This is a new recipe I tried recently, shared by my dear friend, Melissa. She is a homemaker extraordinaire and a wonderful cook. I was so glad she would share one of her favorite hot cereal recipes! She says that this was inspired by a Bob’s Red Mill recipe, that she modified to suit her needs. I modified hers just a hair with adding a little honey and I used cream and cashews on top!
If you aren’t yet familiar with teff yet, here’s a little intro for you with more coming tomorrow!
Teff is one of the oldest domesticated grains and has been growing in Ethiopia for a very long time. We are only getting up to speed about it here because is has nearly no gluten and in our country, the need for gluten-free grains has grown so much, so fast! You can think of this grain as being similar to quinoa or millet and use recipes you may already have for those grains substituting them for teff. This cereal is high in minerals, is said to have hormone balancing qualities and can aid in stabilizing blood sugar. It’s certainly worth finding some and trying it in several different ways, even if you don’t need a gluten-free alternative.
I would recommend that you buy it whole (though it is a teeny tiny seed) and either cook it whole, like in this porridge or grind it yourself when you are ready to use it in a bread recipe or pancakes, etc. Grains hold their nutrients far longer when stored whole!
If you like nutritious grains and cloves and cinnamon, lightly sweetened with honey and dates, you’ll love this!
Melissa’s Teff Porridge
1/3 cup teff (toast the seeds until fragrant in hot pan)
Add: 2 cups boiling water
1 tsp butter
1 pinch of ground cloves
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes
Add: 1/4 cup pitted, diced dates
1-2 Tbs honey
1 pinch Real salt
Cook until tender and solid in color for about 10 more minutes.
Let cool to set for 5 minutes. Serve with toasted walnuts, (or pecans or cashews) and cream.
Enjoy!
(She says that this makes 2-3 servings, but I ate it all by myself quite handily! And, don’t forget to brush teeth after eating this or you’ll look like you ate bugs! Mmm, may be incentive for young boys to try it!)