Grains Cook Book [Paperback]

I must cordially disagree with the previous 2 reviewers who thought the recipes too rich. I made polenta with leeks and loved it! Good recipes for quinoa. A lot to choose from and not all of them had cream in the ingredients.

I did my usual drill of borrowing from library, trying a few recipes and then deciding whether to buy. I bought!

This book has a wealth of creative recipes for grains, and the ones I tried were delicious. The "Four Seasons Olympic Bran Muffins" are so good, you could easily forget they're bran muffins, but like many recipes in the book, they have a very high sugar content. Low fat is definitely not a priority in this book either. In many of the recipes, the whole grain is a very minor ingredient. The book provides excellent general information about each grain and is useful for creative inspiration, but if you want healthy recipes, look elsewhere.

Well, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of rave reviews for one of my favorite owned cook books. I bought this book about 12 years ago at a health food store in College Station, TX when I was about 22 years old and becoming interested in whole foods, including whole grains. I found Bert Greene's cookbook on grains fascinating and heart-warming. If you are new to cooking with whole grains, you will find the book very helpful and an insightful companion. It has been a go-to cookbook for most of my last cooking years (about 10). One of my favorites is the Warmed Ginger Tuna Salad using Basmati Rice. (It is also great with Brown Basmati.) I have really enjoyed the 40-carat quinoa (a winner with my 2 year old twin girls); the Chicken Deviltry using popped amaranth is amazing; and, I reiterate one of the previous reviewers comments that there are great quinoa recipes.

I also give Bert Greene credit for being the reason I constantly make and store my own chicken, beef, and fish stock. Many of the recipes in the book call for the homemade stocks (recipes for these are also included), and its made me realize how important this ingredient is to many dishes.

One thing that I have also taken from this book are some common ingredient combinations that are a superb start for any dish.

While I actually do love this cookbook, I rated it 4-star because I have not tried many of the recipes. While it is a cookbook featuring whole grains, it covers ALL grains (i.e. wheat germ, millet, bulgar, bran, couscous, triticale, and many more). While I'm sure that I would probably enjoy the recipes; I haven't felt the need to feature some of these grains, and his recipes commonly call for dedication of time and a trip to a good grocery store for ingredients that are not staples in my house (especially, not all at one time). But, that being said, many of the staples in my kitchen have become staples because of this cookbook!

The last thing that I will say is Bert does like his butter and his meat. If you are not a fan of using butter in your cooking, you may use any oil/fat that you so desire, and you don't have to use as much as he calls for. You will still enjoy the result. This goes for the ratio of grains to meat, too. I have been known to "beef up" the grains portion for the simple fact that I really like the grains.

Thank you Bert Greene for your gift.