Teff Crepes

I love crepes.  The thin, bubbly batter that becomes a rolled treat dusted with powdered sugar and topped with real maple syrup.  YUM!

Sadly, I hadn't found a good gluten free recipe to love.  The crepes would rip or be gummy, just plain ol' not tasty or appealing.

Then recently I had a brainstorm... TEFF!  We love teff pancakes, they hold their shape, stay fluffy, don't crumble or get soggy with syrup.  So why not try to make crepes with this great grain!

I basically altered my pancake recipe a bit, and compared it to other great crepe recipes. 

Let cool on a wire rack before storing leftovers

Cook until the top of crepe looks dry, then flip.  Look at all those great bubbles!

Enjoy!  

We sure did!

Teff Crepes

1 cup teff flour (we like the brown, but ivory works too!)

1 TBSP baking powder

1/4 tsp. Real Salt

2 TBSP coconut oil melted but not hot

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP vanilla

1 Egg or 1 TBSP arrowroot

1 1/2 cup coconut milk (may need more to get a thin batter)

Put all your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Preheat a cast iron pan over medium high heat.  I use a 8 inch, but 12 inch will work too.

Lightly grease pan with coconut oil (you shouldn't have to do it again)

Pour about 2 TBSP or 1/4 cup batter into pan and swirl to cover the entire bottom of pan.

Cook until crepe no longer is wet on the top.  Carefully loosen edges and flip.

If you aren't eating all that you make, let cool on a wire rack and freeze.

PS There isn't a "pretty" finished picture with them rolled up and dusted with powdered sugar because I turned around and the crepes were all gone!  Yup, those boys devoured them.  Oh well.  :)

25 pounds of WHAT?!?!?

One of our new favorite grains is Teff.  Read more about it here.  My poor, wonderful dearest, you should have seen his face when I asked him to lug these beasts bags inside.

We love Teff pancakes.

We love Teff hot cereal.

We love Teff in our bread mix.

As far as gluten free flours go, it is pretty inexpensive.  But I snagged a deal for a 25 lb. bag of the grain and 25 lb. bag of the flour.  I mean it was a great deal.  Saving me about $1.75 to $2.50 a pound.

What's a 25 lb. bag look like?  Well, bigger then I thought.  Here is a comparison to a 5 lb. bag of flour.

Now to just find a way to safely store it and keep it from going bad.  But I'm not really all that worried.  Those boys eat... A LOT!  Hope they don't get sick of it anytime soon!

Ancient Grains~ Shopping and Resources

Ready to Shop the Ancient Grain Way?

Ready Made Products

         Enjoy Life Crunchy Flax with Chia

         Qi’a Cereals

         I Heart Keenwah

         Sorghum Minipops

         Plentils

         Way Better Snack Chips

         Crunch Master 7 Ancient Grains crackers

         Eden Organic Millet

         Wholesome Kitchen Quinoa

         Ancient Quinoa Pastas and Mac “N” Cheese

         Adean Dream Vegeterian Quinoa Soup or Fusilli Pasta (made from Quinoa and corn free!)

         Orgran MultiGrain O’s with Quinoa

         Udi’s Omega Flax and Fiber

         Udi’s Millet Chia

         Canyon Bakehouse Bread 7 Grain

         Green Bakery Millet Bread and Sorghum Bread

         Thuro Teff or Buckwheat Breads

Ancient Grains ~ Amaranth

Amaranth

This is one of the earliest known plants used for food.  It was used in the western hemisphere by the Aztecs, who highly valued it.  It was (and is) considered a super food due to the energy it provides athletes.  Amaranth is in the Chenopodiaceous family (things like spinach, beets.)  It is said to taste faintly like corn and can be popped like corn as well.  It is often flavored with onions and garlic.  The leaves are eaten as well.  It is used to make tortillas, a candy-like bar (still eaten today during Day of the Dead); it is a common staple in Mexican cuisine.  Amaranth is easy, low maintence plant to grow in your garden.

Health benefits include: high quality protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and phytosterols.    When compared to wheat, it has higher fiber and protein.  It has a great balance of amino acids and contains more lysine, cysteine and methionine then are typically found in other grains in only small amounts.    The Phytosterols in the amaranth help combat cholesterol because they compete for absorption in the intestines, the cholesterol is then blocked from being absorbed and is excreted.  Some sources say it helps increase immune system function and helps to balance hormones.

