How to Cook GRAINS

Draft and incomplete. XRG

GRAINS are seeds of GRASSES, which I have positioned as the first level of the Nine Levels of Food. I lifted and sifted a lot of nifty information from the web so thank you to (list).

Barley, Bulgur, Corn Grits, Millet, Oats, Rice, Rye flakes and Wheat are all grains we are familiar in modern-day West, and Rice, Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt are grains our Neolithic ancestors are reputed to have planted in early agricultural fields.

I omit Triticale as a grain option. This is an artifical cereal crop genus. I was privy to what I considered then, and know now, was a criminally insane and inhumane plan concerning engineered grains in general and Triticale in particular at a major oil company around 1982, especially with regard to the African continent. I do not advocate violence, and what I was privy to was tantamount to pre-planned mass genocide using food as the weapon, and that's violence. I made my opinions known, including the genocide part, and was regaled for my "edification" and corporate political "re-training" about the over-population of the planet part, and long term strategic planning theories of the Club of Rome part, and that all eventually led to the being "laid off" part. Wasn't the first, wasn't the last time I faced an opportunity to chose to live with grace.

Grains all come with a fairly inedible outer husk, called chaff. When this is removed you have an edible but hard-as-nails berry covered with the protective coat known as bran, with all that good fiber. This layer is removed in processing to make the end product look white and pretty, pearly and polished. Inside the bran is the starchy part of a grain, called the endosperm and the germ. The germ is the part of the grain highest in nutrients. When grains are refined, the husk, bran, and germ are removed leaving only the endosperm. Oh damn!

Well, why not? Pipe down all you health-nut troublemakers, after all what would a country filled with healthy citizens DO for goodness sake, think for itself perhaps? Nope, we cannot have that mass-thinking stuff going on! What do you want - a nation of conspiracy theorists?

Quinoa and Amaranth are not exactly grains, but like the tomato, are actually classified as fruits. In include them in my grain category because common usage and food values classify them as grains.

• Millet is highest in nutritive values of all grains, including rice, and the easiest to digest, hence a food for breakfast, a food for late at night, a food for those recovering from illnesses.
• Amaranth has least carbs of all but a good mix of nutritive elements and protein.
• Quinoa contains highest protein of all grains and cooks quickly.

DIRECTIONS

1 cup grain, millet or quinoa or amaranth
2 cups water except for amaranth, which requires 2 1/2 to 3 cups water check with the labels.
Note: Water proportions decrease for 3+ cups.

Time for Amaranth: 25 minutes for 1 cup
Time for Millet: 25 minutes for 1 cup
Time for Quinoa: 15-20 minutes for 1 cup

DO:
Use heavy pot with tight fitting lid
Rinse grains before cooking to remove saponins
Boil water then add grain and bring to a boil again
Reduce heat, simmer for allotted times
Test for tenderness 5-10 minutes prior to done time
Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

DON'T:
Do not disturb during cooking
Fluff with a fork - do not stir

Optional Directions for Millet:

Toast millet before cooking: