house but this one sounds pretty worthwhile.
    Beth @ Bolting Butterfly recently posted…Friday Five: 5 Blogs to LoveMy Profile

  10. This sounds like a great book. The main barrier keeping me from regularly cooking with whole grains is how time-consuming it is. What a simple idea to turn it into a 2-step process!
    Molly @alsoranagain recently posted…Workout WednesdayMy Profile

  11. I am currently cooking my way through Cindy Lane Ross’s Fat to Fit cookbook, LOVE IT! This book might be my next, thanks for posting.

    • Exactly! You really do miss that when you just have a recipe online or pinterest. She really taught me a lot and I can’t wait to try all the new stuff.

  18. I recently got a Trisha Yearwood cookbook and I really like her style! I’m not going to lie, I’m probably not going to be one to use a grain I have to prep in advance…it’s just not the stage of life I’m in right now but I think it’s cool when people do!
    Kate @KateMovingForward recently posted…Weight Watchers Week 12My Profile

  26. When I taught High school Nutrition, we did a whole unit on grains! There is so much to learn! I usually get cookbooks as gifts so it has been a while since I bought one for myself but I do believe it was a Disney cookbook and I can honestly say I never made anything out of it…lol. -M

  27. Sounds yummy! I have my hubby convinced that quinoa is a rice- lets not tell him it is a seed, that would be considered hippy food here! LOL! The last cookbook I actually bought was our Junior League cookbook. I love the pictures in cookbooks- they make you think you can grab it off the page and eat it!
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