Re: Cooking Grains

[Guest guest]

I cook my oats in the water & whey that they soaked overnight in.

Haven't tried soaking chickpeas yet. Regarding kasha: are you using

buckwheat seeds that have NOT been roasted? Also, you soak them overnight

the first night only. Then you drain the water, tilt the jar at an angle so

the seeds are only damp and not soaking in water this whole time. You rinse

the seeds several times a day but after each rinsing you drain the water.

Are you draining the water out? Any questions re-read page 113 the third

paragraph down. I had to re-read it several times as it's a bit confusing

the first time around. My son's science project is on sprouting grains, nuts

and seeds.

Regarding the flour: you can either grind the grains as they are from the

store or you can sprout them first. If you grind them as they are from the

store then you need to soak them overnight in a fermented dairy product to

start the predigestion process. If you sprout them first, then you do not

need to soak them overnight. If you sprout your grains, you need to dry them

out again after sprouting. I do this in my food dehydrator. After they are

completely dry, then you grind them up. This sounds crazy, sprout them then

dry them so you have something similar to what you started with. Remember,

it's the nutritional value you are trying to maximize. The sprouting method

works great for cookies and things that don't call for milk, buttermilk, etc

in the recipe. The soaking working great for things like pancakes, etc that

you would use buttermilk or kefir in anyway.

You can use storebought flour however it isn't as flavorful and doesn't

contain the vitamins and minerals that fresh ground contains.

[Guest guest]

umbasheer@... wrote:

> Also I tried my hand at some yoghurt last night. This was my first

> project. It did not come out so great. It says leave the mixture in

> the oven over night at 150 degrees. My oven doesn't have any

> numbers on the dial before 200 degrees. Maybe it was a little too

> hot, because it had a orangish brown film on the top. And it didn't

> taste so great.

That doesn't surprise me... anything over 120 degrees F kills the

culture. You basically ended up with some overcooked milk.

--

MG

[Guest guest]

Hello:

But the book said to leave it in an oven at 150 Degrees over night. Is this

a typo or a mistake? I was pretty much going by the book. Okay I will try

this again. Thank You for the info.

[Guest guest]

Thanks . And yes you are right it was confusing and I guess I didn't

get the draining part. My Kasha has been sitting in water for over three

days. I will try this again. Also thanks for explaining to me about the

flour.

And today I see sprouts coming out of my chick peas. Hooray! I finally

got something right. Oh I forgot to share with you all about my salad

dressing. I made the basic dressing with garlic. It tastes very good. So I

got two hits and two misses. Where would that leave me if I was playing

baseball? )) I'll try the yogurt again tonight.

Thanks everyone.

Kareemah

[Guest guest]

Okay I have another question:

Nurishing Traditions says to heat the milk gently to 180 Degrees. Then

let it cool down to 110 degrees. Then it says to add the commercial yogurt.

Then it says to sit in oven (at 150 degrees)

Is it incorrect also to heat it to 180 degrees initially? Since this

also a high temperature. Can you send me the correct instructions as soon as

possible. I want to make the yogurt tonight because my milk is a week old

already. Also I don't want to waste anymore milk by preparing it

incorrectly.

Thank you very much,

Kareemah

[Guest guest]

I leave my yogurt in the dehydrator set at 110 and it turns out just fine.

[Guest guest]

You can now consider yourself a nourishing traditions expert! As a friend

says, they aren't misses as you call them or flops as my kids call them but

learning experiences. My daughter surprised me one day when I made something

for the first time out of the cookbook. I asked her if she would like to try

it. She asked me if I had made it before and I responded no. So she said

she would let her brother and Dad try it first. Even the kids recognize it

takes a few tries before we get it right.

[Guest guest]

Thanks a bunch for the information Everyone!

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the encouraging words . This is exactly what my computer

teacher always says. We have learning experiences and not mistakes. ))

I have another question. What do you do with the sprouts once you have

sporouted beans and other goods? Do you pick them out or just cook them

along with the beans or grains?

Thanks all for your support,

Kareemah

[Guest guest]

This is our first try at sprouting. As I mentioned, this is my son's science

project. I hadn't tackled sprouting grains yet so thought this would be an

opportunity for Mom and son to learn together. Right now we have six jars

sprouting. Each jar has it's own item in it. There's a jar with kamut in

it, another with spelt, one with almonds, one with hazelnuts, another with

sunflower seeds and another one with pumpkin seeds. Last week we tried the

kamut and spelt. We sprouted them for a couple days then stopped. We tried

drying part of them in the dehydrator which worked fine, then I ground some

up into flour. We didn't like the kamut as it was grainy, but it is always

grainy so that wasn't a surprise. Will try the spelt next time. Then we put

some in the refrigerator overnight. When we looked at them the next day, the

sprouts had continued growing. I had intended to put the grain sprouts in

some soup but the sprouts had taken off and continued to grow and were about

1 " long so that was one of our learning experiences, we both looked at each

other and said yuck, 1 " long sprouts in soup didn't sound real appetizing.

