I'm looking for ideas on making meals with very basic staples such as whole wheat berries, split peas, lentils, and the like. What else can be made besides split pea soup, lentil soup, and bread?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), December 19, 2000

Answers

I'll go first.

Wheat berries- I have a friend who made some very tasty wheat cakes by cracking the wheat slightly, mixing it with water and salt, and steaming it in patties the size and shape of a hamburger.

Split peas- I like the yellow ones, I make dahl from them, a soup seasoned with curry and onions sauteed in butter.

Lentils- aside from lentil soup, I've also made a curry lentil- rice pilaf, and have tried using them in burritos(edible but not so great).

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), December 19, 2000.

I make a family favorite with lentil that may be hard for you to understand. There is an area favorite here called Cincinnati chili. It really isn't chili the way people in most parts of the country would envision it. It is very finely ground beef with spices and tomato sauce. I buy a packet for the spices but they are chili powder, paprika, cinnamon, and the secret ingredient they say is just a bit of chocolate. It sounds wierd but the people around here go crazy over it. It is served over spaghetti and topped with cheese and oyster crackers. Thats called a three way. Or it is served over a hot dog in a bun and topped with cheese. That's called a coney. I use lentils instead of meat cooked for about 45 mins. then add the spices and tomato sauce and serve over spaghetti and top it w/ cheese.

I also have a friend that makes wheat loaf out of wheat berries instead of meat loaf. It's pretty good but I'd have to ask for the recipe.

Also soak wheat berries overnight and heat up in the morning. Serve with whatever you would put on your oatmeal. That tastes pretty good too! I use sugar and cinnamon or maple syrup and brown sugar.

I hope there is alot of response as what to do with dried beans. I have alot of them and cant get my kids to eat them!

-- Denise (jphammock@msn.com), December 19, 2000.

Tee hee...sounds like somebody else is trying to figure out what to do with their Y2K stock. Like a lot of people we stocked up on beans,wheat,rice,dried corn, and various grains. We definately bought too many beans but the other stuff is fitting in nicely to our diet. I make a lot of soup. Try using different beans in vegetable soup...just don't get over eager and put in too many(they should be just another ingredient, shouldn't overpower it). We happened to buy what is called a 16 bean soup mix in bulk...this is one thing the kids really like....make your own bean mix. I always keep some wheat flour made up. I've found that most recipes using flour you can substitute 1/3 whole wheat flour in the total amount....your family probably won't even notice...and it's better for them. I don't know how I ever managed without freshly ground cornmeal. I make lots of cornbread(my southern roots are showing). Really tastes great! We have beans and cornbread for dinner about once a week. I season the beans with a nice chunk of bacon or sausage, salt, pepper, and a bay leaf. If I try to serve it more than once a week they get cranky! Refried beans can be used lots of ways. A great mexican meal can be made mostly of storage food. Homemade corn tortillas with refried beans and a bit of ground beef and trimmings...yum. If you discover that you bought a bean that your family absolutely hates feed them to the chickens! Just soak them and simmer over night (works great if you have a woodstove) and feed them to your chickens in the morning while still warm. I'm sure they will appreciate it and it will cut down on the protein requirements for your flock. We've been snowed in for a week now and the forcast doesn't look good. I may be able to come up with more recipes under the gun here pretty quick. Anyone know how to turn beans into toilet paper...lol?

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), December 19, 2000.

Just within the last day or two I was reading about grinding beans in a grain mill and using it as a creamy base for three-minute soup. I can't remember where I read it though. It sounds like something that would come from CS but I couldn't find it when I looked. If anyone else read that maybe they can fill in the gaps. The idea is that, once ground, the beans cook very quickly. My wintertime staple is chili. The second time around, the left-over chili goes into tortillas with grated cheese, shredded lettuce and tomato pieces. We cook the tortillas in a little butter in a frying pan just until they are warm and soft, flip them over and heat the other side. Fill and roll up.

-- Peg (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), December 19, 2000.

Rebekah, you simply must try to get the book Country Beans sales@naturalmeals.com www.naturalmeals.com

182 pages of recipes with 4 or 5 on each page. Grinding your beans into flour for quick refried beans, sandwich fillings, dips and thier soup ideas are worth the cost of the book alone! Just under 15$ Though they do give specific beans to use in the recipes, I have found you can substitute nearly any beans for pintos, and I tweak the recipes to including anything and everything. A really great trick I learned from the book was that after I made my big stock pot full of soup, I canned the rest that night into quart jars, this way my family wasn't sick to death eating the same thing every lunch and dinner all week, and when I opened a jar to go with sandwiches in a couple of day, it was appreciated! I also canned jars of dried beans so that quick meals like chili, or red beans and rice were just a jar opening away, no soaking and cooking! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 19, 2000.

