Tuesday, June 3, 2008

White Wheat

As most of you know, I love my kitchen toys, and the grain mill is no exception. I've blogged about the mill before, but I thought it was a good time to revisit it again. First of all, there is nothing liked home milled flour. Absolutely nothing. Especially if you are a baking nut like myself, and a beautiful silky flour gets you going. When you grind your own wheat, the resulting flour is beautiful, soft, sweet and flavorful. It really is something to behold.

Now don't get me wrong. I do still buy some flour, such as white pastry or unbleached all-purpose (or vital wheat gluten), but I'm finding that white whole wheat flour works beautifully in so many recipes. White wheat often goes undetected in many of my baked goods, which is a great thing with a houseful of teenagers. My kids certainly wouldn't choose "healthy" tasting cookies, not in a million years, but I want them to get all of the wonderful benefits of whole grains. This is where white wheat has been my savior. No one detects a "healthy" taste, whether it be pancakes, chocolate cakes, cookies or breads. This is a very good thing.

So when I received an email last week, asking if I might be interested in purchasing some white wheat from Montana, my interest was piqued. It seems that a former student of mine became alarmed with the rising cost of wheat, and the lack of white wheat available. If you haven't heard yet, the cost of wheat has nearly doubled, and apparently white wheat is now hard to find. So she contacted a farm and was able to lock in a fantastic price, so long as she purchased an entire semi-truck load. We're talking thousands of pounds of wheat. The unbelievable thing is that she found homes for all of the wheat right away. Amazing. She's thinking about doing it again, and asked if I would help put the word out to see if there's enough interest for her to place another order. If you're interested, email me at the blog and I can put you in touch with her (blog@everydaydish.tv). You would need to be able to get to the Portland area to pick it up, and they are 50 pound bags. She isn't making a penny on this. She justs wants to help people out.

So, needless to say, not only is grinding your own flour fun, but it's an adventure too. Now, I just need to find a good use for my red lentil flour. Any ideas?


Oh, and before I sign off, we have a new recipe and video up on everyday dish. Peanut sesame noodles, which are perfect warm weather fare. I promise you will love them, and if you have any peanut allergies in your household, just substitute another nut, seed or soy butter for the peanut.

Happy cooking!

11 comments:

Shellyfish said...

I keep drooling over mills...I wish I had it in the budget...I'm hoping to get one for the holidays though :)

Red lentil flour...humm, it would probably make a really great gravy with some cilantro & indian spices. then again, maybe not!

Emilie said...

My kitchen gadget resistance level is set to high, but I don't know how long I can resist the grain mill, especially with you talking it up. Such allure!

Red lentil flour--maybe useful and delicious as a binder for a dal patty? Could also cook it like polenta and mold it in a tart pan to serve under veggies.

Julie said...

We must be on the same wave length...I made peanut noodles right before I saw this post! I made Dreena's Peanut Passion Sauce, but I'll have to try yours, too.

Thanks so, so much for making all of these cooking vids, I love them!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Such a crazy deal with the truck load of wheat! I don't have a grain mill, but with current prices, it's mighty tempting.

Amy said...

If I didn't live an ocean away I'd put my hand up for white wheat!

And it might sound crazy but you can use lentil flour in cookies (along with regular flour). I had a recipe somewhere not long ago.

BitterSweet said...

That's just amazing... I wish I got into this deal, too! For some reason, I have a lot of trouble finding white whole wheat flour around here.

And by the way, I have a peanut butter cookie recipe in MSV that uses red lentil flour. ;)

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

A truck load of wheat is really in demand these days. Wild stuff. So far, my girls are down with the healthy looking brown whole wheat flour, but that can't last forever I'm thinking... How about the lentil flour in pizza dough? biscuits & scones? or your mockmeat loaf?

Picks Over Peas said...

WOW-I had no idea that grain mills came in kitchen friendly sizes like that one. With so many people becoming self sufficient, I bet more and more are going to be seeking products like this.

The peanut sesame noodles sound delish and I love the fact there's no stovetop time for the sauce. I bet the sauce would work well for dipping things like tofu also. A great workday lunch treat!

Anonymous said...

I love white wheat. I've been using it for a few years now and I use it almost exclusively (rarely I use whole wheat pastry or maybe spelt or brown rice flour). Last time I went to pick up a bag it was $7 at whole foods for 5lbs. I almost had a heart attack right there.

Speedwell said...

Red lentil flour = Instant soup!!! Pulverize some dried veggies in the blender, or add some of those freeze-dried "just veggies". Mix up some lively seasonings. Toss some red lentil flour with the seasonings, some fine sea salt, a pinch of natural sugar, and the veggies in a SEALED zip baggie. Stir a couple spoonfuls into boiling water and allow to stand for a couple minutes. Experiment!

Speedwell said...

Or... Blend together a spoonful of mild red pepper paste, some nutritional yeast, a bit of fresh lemon juice, a dollop of dijon mustard, a spoonful of light miso, and a spoonful of salad oil. Make a second paste out of the red lentil flour and boiling water. Mix the first and second pastes together... voila, cheezy spread.