So, we are still learning as well.

[Guest guest]

Hello All;

I'm a new member, but an experienced yoghurt-maker, so can answer the below

question.

Where the book says do yoghurt at 150F this is a Misprint! The 0 and 5 were

reversed.

Yoghurt is always done at oven temp of 105F (one hundred and five). I found

anywhere from 100 to 110 works OK, and got that heat be putting a different

light bulb in the oven light socket, then wedging the door slightly open. The

door wedging adjust the temperature.

>> Also I tried my hand at some yoghurt last night. This was my first

> project. It did not come out so great. It says leave the mixture in the oven

> over night at 150 degrees. My oven doesn't have any numbers on the dial

> before 200 degrees. Maybe it was a little too hot, because it had a orangish

> brown film on the top. And it didn't taste so great. I made a peach

> smoothie out of some of it. The rest I am eating with meals. ( I don't want

> to waste it because the milk is so expensive) But is all the nutrients

> still okay and in tact. It was definitely in the oven under 200 degrees but

> it may have been a little higher than 150 degrees.

> Any similar experiences, or advice? I'm going to try again tommorow

> night.

>

> Thanks,

> Kareemah

[Guest guest]

For yoghurt, even pasteurised milk has germs still in it, so should be heated to

180F to sterilize, then cool to 110 and put in the yoghurt starter.

I tried not sterilizing, and got some strange tasting stuff, not pleasant.

> Okay I have another question:

> Nurishing Traditions says to heat the milk gently to 180 Degrees. Then

> let it cool down to 110 degrees. Then it says to add the commercial yogurt.

> Then it says to sit in oven (at 150 degrees)

> Is it incorrect also to heat it to 180 degrees initially? Since this

> also a high temperature. Can you send me the correct instructions as soon as

> possible. I want to make the yogurt tonight because my milk is a week old

> already. Also I don't want to waste anymore milk by preparing it

> incorrectly.

>

>

> Thank you very much,

> Kareemah

[Guest guest]

Janice,

I've heard that alfalfa sprouts are unhealthy to eat because they contain e.coli, or some sort of unhealthy (for humans) organisim.

Dana

In a message dated 2/14/2001 10:29:55 AM Pacific Standard Time, warm_bodies_@... writes:

Can you eat absolutely any sprouts raw?Are any poisonous?Would be glad to hear any facts or thoughts on this.Thank you

-Janice

[Guest guest]

Can you eat absolutely any sprouts raw?Are any poisonous?Would be glad to

hear any facts or thoughts on this.Thank you

-Janice

_________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

[Guest guest]

* umbasheer@... (umbasheer@...) [010214 08:37]:

* Subject: Re: Cooking Grains:

> Okay I have another question:

> Nurishing Traditions says to heat the milk gently to 180 Degrees. Then

> let it cool down to 110 degrees. Then it says to add the commercial yogurt.

> Then it says to sit in oven (at 150 degrees)

> Is it incorrect also to heat it to 180 degrees initially? Since this

> also a high temperature. Can you send me the correct instructions as soon as

> possible. I want to make the yogurt tonight because my milk is a week old

> already. Also I don't want to waste anymore milk by preparing it

> incorrectly.

I'm not an expert, but I think there are a few things

that are relevant. You heat the milk to 180 degrees

to kill all the organisms in the milk. I personally

don't like that at all since it's guaranteed that ALL

the enzymes and many of the nutrients will be destroyed.

So, since I use raw milk, and I presume that the

organisms in the raw milk are beneficial (many of the

same ones in the yogurt culture!), I always skip this

step.

The next problem is to keep the milk/yogurt-culture

at an optimal temperature. As I understand it, the

yogurt culture bacteria die at above 120 degrees F

so that is an upper limit. You don't want to add

the yogurt culture to the milk if it is above that

temperature. It's also felt that other organisms can

" prosper " at temperatures below something like 108

degrees, so most people try to keep the temperature

at 108 to 112 degree while the milk is culturing.

This takes from 3 to 12 hours, I usually leave it

towards the upper end -- about 10 hours. The longer

you leave it, the more " acidy " it'll taste and the

more carbohydrates (lactose) will be consumed.

