Notes about Recipes in this book

• Vegetable and grits pot pie

  • IvyManning on December 13, 2017

    Bland and stodgy. Won't make this again.

• Pumpkin-quinoa soufflé

  • IvyManning on October 22, 2014

    Really bland with a weird texture

• Barley risotto with mushrooms and leeks

  • TrishaCP on May 04, 2015

    I made the slow-cooker variation (cooked 8 hours), and it came out pretty well. It didn't have the texture of a proper risotto though, perhaps because of the slow-cooker, but the barley stayed fairly intact and not too mushy. I didn't like the flavor of saffron with the other ingredients (strange because I usually love it), and so would omit it in the future.

• Slow-cooker oat groat porridge

  • monica107 on January 20, 2014

    This was not great. I followed the directions exactly and cooked it overnight. When I looked at it in the morning, it was starting to burn around one of the long edges of the oval slow cooker. It was salvaged fairly easily, but it was not that good anyway - it was pretty bland. I am not going to make it again.

• Farro with nectarines, basil, and toasted pine nuts

  • dinnermints on July 15, 2015

    So summery, simple, and delicious. Great for a potluck, and hearty enough for a light dinner (I usually serve it on a big bed of salad). The ricotta salata is easier to grate than crumble, unless you buy it crumbled.

• Deconstructed Kamut Caesar salad

  • dinnermints on June 23, 2015

    Very flavorful. I didn't have capers and substituted 5 chopped Kalamata olives instead. As dinner, 1.5 servings worked better for us, and I served it on a big bed of green salad that I'd sprinkled with a little balsamic vinegar and lavender salt, and added a couple ounces of tuna for extra protein. I didn't bone my anchovy fillets (they're put through a garlic press) and so far haven't noticed any bones, but maybe next time would take the time to do that.

• Spelt berry salad with white beans, sage, and ham

  • dinnermints on June 28, 2022

    Solid salad, quick to make. I doubled the recipe but just used 4 tablespoons of oil and 4 tablespoons of sherry vinegar, and that was perfect. For the radishes, grating a daikon radish in the food processor is easiest, although I wish I’d found a purple daikon for a bit more color. There’s not a ton of veg in this salad, so I served it on a bed of arugula with salad veggies along the edges. With that and some red pickled onion and urfa biber sprinkled on top, it looks very appealing, but otherwise the salad on its own is overall quite beige.

• Brown rice salad with red peppers and dried apricots

  • dinnermints on September 24, 2016

    As with most of the recipes in this book, great flavors. I imagine the primary reason one doesn't see rice salads using black glutinous rice (which is what I subbed in this recipe) is that one doesn't want to see one's rice salad slithering off one's spoon, but no matter - tastes great, sticks to the ribs. I made double the recipe and froze a bunch of it for lunches, added some dry jack cheese for extra protein.

• Triticale with smoked trout and artichokes in a lemon tahini dressing

  • dinnermints on June 19, 2016

    I altered this salad quite a bit, but a lot of the flavor is in the dressing - which is fantastic. I wanted this salad for lunches, so I made a double recipe (didn't double the smoked trout, though), slightly increased the the tahini, decreased the olive oil, and added more vegetables. I couldn't find triticale, so used purple barley instead. Changes (single recipe quantities): 2 T tahini, 2 T olive oil, 1 cup chopped fennel, 8 oz firm tofu, 2 oz aged cow cheese, 1 oz pepitas, 1 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano, 1 cup chopped garlic chives. I packed it all into eight wide-mouth pint jars and will freeze them.

• Asian picadillo with Job's tears

  • dinnermints on June 16, 2016

    Very good! I used a mix of black & white sesame seeds, and would decrease the Asian fish sauce down to two tablespoons. Oat groats are suggested as a substitute, and barley (esp. black/purple barley) would work as well, but the Job's tears are pretty damn good in this and are unique. To up the protein, I cooked up a bunch of mung beans and mashed them to spread on the lettuce leaves before piling the picadillo on top, and that was a nice combo.

• Spanish-inspired black barley salad with chickpeas, dates, and toasted almonds

  • dinnermints on May 15, 2015

    I've made this a couple of times now - it is truly delicious, and the black (also known as purple, think it's the same stuff) barley is both gorgeous to look at and fun to introduce people to. If black/purple barley can't be found, hulled/hull-less (not pearled) barley could be used and cooked in the same way. Salad won't be as striking, but will still be delish. And while barley has gluten, it could be made with a combo of black rice and red or black quinoa for gluten-free folks. I added some parsley just for the additional color, and fresh oregano would be nice instead of the dried.

• Celery root and sorghum gratin

  • dinnermints on March 29, 2017

    Good, but perhaps not worth the effort. Also, given the considerable amount of work it takes, the authors should have maybe paused to take note of an important missing ingredient: salt. I looked up some other gratin recipes and added 1/2 tsp with the scallions, but it could have used more (and/or the blanching water for the celery root could have been generously salted). The celery root got a bit mushy, but I might have left it blanching a few minutes too long. And I wished my celery root had been bigger to create a more complete layer (was under 2lb). It took about 15min for the milk/flour/scallions combo to thicken to the extent where it bubbled, or close.

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  ...may not...be the whole-grains cookbook that will change your life, assure your longevity, and hand you the keys to the heaven of righteous eaters. But at the moment, I can’t think of a better one.

  Full review

• Epicurious

  ...their writing is both informative, personal, and inflected with humor--all of which should make the topic more enjoyable to read about, and hopefully eat.

  Full review

• The Miami Herald

  The book focuses on adding “real” foods like whole grains to one’s diet rather than cutting foods out.

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  ...packed with tempting vegetarian and vegan recipes (though not limited to them; you'll also see meat-and-grain stews, casseroles, and the like) ...will have you looking at grains in a whole new way.

  Full review

• Los Angeles Times

  ...catalog of whole-grain main dish inspiration - and not just with the recipes. In today's perky, polka dot-covered, food blog writing era, (authors) are forthright with their picadillo opinions...

  Full review

• Weight Watchers

  I see a lot of cookbooks...very few do what this one did, which was to make me rethink the way I shop and cook. Thank you, guys.

  Full review