5 Whole Grain Pilaf

My big bro has a new favorite love and her name is Kashi. She makes his favorite cereal, and now his favorite grain pilaf. Called: 7 Whole Grain Pilaf. Which my bro had to buy online after discovering his store no longer carried it. (They live in the boonies...) He payed $27 for about 36 cups of cooked grains. That's 75 cents a cup. I ran out to the store last night and picked me up some to try ( I can't resist a recommendation.) My verdict is that it was tasty, but for the price, I could make my own. I love a challenge, so when I woke up this morning, after a night of dreaming about pilaf, I threw a bunch of grains into the rice cooker, and Voila! 5 Whole Grain Pilaf....or Six, or Seven, depending on how many varieties you have laying around. Here is the basic recipe:



5 Whole Grain Pilaf

3 parts short grain brown rice (short grain is chewy, long is not - use short!)
1 part quinoa
1 part spelt berries
1/2 part wild rice
1/2 part bulgher wheat
For my "part" I use the little clear cup that came with my rice cooker, it's almost 1 cup.

Place grains in rice cooker. Fill water to the top of your middle knuckle (called Mt. Fugi- I learned this on a cooking show) when you lay your hand on top of the rice. Makes about 8 cups. Store in fridge or divide up and store in freezer until needed. Reheat by adding a few tablespoons of water, if needed.

The result was a chewy consistency, nutty flavor, and overall yummy mouth sensation! I am going to do some experimenting using this pilaf in place of meat substitutes (cheaper and healthier) - because the chewiness mimics meat. I estimate it cost me maybe $1.oo to make 8 cups, which is about 13 cents a cup.

Some ideas for uses are: Top with soups or stews, add to salads, use as a meat substitute in tacos or enchiladas, top with Marinara sauce, the list goes on. Tell me your favorite use!

Use your imagination, you don't have to use the same grains I did. I can't wait to try: lentils, kamut, Israeli couscous etc. I'll probably make it different every time.

Oh, and thanks big bro for getting my brain going...