The problem is that many of us don't have a nice

stable temperature source so we're forced to use

tricks. One trick is to _pre-heat_ the oven to

about 150 degrees, put the culture into the oven

in a closed container (closed so that it'll provide

a little insulation and a little more temperature

stability), and then turn the oven *off*! The hope

is that if you keep the oven lid closed that the

milk/yogurt liquid will stay less than 120 degrees

but more than 108 degrees for the first several

hours allowing the beneficial bacteria population

to overwhelm the undesirable species. After that,

it shouldn't matter much, because the population

battle has been won by the " good guys! "

Another way to do it is to use a thermos bottle to

try to keep the temperature in a desirable range for

the first several hours.

The last, and maybe best way (the one I use!), is

to pack a thick towel or blanket into the bottom of

a box, put an electric pad in next, put your milk/

yogurt mix in a closed container in next, and covering

the whole thing with another thick towel or blanket.

Obviously, the towel and/or blanket is there to

provide insulation, but this " poor man's " approach,

like the others, does not " actively " keep the temperature

in the correct range. So you have to experiment with

it to find the setting on the heating pad with the right

combinations of insulation to keep the temperature

in the right range.

--alan

[Guest guest]

Too true - its a nuisance, which is why I did kéfir instead. Kéfir brews at=

room temperature, and the community of healthy bacteria is strong enough to=

kill all the bad bugs. Can also change the brewing time to make it more or =

less acidic.

Lucky are those who can get raw milk.

> * umbasheer@a... (umbasheer@a...) [010214 08:37]:

> * Subject: Re: Cooking Grains:

> > Okay I have another question:

> > Nurishing Traditions says to heat the milk gently to 180 Degrees. T=

hen

> > let it cool down to 110 degrees. Then it says to add the commercial yo=

gurt.

> > Then it says to sit in oven (at 150 degrees)

> > Is it incorrect also to heat it to 180 degrees initially? Since th=

is

> > also a high temperature. Can you send me the correct instructions as s=

oon as

> > possible. I want to make the yogurt tonight because my milk is a week=

old

> > already. Also I don't want to waste anymore milk by preparing it

> > incorrectly.

>

> I'm not an expert, but I think there are a few things

> that are relevant. You heat the milk to 180 degrees

> to kill all the organisms in the milk. I personally

> don't like that at all since it's guaranteed that ALL

> the enzymes and many of the nutrients will be destroyed.

> So, since I use raw milk, and I presume that the

> organisms in the raw milk are beneficial (many of the

> same ones in the yogurt culture!), I always skip this

> step.

>

> The next problem is to keep the milk/yogurt-culture

> at an optimal temperature. As I understand it, the

> yogurt culture bacteria die at above 120 degrees F

> so that is an upper limit. You don't want to add

> the yogurt culture to the milk if it is above that

> temperature. It's also felt that other organisms can

> " prosper " at temperatures below something like 108

> degrees, so most people try to keep the temperature

> at 108 to 112 degree while the milk is culturing.

> This takes from 3 to 12 hours, I usually leave it

> towards the upper end -- about 10 hours. The longer

> you leave it, the more " acidy " it'll taste and the

> more carbohydrates (lactose) will be consumed.

>

> The problem is that many of us don't have a nice

> stable temperature source so we're forced to use

> tricks. One trick is to _pre-heat_ the oven to

> about 150 degrees, put the culture into the oven

> in a closed container (closed so that it'll provide

> a little insulation and a little more temperature

> stability), and then turn the oven *off*! The hope

> is that if you keep the oven lid closed that the

> milk/yogurt liquid will stay less than 120 degrees

> but more than 108 degrees for the first several

> hours allowing the beneficial bacteria population

> to overwhelm the undesirable species. After that,

> it shouldn't matter much, because the population

> battle has been won by the " good guys! "

>

> Another way to do it is to use a thermos bottle to

> try to keep the temperature in a desirable range for

> the first several hours.

>

> The last, and maybe best way (the one I use!), is

> to pack a thick towel or blanket into the bottom of

> a box, put an electric pad in next, put your milk/

> yogurt mix in a closed container in next, and covering

> the whole thing with another thick towel or blanket.

> Obviously, the towel and/or blanket is there to

> provide insulation, but this " poor man's " approach,

> like the others, does not " actively " keep the temperature

> in the correct range. So you have to experiment with

> it to find the setting on the heating pad with the right

> combinations of insulation to keep the temperature

> in the right range.

>

> --alan

[Guest guest]

>I leave my yogurt in the dehydrator set at 110 and it turns out just fine.

Wow, I've never thought of this. Have to try it out!!

a

[Guest guest]

Gavin,

The process is as follows:

We have a roller mill so we start with whole grain and roll it as the first

step. For softer grains like oat groats, this produces flakes; wheat, kamut and

other hard grains produce cracked grain. Set the mill to the consistency you

want and grind one cup of whole grain.

