Simply Ancient Grains + 5-Ingredient Muesli

I love healthifying recipes, and having some inspiration is always nice, so when I first came across Simply Ancient Grains, I was intrigued…but also somewhat wary. I was slightly worried that I wouldn’t be able to find anything I really wanted to make in here. What if it had all sorts of special way-out-there ingredients that I couldn’t obtain? (I live somewhat in the middle of nowhere, so it’s a legitimate concern. :[ )

But I’m glad I gave it a chance!

To preface, this book is not only about grains–things like amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa are technically seeds, but they’re included in here since they have a similar nutritional profile + are eaten like grains.

Simply Ancient Grains

By Maria Speck

Genre: Cookbook
Pages: 262

Maria starts off with an introduction to a ton of different types of grains (+ indicates which ones are gluten-free), followed by different methods on cooking them, as well as tips on soaking, toasting, making ahead, reheating, freezing, storing, baking… I very happily discovered the rice cooker method a couple years back (e.g. this recipe for Quinoa with Salmon, Corn & Edamame), and even that’s included in there, with a shoutout to Jeanette!

You can approach this book in a couple different ways:

1. Go to the “Pick Your Grains” table at the front and get inspired.
2. Open a page and just start cookin’!

There are several handy charts on quick- + slow-cooking whole grains, with the amount of grains, amount of water needed, the required cooking time, approximate yield, whether or not it needs to soak…she was super thorough, so she’s got em’ all down!

Breakfast – Warming Bowls For Busy Mornings

Orange-Scented Amaranth Porridge with Apricots & Pine Nuts, Coconut Buckwheat Porridge with Cinnamon & Buttered Dates, Breakfast Polentina with Strawberries, Poppy Seeds & Lime, Minute-Oatmeal Puffs with Anise and Grapes…

Burgundy Bulgur with Blueberries & Orange Blossom Water

Slow Mornings – Brunch, Lunch, & Breakfast-For-Dinner

Oatmeal Butternut Pancakes with Browned Buttered Nuts

I think it goes without being said that I love this chapter. It’s divided into 3 sections:

• • Gently sweet (Farro Scones with Almonds, Apples and Thyme, Dark Chocolate Spelt Waffles with Chile & Warm Raspberry Sauce…)
  • Savory (Red Rice Shakshuka with Feta Cheese, Olive Oil Popcorn with Aleppo Pepper & Flaked Sea Salt…)
  • Sumptuous (Red Rice & Beet Cakes with Honey Mustard, Minted Lamb Sliders with Pine Nuts & Currants…)

Salads & Sides – For Every Day & For Holidays

Minted Summer Couscous with Watermelon & Feta

• Salads (Freekeh Salad with Caramelized Cauliflower & Tuna, Warm Wild Rice Salad with Herb-Roasted Mushrooms & Parmesan…)
• Sides (Creamy Millet with Yogurt, Avocado & Basil, Roasted Pomegranate Tomatoes with Fresh Mozzarella & Lime…)
• Holidays (Quinoa Bites with Smoked Salmon & Dill, Barley & Wild Rice Dressing with Fennel, Apples & Marsala…)

Oven-Roasted Tofu with Mediterranean Herbs

Soups & Stews – For Busy Nights & Slow Weekends

Cumin-Scented Cauliflower Soup with Salmon, Freekeh Soup with Spicy Harissa Shrimp + Dates, Chicken Stew with Honey-Balsamic Squash & Farro, Spicy Beef Chili with Amaranth & Lime…

Kamut Salad with Oranges, Leeks & Blue Cheese

Pasta

Fusili with Tahini Yogurt Sauce & Nigella Seeds, Kamut Spaghetti with Saffron-Infused Tomato Sauce, Farro Pasta Cacio e Pepe…

Simply Mains – For Busy Nights & Slow Weekends

Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Hazelnut Buckwheat Stuffing, Proscuitto-Wrapped Roasted Bass with Teff Polenta, Roasted One-Pan Chicken with Leeks & Barley, Roasted Eggplant Fan with Tomatoes, Spelt & Mozzarella…

Vegetarian Wild Rice Paella with Sweet Potatoes, Tart Cherries, and Gorgonzola

Simple & Sweet – Desserts For Every Day & For The Holidays

Barley Thumbprints with Honey & Hazelnuts

• Desserts by the spoonful (Light Lemon Custard with Blackberries & Pomegranate Molasses, Greek Yogurt Chocolate Mousse…)
• Cakes & cookies (Cardamom-Scented Barley Cake with Grapes & Rose Petals, Jugu Cakes: East African-Indian Peanut Biscotti…)
• Festive favorites (Amaranth Pudding with Honey & Hazelnuts, Nantucket Cranberry Cake with Currants & Grand Marnier…)

Candied Squash Torte with Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline

In each of her recipes, she gives suggestions on variations in case you can’t find certain ingredients and/or it’s not the right season for them. She also indicates which recipes are gluten-free (roughly 2/3 of the recipes in here have at least one gluten-free option!). Most of the recipes in here are vegetarian, and if any meat is used, she offers up a meatless variation wherever possible.

Since I’m in medical school and time is always an issue, my personal favorite is that she throws in a ton of tips to help you streamline your cooking + de-stress your schedule with make-ahead instructions. You can make super-fancy-looking/sounding recipes without spending hours in the kitchen or shelling out money for a billion ingredients–what’s not to like?

I’m sure by now that you’re at least somewhat aware of how much I love food. When I had a horrible headache last year, my brother read me descriptions of food to distract me (kinda like a bedtime story), and I drifted off into a nice long nap that cured said headache. So of course, I loved all the matte pages of gorgeous food photography in here! I was sad that there wasn’t more of it, but the recipes more than make up for it, and I can’t wait to try them out (especially the veggie paella!). Maria Speck has truly found a way to make these ancient grains shine!

I’m sharing her super-simple formula for muesli, because this girl is currently swamped with exams all over the place, along with a whole lot of scheduling frustrations and woes about the future (I may elaborate sometime in the future, perhaps when all is said and done). For now, enjoy this super-simple breakfast/snack recipe!

The original recipe from Simply Ancient Grains makes 10 1/2-cup servings, but…I only wanted 1 serving, so I scaled it down to the max. :O If you’re making this in bulk, combine the ingredients into a tall glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, and shake it up, or stir with a soup spoon! It should last at room temperature for at least 4 weeks!

5-Ingredient Muesli

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats (or any other grain flakes, e.g. rye, barley, quinoa, spelt, wheat, or a mixture)
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (e.g. almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or a mixture–I used walnuts)
• 1/8 cup seeds (e.g. sesame, flax, pumpkin–I used sunflower seeds)
• 1/3 cup dried fruit, chopped (e.g. apricots, figs, dates, prunes, raisins–I used a mixture of cranberry + longan*)
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

Instructions:

1.  Add all ingredients into a bowl, and stir to combine.
2. Add it to Greek yogurt, kefir, or milk, and place in fridge overnight to soften the grain flakes. Top with chopped fresh fruit, if desired.

*If you’ve never heard of longan, they made their first debut on this blog in my Lychee Jasmine Tea recipe!

• What’s your favorite grain?
• Is there an ancient grain you’ve always been curious about?
• Do you have a favorite quick + healthy breakfast recipe? Share it with me in the comments!