Nevertheless, Wheat for Man

Guess what I did today!
That's right, I ground some whole wheat flour. Thought I'll show you a little about that.
I set everything up--you can see my grain mill, five gallon storage bucket, can opener and a #10 can.

This is wheat I canned in Washington state twenty years ago, but actually the wheat was purchased sixteen years earlier than that. I was eighteen and the ward (church congregation) placed an order for some Montana hard red wheat and I bought 150 pounds. My parents kept it in their storage until I retrieved it in 1992 and took it home to Mount Vernon, Washington, where I then took it to the church cannery and put it in steel cans. This is the best wheat I've ever had.

This is my grain grinder that I bought while living in Dale City, Virginia in 1999 for $181.00. Today the company is called Blendtec and the same grain mill sells for $179.95.

Here's a peek at the whole wheat berries. They are yummy just chewed up straight from the can.

Here's what the flour looks like: above is in the mill bucket, and below is in the five gallon bucket.

PW wanted to make some bread so I showed him my recipe for Fast and Easy French Bread and let him go to it. Here's his bread ready to rise.

And here's the finished product.

While the bread was baking I made up some Black Beans and Tomatoes to go over leftover brown rice. It is one of my favorite lunches.

For dessert Paul served me half of one of his round loaves spread with Dulce de Leche he brought home from Argentina. It was the perfect ending.

What would a blog be without a couple of recipes:

Fast and Easy French Bread

In a large bowl place: 3 cups warm (hot tap) water
                                   2 tablespoons sugar
                                   2 tablespoons yeast
                                   1 tablespoon salt
                                   2 tablespoons olive (or other) oil
When the yeast blooms, ADD 6 - 8 cups flour to make a stiff dough (I use half whole wheat and half unbleached)
Let rise 20 minutes.
Shape into loaves (whatever shape you like) and place on a greased baking sheet (or in greased loaf pans)
Let rise 20 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
For shiny bread, brush on egg wash made of a whole egg and a tablespoon of water.

Black Beans and Tomatoes
1 small onion (or part of large one) chopped, saute in 1 tablespoon oil
Add 15 oz. can of stewed tomatoes, and 15 oz can of black beans, drained, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Simmer until heated through. Serve over brown rice.

Today PW requested the addition of a little chili powder and it was a good choice.

We have been counseled for many decades to store wheat. I was raised by a mother who not only stored it but used it for bread. Her mother had made whole wheat bread too and it is her recipe that I use today.(Not the French Bread, I got that at a Relief Society Activity)  I not only bake bread, but I use whole wheat flour for pancakes (my husband won't eat any other kind), rolls, biscuits, muffins, sweet or nut breads, cookies, cakes, pie crust, and pizza. I like the texture and flavor of the whole wheat flour. At times when I've had the money and/or it was readily available I've used whole wheat pasta also.

It's all a matter of what you get used to. I'll share an example. I grew up eating General Mills brand Cheerios; I didn't know there were any other kind. Until I had children of my own and decided that I couldn't afford Cheerios and bought some Malto Meal Tasteos (or whatever they're called). They tasted different, but after a couple weeks I got used to them and that's all my children ever had. When we visited Grandma and she served Cheerios my children DIDN'T LIKE THEM!!! They tasted different from the ones they were used to.

Moral of the story: Give your taste buds a couple of weeks to adjust to new tastes and textures. When beginning to use whole wheat flour start with adding 1/4 of the total amount of flour, after a couple of times, up it to 1/3, then 1/2. Experiment. I found that in dark things like gingerbread or pumpkin cake I can use 100% whole wheat flour and nobody complains. In fact, the first time I made pumpkin cake using all whole wheat flour Topdad said it was the best cake he'd ever eaten!

I believe the Lord when he says "All grain is good for the food of man; . . . Nevertheless, wheat for man," (Doctrine and Covenants 89:16-17)