Great Grains Recipes

Apple Pancakes

Spiced Cracked Wheat Cooked in Apple Juice with Honeyed Apple Slices

Buckwheat Almond Waffles

Breakfast Millet with Sun-dried Raisins and Apricots

Apple Pancakes
Makes 16

You can purchase oat flour, or you can make your own by placing regular rolled oats in a food processor and processing into flour. This recipe comes from a collection of Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers across the country.

1 cup oatmeal flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2-1/4 cups apple cider
3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
2 Tbs. canola oil
2 large apples, peeled and grated

Preheat griddle to 400º. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add cider, eggs, oil, and apples, and mix until just moistened. Bake on griddle until top bubbles and edges are dry. Flip, and bake the other side until golden brown. Serve with applesauce.

-Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast, Big Bay, MI

Buckwheat Almond Waffles
Serves 5

Buckwheat and almonds bolster each other to give these low-fat waffles plenty of nutty flavor.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup all-purpose four
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. safflower oil
1-3/4 cups buttermilk
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
2 Tbs. honey
1/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds

Preheat a waffle iron and lightly coat with vegetable cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, buttermilk, whole egg, egg whites, honey, and almonds. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just blended; the batter should be slightly lumpy.

Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter onto the prepared waffle iron and cook about 4 to 5 minutes, or until the waffle is golden brown and crisp. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the waffles immediately with fresh fruit or a drizzle of maple syrup.

-Great Grains by Linda Drachman and Peter Wynne

Breakfast Millet with Sun-dried Raisins and Apricots
Serves 4-6

Sweet-tart, crunchy, and mellow all describe this hearty breakfast cereal. It's a nice change from oatmeal on a blustery day. Pan toasting the millet before cooking gives it wonderful flavor and it only takes a minute. The texture will be a little crunchy, but if you prefer it softer and more like porridge, add an extra 1/4 cup of water during cooking. Raisins add sweetness, but a drizzle of honey over the nonfat yogurt would be delicious.

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup millet
2 cups water
1/2 cup sun-dried raisins
1/2 cup dried apricot, snipped into pieces
3-inch cinnamon stick, or 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Plain nonfat yogurt
Honey (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Stir in millet until it begins to smell toasty and has turned golden. Add water, sun-dried raisins, apricots, and cinnamon stick. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, turn heat down to simmer, and cook 25 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Remove cinnamon stick, and serve topped with a generous amount of nonfat yogurt, honey to taste, and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.

-Nutrition Secrets of the Ancients by Gene Spiller and Rowena Hubbard

Spiced Cracked Wheat Cooked in Apple Juice with Honeyed Apple Slices
Serves 6

1-1/2 cups dried apple slices
1/2 cup boiling water
4 Tbs. honey
2 Tbs. butter
1 cup cracked wheat
3-1/2 cups apple juice
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom

Place dried apples, boiling water, and honey in a small bowl. Set aside. Melt butter in a 3-quart non-stick saucepan. Add the cracked wheat and stir to coat. Toast, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes.

In a small saucepan, bring apple juice to a boil. Add the boiling apple juice and spices to the cracked wheat. (It will sputter a bit.) Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 5-10 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Top with warm apple honey mixture. Pour milk over top, if desired.

-The Versatile Grain and the Elegant Bean, by Sheryl and Mel London

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