Cooking with grains: cookbook kismet

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No, kismet is not one of the terrific grains I discuss in today’s Get Cooking series story -- although it sounds like it could be, along with quinoa, farro, bulgur, amaranth and millet. Kismet is a Turkish term for fate, which is the word I’d use to describe why this particular book (pictured at left) turned up on my desk Monday, in an envelope from its publisher.

There are many good books out there about whole grain baking (Peter Reinhart’s ‘Whole Grain Breads,’ King Arthur Flour’s ‘Whole Grain Baking’); here’s a terrific one, by Minneapolis-based author and cooking teacher Robin Asbell, about whole grain cooking.

Aspell’s cookbook (her first) includes helpful descriptions of grains and a cooking chart, as well as many creative, easy-to-follow recipes such as sweet breakfast tabbouleh, wheat-berry ricotta cake, and quinoa with pepitas and cilantro. So if my story gets you started, or reminds you of how rewarding it can be to cook with grains, here’s a place to find even more ideas.

Got a favorite grain cookbook? Tell us about it.

‘The New Whole Grains Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains’ by Robin Asbell; photographs by Caren Alpert. Chronicle Books: $19.95.

-- Amy Scattergood

Book jacket cover photo courtesy of Chronicle Books