Recipes

Basic Cereal

1 cup amaranth seeds

4 cups water

Combine seeds and water in pan, bring to a boil over a medium high heat.  Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.  Cook for about 20-25 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes, it will sputter and stirring consistently will reduce the sputtering.  Flavor with fruit, raw honey, coconut milk and/or cinnamon sugar.

Amaranth Flat Breads   http://www.ancientgrains.blogspot.com/

1 cup amaranth flour
1/3 cup corn meal
1/4 tsp salt
About ½ + cup water

Place amaranth flour, corn and salt in a small bowl. Mix to combine. Add water. Mix well until smooth. Add more water or flour to make sticky but manageable dough. Knead for 1 minute. You are looking for a soft dough that holds together.  Place more amaranth flour on the counter. Flour your hands. Remove a piece of dough. Roll between the palms of your hands with a good amount of pressure to form a smooth ball which leads to a more uniform circle when rolled out. 

Balls about the size of a ping pong ball will make a 4” bread.

Balls about the size of a tennis ball will make a 9" bread.

Place the ball of dough on the floured counter. Press into a disk. Flour a rolling pin and roll until they reach the thickness of a corn tortilla, or just use your hands to pat into a circle.

Heat a skillet rather hot. On my electric griddle I set it to it’s hottest, 400 degrees. No need for oil. Place the amaranth bread on the hot, dry skillet. Cook until top begins to bubble. Turn over and cook other side until more puffing happens. This should take about 3-4 minutes or so per side. Remove to a rack to cool. Store in zip lock bags. They don’t stick so you can stack several together. These freeze really well.  Double or triple the recipe and mix in a standing mixer.

Ancient Grains~ Quinoa

Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a small, nutty flavored grain.  This grain is an Inca super food; they called it “mother of all grains.”  Quinoa comes from the Chenopodium plant (goosefoot).  There are about 120 know species of the plant, but only 3 are commonly grown today for food consumption.  We know them as white, red and black Quinoa.  While Quinoa is used a grain in cooking, it actually is classified as a fruit.  Its leaves are edible and can be used in salads.  It is considered super food due it its high nutritional characteristics, such as, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron.  It also is high in amino acids; in fact it contains a nearly perfect balance of the eight essential amino acids we need.  Quinoa contains about 12-18% protein.  A mere ½ cup of this super food provides a child’s full daily protein needs.  When cooking Quinoa, it does need to be rinsed prior to cooking to remove its bitter coating. 

Recipes

Basic flour ratio

3 parts Quinoa flour

3 parts Sorghum flour

2 parts potato starch

1 part Tapioca flour

Looking for more recipes, check out this site:

http://www.quinoarecipescenter.com/quinoa-nutrition-facts

Ancient Grains~ TEFF

Teff

Teff is an extremely tiny grain from the grass family grown mainly in Africa.  It is a staple in Ethiopian diet.  It comes in four types, white teff (magna), sergegna (mixture of red and white teff), dark red teff, and dark brown teff.  Teff is 12% protein, about  80% complex carbohydrates and has the highest amounts of lysine (except rice and oats.)  Teff has a high calcium and magnesium level, also contains high levels of phosphorus, iron, copper, barium and thiamin.  It is considered to have a complete set of all 8 essential amino acids that humans need.  It is now being grown in the US and Australia.  It is also used as a healthy animal fodder.  Teff is a versatile grain.  It can be used alone as a cereal, as thickener in soups and gravies, or in baked goodies.  It has a tasty, nutty flavor.  In Ethiopia, its main use is as a hot cereal, to make injera bread, and a fermented type drink.

This is one of my family's new favorite foods!  We just love, love, love it.  The nutty flavor, the fillingness of it (if you have boys, you KNOW what I mean,) and the ease of cooking it.

Recipes

Pancakes

2 cups teff flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1 TBSP arrowroot

½ tsp. real salt

2 TBSP coconut oil or olive oil

2 ¼ cup coconut milk (we like the vanilla, sweetened but unsweetened works too)

2-4 TBSP sugar, honey or sugar alternative

1 TBSP vanilla

Mix ingredients together.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes.  We use a cast iron pan on medium high heat, occasionally adding a bit of oil to the pan.  Makes 32 3 inch pancakes.  These freeze and reheat well.  To make a savory pancake for a “bun” omit sugars and use unsweetened milk.

Basic Hot cereal

1 cup Teff grain

3 cups filtered water

We like to “brown” our teff on a medium heat until it begins to “pop” and it gives off a nutty aroma.  Then add water and cook for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.  We eat this as a side dish at dinner or for breakfast with honey drizzled on it.  The longer it sits, the more it solidifies.  It can be eaten as a corn free version of polenta as well.