Using Wheat Without a Wheat Grinder

Food storage can be fun and getting started is the first step, but what do you do with the basic foods you are storing. Most people will start their food storage adventure with storing wheat. That is a great start. Wheat is fairly inexpensive and stored under the right conditions should store a minimum of 30 years. During that time you should be learning to use it and incorporating it into your diet. Adding wheat to your diet can help cut your grocery budget leaving more money for food storage. Besides, it would be pretty hard to learn all there is to know about using wheat when you have an emergency situation that requires you to live on what you have stored. You do not need expensive equipment to start using the wheat in your food storage. Lets start with just good old wheat berries. Here are some ideas and recipes to get you started.

WHEAT RECIPES WITHOUT A WHEAT GRINDER

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     WHEAT BERRIES

Add 1 cup wheat kernels to 2 cups boiling water; let soak one hour or overnight.  Rinse.  Drain well.  Store in covered container in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        SLOPPY JOES

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

1 can tomato soup (or tomato sauce thinned with 1 cup tomato juice)

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

1-1/2 cups cooked wheat berries

1 teaspoon chili powder

Saute ground beef, onions and green peppers.  Add soup or sauce/juice, salt and pepper, and cooked wheat.  Add chili powder and simmer 20-30 minutes until desired thickness is reached. Serve on buns or over rice.

--Wheat Cookin’ Made Easy

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             BISCUITS

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup germinated wheat, chopped

1/2 cup shortening

23/ to 1 cup buttermilk

Mix together flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Cut germinated wheat and shortening into flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.  Add buttermilk to mixture a little at a time, until dry ingredients are moistened.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead (no more than 10 times).  Pat or roll out to 3/4-inch thickness.  Cut with 2-inch cookie cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Serve immediately.

--Eat That Wheat

                                                                                 WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES

3/4 cup wheat                                                                                                              1 tablespoon honey

1 cup milk                                                                                                                        3 eggs, separated

Soak wheat and put in refrigerator overnight.  In the morning, drain and blend softened wheat in a blender with milk for 4 minutes.  Blend in honey.  Add egg yolks and blend 2 minutes.  Add whites and blend another 2 minutes.  Cook on hot griddle.  These make thin pancakes that are delicious.                                                                  --Lisa Pantone, Wheat Cookin’ Made Easy

CHINESE FRIED WHEAT

3 cups cooked cold wheat berries                                         4 green onions, sliced (or 1 medium onion, minced)

1/4 pound finely diced ham or bacon                                 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 cup cooking oil                                                                           2 eggs

Place meat in hot, heavy skillet and stir-fry about 5 minutes until browned and cooked thoroughly.  Add oil, wheat, green onions, salt, and soy sauce.  Cook and stir until heated through.  Hollow a center in the wheat and break in eggs.  Scramble until eggs are cooked; then stir into the balance of the mixture.

--Wheat Cookin’ Made Easy

GERMINATING WHEAT-You don’t necessarily have to buy a kit or special equipment to germinate wheat, according to David and Laurie Green, authors of Eat That Wheat.  You’ll need a clean wide-mouth glass canning jar, a strainer for rinsing the grain, cheesecloth, and a rubber band.

1.             Pour 1/3 cup of wheat grains onto a plate or cutting board.  Quickly sort and discard any broken, misshapen, or discolored pieces, along with any dirt or debris.

2.             Place the remaining grains in the jar and rinse thoroughly through a strainer.  Then fill the jar half-way with water.  Sit the jar upright on the counter and let soak 8-12 hours.

3.             Pour the water out of the jar through a strainer.  Rinse the grains and pour the water completely out of the jar, using a strainer to catch the grains. Cover the jar with the cheesecloth and secure it with a rubber band.

4.             Tip the jar to the side and rotate it a few times so some of the moistened grains cling to the sides of the jar, and then lay it on its side in a dark cupboard.  Repeat the process of rinsing, draining, and rotating once in the morning and once at night.

5.             After two to three days the wheat will be germinated. Most of the shoots should be about the length of the grain itself.  To store, do a final rinse and thoroughly drain.  Remove the cheese cloth and replace it with plastic wrap.  Place the jar in the refrigerator.  It can be stored up to five days.  If you have stored it in the refrigerator and it becomes dry or inedible, simply discard it.

TO EAT IT: Try it raw as a snack; add 1 tablespoon of it to flavored yogurt, or over your favorite hot or cold breakfast cereal; tuck it into sandwich fillings; toss it in salads; or grind it in a meat grinder or chop it with a knife and add to recipes.  You can add 1/4 cup to your usual bread-machine recipes.

NOTES: Don’t grow the tiny shoots into longer sprouts for salads, because they will turn bitter.  They should be just about the same length as the grain kernal.

Germinated wheat can be added more quickly to the diet because it’s easier on the digestive system.  When the wheat is germinated, the starches turn to simple sugars, and you can eat it without the stomach upset, and it slightly increases the nutritional value.