I really like that canning idea! Even if I can't get the kids to eat it then at least I can have it another time. I think I saw that book in the Countryside bookstore. Is that where you got it?

-- Denise (jphammock@msn.com), December 19, 2000.

OOps!I wasn't paying attention Vicki. You said where you got it. Thanks!

-- Denise (jphammock@msn.com), December 19, 2000.

Mung beans are a favorite staple in our house, thanks to my Middle-Eastern husband. And I don't mean sprouts. For a great soup I toss some whole beans and rice into a pot with chicken stock and plenty of salt and pepper. Then I saute a large, fairly coarsely chopped onion until it's golden brown, adding half of a finely chopped HEAD of garlic the last few minutes so it doesn't burn, and then a fair amount of curry powder and some turmeric and cayenne pepper until everything is heated through. I chuck it all in the pot, and simmer until it has a somewhat thick consistency.

This makes a great hangover soup because it can take quite a bit of salt without ruining it, but unfortunately it becomes a very unattractive grayish-green color upon cooling in the fridge. It's still yummy though!

-- Leslie A. (lesliea@home.com), December 19, 2000.

Rebekah, I make a veggie cassarole with ramen noodles and cream of mushroom soup. Topped with diced tomatoes,parsley,oregano and crushed crackers. Bake at 375 for 45 min to 1 hr.

Peg, The 3 min soup is in the current issue of Countryside.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), December 20, 2000.

Something I like to do is mix two grains together and make a pilaf. My favorite is brown rice and rye berries. Cook them together, one cup of each with double the liquid, for 40 minutes. I mix steamed veggies in, and whatever seasoning strikes my fancy. I make a dish at the store called "Bulghur and Lentils" (whoopdeedo, but you would not believe how well it sells!). Fry lots of sliced onions in olive oil til fairly brown. Cook lentils in water for 25 minutes, or til done but not mushy. Throw some bulghur (or cooked cracked wheat) in the liquidy lentils, leave for 15 minutes til the bulghur rehydrates. Mix in the onions with some salt and pepper...voila! I love whole grains, especially rye and oats. Another favorite is black-eyed peas with greens, with lots of sauteed garlic and onions, and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Also, Indian Pilaf...rice with tomatos, onions, garlic, peas, raisins, cashews, and a bit of cinnamon, tumeric and cayenne. I layered lentils, barley, split peas, brown rice, black-eyed peas, and dried veggies in canning jars for Christmas gifts this year (you can throw in broth cubes or powder, I did), very pretty and uses up some of the bulk items. Just make sure you use ingredients that take around the same amount of time to cook.

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), December 20, 2000.

There are two cookbooks that I find most useful in using staple type items. "More-with-less Cookbook", by Doris Janzen Longacre. (suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources) and "Extending the Table...A World Community Cookbook" by Joetta Handrich Schlabach. Not only are they good cookbooks, but help us look at how we are using our resourses. Also, I have fun reading cookbooks from the library. If I really like them and find I am taking them out several times, then I think of adding it to my collection. diane in michigan

-- Diane Green (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 20, 2000.

Ditto, Diane! Both of Doris' books are super. My bad habit is BUYING cookbooks--used and cheap as I have now aquired hundreds and I still hate to cook but love reading and re-reading them. Go figure. I have limited myself to only vegetarian ones and am just now seriously getting into grains and legumes. Best "winter" food around.

-- Sandy Davis (smd2@netzero.net), December 21, 2000.

Don't forget rice pudding! And a real breakfast quickie, if I have leftover rice (unseasoned), is to make "near miss" rice pudding by putting raisins, spices, milk, whatever into the rice and heat it in the microwave.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), December 23, 2000.

Wasn't cookin with Staples-but we were in one today. I found a 80 Gig hard drive for $400. Sounds like a good deal fer me---onliest thing Lil Dumplin won't buy it for my puter! Made me squeal like a pig under a gate, it did. Thought it mite make a good present for me from her but she didn't agree. Whats ya'll think? OH, Sorry--this thread wan't bout Staples, the store, was it? Merry Christmas everybody! Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), December 23, 2000.

Why Hoot and here I was wondering how people could stand crunching down on those prickly staples. I can think of lots nicer things to coock with unless you want to melt em down and mold yourself a pan out of em. I have heard they're pretty good for a tummy tuck or two though.

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), December 23, 2000.

I just had a surprise today: apple cake made with lentils! Sorry, I don't have the recipe! The funny thing was you really couldn't tell, even a little.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), December 24, 2000.

Doris Longacre also wrote another book called "Living More With Less" - not a cookbook. Guess that must have been 25 years ago as she has since passed away; and I must say that was a really inspiring book.

-- Wanda King (wanda7@edge.net), December 26, 2000.

Well...ummmm....I made bean bags for Christmas presents for little kids...If you can't eat 'em, toss 'em!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), December 26, 2000.