Veganomicon_ The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook - Isa Chandra Moskowitz [30]
Cooking time: 10 minutes
To serve 4: 1 cup couscous, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 cup water
Cook: Place the couscous and salt in a pot with a tightly fitting lid. Bring about 1½ cups water to a boil in a teapot. Measure out 1 cup of water and pour over the couscous. Cover and let sit for about 5 minutes. The couscous should be soft. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Kasha
Favored in Eastern European recipes for centuries, kasha is the whole, toasted kernels (also known as groats) of the buckwheat plant. In its untoasted form, buckwheat is also used to make soba noodles in Asian cuisine. But when toasted, buckwheat groats are strictly called kasha. Kasha has an intense earthy taste that may remind some of the smell of wet autumn leaves, but we savor its complex, hearty flavor and deep color. It goes well with other savory earthy foods, such as mushrooms and beets, and you’ll feel like a Russian princess if you eat it covered in mushroom gravy. Also look for silky buckwheat flour, great in pancakes and essential for Buckwheat Blini (page 58) and Buckwheat Crepes (page 77).
Cooking time: 20 to 25 minutes
To serve 4: 2¼ cups water, 1 cup kasha, ¼ teaspoon salt
Cook: Bring water and salt to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Turn the heat down very low, add the kasha, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Kasha should be tender but chewy and all the water should be absorbed.
Millet
Nothing says “health food” like millet. It’s one of the more flexible grains. Lightly boiled, it makes for a nice, fluffy dish, as in Mexican Millet (page 118), and when boiled even further you get a soft dough that can be molded like polenta. One of the oldest cereal crops there is, some variety of millet exists on almost every continent and has been popular on and off for thousands of years—maybe its time has come again, and you can say you were eating it before it sold out! It has a slightly sweet, mellow taste that goes well with any meal that brown rice would complement, so add it to your grain rotation tout de suite. Millet doesn’t have to be dry-toasted first, but the flavor and texture really benefit from it, so we give you those directions here.
Cooking time: 30 to 45 minutes
To serve 4: 1 cup millet, 2 cups water, ¼ teaspoon salt
Cook: Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Put in the millet and toast for about 10 minutes, stirring very often, until the millet has turned a few shades darker and smells toasty. Transfer the millet to a pot with a lid, add the water and salt, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat very low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until soft. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Oats
Of course, you’re familiar with oats. We prefer what’s called “quick-cooking” or “rolled” oats, which are different than the magic stuff that’s been sweetened and flavored beyond recognition and cooked with a little boiling water and a snap of your fingers. Quick-cooking oats are whole oats that have been cut smaller so that they, you guessed it, cook quicker! Not just for breakfast, we use oats in baked goods and to add bulk to things like veggie burgers. Since you wouldn’t serve oats as a side dish, we’ll just give you directions for making simple morning oatmeal.
Cooking time: 5 to 10 minutes
To serve 4: 2 cups water, 1 cup rolled oats, ¼ teaspoon salt. Optional: pinch of cinnamon and a handful raisins or other chopped dried fruit, maple syrup, soy milk
Cook: Bring the water to a boil in a lidded pot and add the oats, salt, and cinnamon and fruits if using. Turn down the heat to low and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the oats are creamy. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for a few minutes. Add a touch of maple syrup and soy milk if desired.
Polenta
Polenta has been called many things,