New recipes

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I've just recently started doing more cooking with whole grains. We've used brown rice for quite a few years, but never soaked it... in reading some of my regular blogs, I've learned that the phytates found in whole grains inhibit our bodies' absorption of the nutrients. Soaking the grains prior to cooking dissipates the phytates and releases the nutrients that we need. Along with making the grains more easily digestible (fewer issues with gastrointestinal discomfort), they become better for us. Since reading that, I've started soaking the rice for several hours prior to cooking it. My rice now comes out perfectly every time. Before I started soaking it, I would sometime get rice that was still hard and crunchy in the middle. Now, it is perfectly textured, flavorful and creamy. YUMMMM!

Last week, the same night I dropped the toaster oven on my toe, I started a sourdough starter culture. Last night it was ready to be made into sourdough bread. The loaf is cooling now, and I can't wait to taste it later!

Sourdough Starter

1/2 cup freshly ground rye flour
1/2 cup filtered water

stir together in a large mason jar, cover loosely to protect from any insects (like the fly that got in here and is driving me batty), sit in a warm spot for 24 hours. I used a coffee filter to cover the starter the first night to let the wild yeast in the air get to the flour and water mixture, after I saw evidence of yeast activity (bubbly, wine-smelling mixture) I switched to the glass cover my jar came with. Each day for a week, feed the starter with equal parts (for large batches, use 1/2 cup amounts, if you don't mind making the bread more frequently you can use 1/4 cup amounts) fresh rye flour and filtered water (the filtering eliminates the chlorines and other toxins in our water supply, and allows the yeast to flourish... last time I'd tried making a starter it didn't work because of the chlorine in our water) After a week, it should be ready to make into bread. I'll post the results after I've tasted the bread.... and pictures after we get new batteries for the camera!


Blessings to you,