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.
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”.
Photo credit (PenguinRandomHouse)
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?
linking up w Diatta and Shiela
There are so many wonderful recipes online but sometimes you just need to have a hold in your hands cookbook 🙂 The last cookbook I bought was Inspiralized.
Totally agree! I learned a ton from this book
Call me old school but I still love hard copy cookbooks! I was going to say quinoa was my favorite, but now I know it’s a SEED. : )
LOL it sure is!
I took an online class on whole grains on Craftsy last year and I’ve been obsessed with trying new ones since then. Need to check out this cookbook 😀
It’s really great at explaining everything and giving cooking tips I didn’t know about
I love ancient grains–whenever I cook with them I immediately can tell the difference in taste and texture! I love the nuttiness they impart!
So do I! I got some great tips in this book
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.
I do too but some are worth having as a reference and I would suggest this one for sure.
I think I may need to read this one. I like trying new grains!
So do I! Who knew there were so many I hadn’t tried yet?
I love cookbooks in paper-form and this one looks beautiful! I could definitely learn some more about grains.
I learned a ton!
I do like to find recipes on line, but sometimes you need a good cook book to really dig in and expand your skills. I love all grains — and seeds!
absolutely agree! Great reference book.
I’m very interested in learning more about ancient grains. This looks like a great book for that! Thanks for the review.
I am truly enjoying it-great reference
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!
She has some great time saving tips in here
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.
I’ve not heard of that one yet either. This was truly a great reference.
This sounds like a cool cookbook! I love Mediterranean flavors. I don’t enjoy looking through and cooking from electronic recipes as I do hard copies of cookbooks 🙂
I know you don’t get the same feel on line do you?
I’ve been making amarynth for Dave and I lately, it’s a nice change. We are cutting oats out of our diets for a bit (Dave seems to have a sensitivity to them and I’m noticing a pretty drastic change in my bloating everyday without them). I bet this book would be a wealth of knowledge!
I was surprised by how much I learned from her
Great review! I’ve received cook books as gifts, but I’m usually too intimidated to try some of the more ambitious meals. I need to learn more about whole grains! #wowlinkup
you do! Don’t be scared
This sounds like a great book! I haven’t purchased a cookbook in a while, but I won one called Rawesome Vegan Baking and it’s my new fave! I also got a few last year for Hanukkah 🙂
I’ve not heard of that one either! I like a real book sometimes vs the online recipes
This is what I love about an actual cookbook. They are far more than just a recipe they actually teach (well most:) I’ve actually only recently been adding more to my cookbook collection:)
This one looks like a great one!
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.
I love my “Practical Paleo” cookbook!!
my daughter is on paleo I should check it out!
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!
You would be surprised how easy they are to make!
I love all of the whole grains. My favorites are quinoa, farro, barley and bulgar!
I love those too and there were some here I never tried before.
I just won a cookbook and I’m can’t wait to make some of the recipes. I usually just go to Cooking Light to find a new recipe. The above book looks really interesting. #wowlinkup
I thought so too!
Very interesting! I do want to cook more with quinoa I just never know what to make because to me, quinoa is so bland. My friend raves about buckwheat – I have yet to try it!
I like buckwheat too. Quinoa can be bland but depends what you do with it.
I haven’t bought a cookbook in years! I am never good at recipes…I put a shake of this and a dash of that….lol!!
quinoa and buckwheat are not grains at all but seeds….WHAT!?!?
Ha I know really! Come check out our Meatless Mondays posts. My recipes are not too complicated and super yummy.
I LOVE cookbooks! I don’t care how many blogs I read or recipes I pin, I love the idea of flipping through an actual cookbook. Last cookbook I bought was the Vegetarian Food Bible!
I love flipping through cookbooks too! Old school in that way I guess. I always learn something new.
I don’t own a single cookbook 🙁 I just google recipes when I need to. Luckily for me, work provides 100% subsidized lunch and dinner Monday – Friday (tons of options…even healthy ones!)
Well that’s a great plus at your workplace! But what’s for dinner??
Very cool! Thanks for sharing. I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I purchased a cook book. 😉
I know but they are so great to have! Something about looking through them is still so much better than just an online recipe.
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
ha ha! I hadn’t bought one in a while either and I am loving all that I have learned so far.
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!
I love the pictures too! It makes me want to cook everything
I love cookbooks!! Especially beautiful ones like this!! Such a great find! 🙂
I am loving it and I have learned so much!
I love cookbooks, and this one sounds fantastic, especially since I’ve been eating a lot of quinoa lately 🙂
This will give you many more ideas!
Chef Ahki knows quite a bit about grains vs. seeds vs. nuts and she is amazing! I guess we just learn something new every day. #wowlinkup
I loved learning all of this!!