Put the rolled grain into a glass jar and add two cups of water

(non-chlorinated). Allow to soak for 8 to 12 hours.

Put the soaked grains and their soaking water into a pot. Add 2 more cups of

water and 1 tsp of celtic sea salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and let sit for

1bout 10 minutes. (Oats take a full 4 cups of water per cup of grain, other

grains may vary.)

Allow the cooked grains to cool to about 100 degrees ( a comfortable temperature

to your fourth finger).

Add 1 more teaspoon celtic sea salt, 1 capsule of Spectrabiotic ( proprietary

blend of eight probiotic bacteria offered by SimplexityHealth and available from

independent business associates like me). Stir this in and transfer to two pint

jars, leaving about 3/4 inch of head space. Put on good lids and screw the rings

on firmly. If the grains are a little thick, add a layer of water on the top.

This seems to help prevent mold.

Allow this to sit out at room temperature for two to three days.

When you open the jars, they should be bubbly and have a sharp (acidic) taste

and smell. They are great served over a bowl of soaked walnuts and chopped

apples. (I am anxiously waiting for our apples to ripen .)

If you have anymore questions, I'll try to answer them. I have never tried this

with any other probiotic bacteria than the one that I sell above. I can say that

they are excellent and produce good results.

Ellis Hein

cooking grains

>

>

> I soak my grain flakes over night. I was wondering if theres any

> advantage in eating my soaked grains raw in terms of enzyme

content. I

> prefer them cooked but would eat raw if this is nutritionally better.

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'll share my version as well. I have a Magic Mill grain mill, which

produces stone-ground flour and cracked grains. I set it for the coarsest

setting. Then I follow the Nourishing Tradition recipe for Breakfast

Porridge. (Soak 1 cup oats, rolled or cracked, in 1 cup warm water plus 2

tbs. whey, yoghurt, kefir or buttermilk for 7-24 hours). If cooking on the

stovetop, I add at least 1 more cup of boiling water and 1/2 tsp. sea salt

and cook.

I recently purchased a Sanyo microprocessor rice cooker that has a porridge

setting. It's a no-fuss method of cooking porridge.

After the cooked oatmeal has cooled off, I add about 2 tbs. naturally

fermented light miso. I leave the mixture at room temperature and then

usually refrigerate it. Except for soaking the oats first, this is the

Nourishing Traditions recipe for Miso Porridge.

Lynn

> Gavin,

>

> The process is as follows:

>

> We have a roller mill so we start with whole grain and roll it as the

first step. For softer grains like oat groats, this produces flakes; wheat,

kamut and other hard grains produce cracked grain. Set the mill to the

consistency you want and grind one cup of whole grain.

>

> Put the rolled grain into a glass jar and add two cups of water

(non-chlorinated). Allow to soak for 8 to 12 hours.

>

> Put the soaked grains and their soaking water into a pot. Add 2 more cups

of water and 1 tsp of celtic sea salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and let

sit for 1bout 10 minutes. (Oats take a full 4 cups of water per cup of

grain, other grains may vary.)

>

> Allow the cooked grains to cool to about 100 degrees ( a comfortable

temperature to your fourth finger).

>

> Add 1 more teaspoon celtic sea salt, 1 capsule of Spectrabiotic (

proprietary blend of eight probiotic bacteria offered by SimplexityHealth

and available from independent business associates like me). Stir this in

and transfer to two pint jars, leaving about 3/4 inch of head space. Put on

good lids and screw the rings on firmly. If the grains are a little thick,

add a layer of water on the top. This seems to help prevent mold.

>

> Allow this to sit out at room temperature for two to three days.

>

> When you open the jars, they should be bubbly and have a sharp (acidic)

taste and smell. They are great served over a bowl of soaked walnuts and

chopped apples. (I am anxiously waiting for our apples to ripen .)

>

> If you have anymore questions, I'll try to answer them. I have never tried

this with any other probiotic bacteria than the one that I sell above. I can

say that they are excellent and produce good results.

>

> Ellis

[Guest guest]

hi lynn, ellis

thanks for your descriptions... it sounds so good that my mouth was

watering while reading about it!

i might give it a try with some yoghurt to supply the bacteria.... and

maybe millet, my favourite!

gavin

> >

> > We soak our grains, cook them, innoculate them with a blend of

> probiotic bacteria, and let them ferment for 2 to 3 days. They are

> great and hold me much better than non-fermented grains. I can provide

> more information if you are interested.

> >

> > Ellis Hein

> > cooking grains

> >

> >

> > I soak my grain flakes over night. I was wondering if theres any

> > advantage in eating my soaked grains raw in terms of enzyme

> content. I

> > prefer them cooked but would eat raw if this is nutritionally

better.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >