Read Dharma Feast Cookbook Online
Authors: Theresa Rodgers
Dharma Feast Cookbook (11 page)
| B ROWN RICE C EREAL |  |
Another friend invented this cereal out of necessity to bring variety to our Sunday brunches. It’s easy to prepare, inexpensive, and gluten-free. It has become a much-loved standard dish in our diet.
| SERVES 7 | PREP TIME 20 MINUTES |
1 cup brown rice 4 cups water (or more if needed) Sea salt to taste | Heat rice in unoiled skillet until it starts to turn brown and begins to have a nutty aroma. Put rice in blender and grind to flour texture. Combine rice and water in saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, stirring. Cook for 3–5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to taste. |
| M ILLET -A LMOND C EREAL | |
A friend from Germany invented this recipe. Millet is one of the few alkaline grains, and this is a great way to include more of it in your diet. Cooked by itself millet makes for a heavy, dry breakfast. Ground millet and almonds together make a substantial cereal that also has a delicious nutty flavor. It is even better if you dry roast the ground millet and almonds before cooking. If you don’t want to mix fruits and grains, leave out the apricots.
| S ERVES 1–2 | P REP T IME 50 M INUTES |
2 tablespoons ghee or organic butter Vanilla extract to taste ¼ cup dried apricots, soaked and chopped 2 cups hot water or oat, almond, or rice milk ¾ cup millet, ground in coffee grinder ¼ cup almonds, ground in coffee grinder Butter (optional) | Melt ghee or butter in a medium-sized pot. Add vanilla, apricots, and boiling water or milk. Cook long enough to sweeten the liquid, about 10 minutes. Slowly add almonds and millet, stirring frequently until cereal gets thick, about 30 minutes. In the last 15 minutes the cereal burns easily, so be ready to stir more frequently. If it gets too thick add more liquid to fully cook the grain. The cereal can be made thick or thin according to preference by adding more or less water. Serve with butter on the side. Note |
| B UDDHA G RUEL |  |
This is called Buddha Gruel because Buddha includes everything. You can add just about anything you can think of that goes nicely with gruel. Everything except the oats and water is optional. This can also be prepared using leftover oats.
| S ERVES 8 | P REP TIME 25 MINUTES TOTAL IF OATS ARE SOAKED OVERNIGHT ; 50 MINUTES IF |
3 cups rolled oats 6 cups water ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped or slivered almonds ½ cup sunflower seeds 1 cup raisins or dried apricots or goji berries 1 cup fresh, chopped apple Cinnamon Honey Rice or almond milk, heated | Combine oats and water. Cover and soak overnight (this gives them a creamy and digestible consistency). In the morning put in saucepan, add salt and bring to a boil. Or omit soaking— combine oats, salt, and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Add almonds and sunflower seeds and dried fruit. Let simmer for 10 minutes, checking thickness. If needed add more boiling water. After 5 minutes or so, add the chopped apple and cinnamon. When cereal is done, you can add hot rice or almond milk and honey to taste. Note |
| W INTER R ICE B REAKFAST | |
Another one of our German friends gave us this delicious breakfast recipe. Cardamom gives it a unique flavor that is a nice change from other hot cereals. If you start your day with this dish, you will feel warm, nurtured, and grounded, especially in the winter, and you might not have anything to worry about for the rest of the day. It’s also a great way to use leftover brown rice.
| S ERVES 3 | P REP TIME 35 MINUTES WITH ALREADY - COOKED RICE |
4 cups cooked short grain brown rice 1¼ cups chopped dry-roasted nuts and seeds (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, and/or sunflower seeds— any combination you like) 2 tablespoons olive oil ¾ cup raisins ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom or to taste Pinch of sea salt 1 apple, leave peel on, remove core, cut into cubes 1 pear, leave peel on, remove core, cut into cubes (optional) | Cook (see introduction in Roast nuts in a dry skillet until they begin to turn dark, about 5–7 minutes. Remove and set aside. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add raisins and stir until coated. Add cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Stir to mix. Sauté at medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 30–60 seconds until raisins start to expand. Add apples and/or pears and sauté, covered, for 3 minutes. Put cooked rice, roasted nuts, and fruit mixture into a large bowl and mix well. |
| A BOVE T HE L INE G RANOLA |  |
"Above the Line” means taking responsibility for something. We call this “Above the Line Granola” because one time I (Tika) was preparing this granola and it burned. Somebody else came into the kitchen and asked, “What happened to the granola?” I responded, “It came out dark.” The other person replied, “What? It came out dark? Are you saying that the granola is responsible for how it turned out?” Once they put it that way, I took responsibility for the fact that I had actually burned the granola. We still remember this story with a twinkle in our eyes.
Adjust the amounts of the ingredients or add or leave them out to taste. Serve with yogurt, almond milk, or rice milk.
| 16 cups raw oats | P REP TIME 1 HOUR 45 MINUTES |
5 cups almonds, sliced 4 cups walnut halves (or chopped pecans) 1½ cups safflower oil (use organic, cold-pressed oil) 1½ cups water 2 cups honey or Grade B maple syrup 4 cups unsweetened coconut | Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix oats, almonds, and walnuts or pecans together. Set aside. Mix oil, water, and honey together in a saucepan and warm over low heat until the honey is liquid. Make a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Mix with hands until everything is coated. Don’t add coconut until the last 30 minutes of baking. Lightly oil pans. Bake granola for about 1 hour and 15 minutes total, but watch closely so that it doesn’t get too brown. Cool. Store in an air-tight container. |
| B REAKFAST P OTATOES | |