A few of my favorite grains...

Quinoa....okay, so quite a few people requested a "tutorial" which I would love to give, but could do that in person best. C'mon over!!! Or if you can't, it's a lot like rice, 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. I add salt to taste, if you saute onions and add olive oil, it's better. I actually browned chicken (with bones and skin...more flavorful) in the skillet first with a bit of olive oil, then added the quinoa and water and cooked it. Hope that helps!!!

Oats...we eat these pretty much every Wednesday and Friday for breakfast. Sometimes we make a buffet of it, with honey, cinnamon, a bowl of coconut, sliced almonds, raisins, or peanut butter. We got a canister of the John McCann's steel cut oats, but I like rolled ones best, they cook a bit quicker. I must say that I don't like the "quick oats" that have been rolled and chopped up so they're practically indistinguishable, I like to see my oat. Silly, I know.

Rice...there are so many varieties, but we usually get brown basmati...it takes a bit longer to cook than your white variation. I like it with black beans and cumin, a bit of fresh cilantro and tomatoes if we have them!!! My husband had a friend from Thailand who gave him a huge pot that holds a basket to boil sticky rice in...oh, you have to soak this stuff overnight first, too. It's really good, fun to eat with your fingers and dip into mango sauce!

Bulgur...my mom made a lot of tabouli this summer, it's so good, with fresh mint! I also love getting the Mediterranean sampler at Trader Joe's...it has tabouli, falafel, hummus and pita!

Buckwheat...again, my mom makes this best. She sautees onions and adds enough olive oil and salt, so that's it's tastey. I have to admit, I like it plain with honey drizzled on top for breakfast. Ground buckwheat is really great in pancake batter!

I try to make sure there is something beside wheat grains in our daily diet. Here is a list of other things I keep away from (someone at the school where I work lent me a book called Nourishing Traditions, because I told her I had so much leftover whey from the cheeses I've been making, but it also has some excellent thoughts on highly processed foods):

• soy (so highly processed, did you know it's used in making most plastics?)


• corn syrup


• MSG (monosodium glutamate)


• hydrogenated oils (we LOVE real butter)
  

Oh, Joscie, I do like Ramen noodles now and then...but I toss out that seasonings packet (full of MSG, it is known to give folks diarrhea) and add my own veggies. I'm certainly not a total health-nut, I'd love to be. I am going to use corn syrup this weekend and try to make some marshmallows!!! There's a recipe in my Joy of Cooking and it doesn't sound too complicated! I'll let you know how it goes.

We have a sick bunny in the house...usually they are in the hutch outside, but I think Twinkle got in a fight with a cat (sometimes, I let them run around the yard for a few hours, since it's fenced in). There is a cat in the neighborhood who jumps fences, she's quite adventurous and I've spotted her in our yard. Anyhow, Twinkle has been pulling hair out, and I saw that there was blood underneath, so I took her to the vet on Tuesday who confirmed that this was serious...and gave us an antibiotic for her. I've been putting the pills into a slice of banana and she gobbles them up. She eats our apple cores, loves dandelion greens and, of course, her alfalfa pellets (which Olivia is feeding her in the photo). The vet said that her wounds are so bad she has to stay inside, because flies will be all over her wounds...and then maggots...ew! So, please say a prayer for Twinkle!