If you hate cracked wheat from your oppressive childhood, try this recipe. Give the wheat a chance to redeem itself #GiveWheatAChance.
Next, add two cups of wheat and toast, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes (this is a great job for a three year old). I'm using red wheat here because I love the taste, but hard or soft white works perfectly as well.
Pour the toasted wheat kernels in your blender. I'm not sure a regular 'ol blender can handle this task, but my Blendtec does it beautifully. You could always channel your inner pioneer and crunch the kernels between two rocks, but my muscleless arms scoff at that idea. I blend the kernels on speed two for about 25 seconds.
No really, it's so delicious and hearty and my kids love it more than boxed cereal, and in our house boxed cereal trumps most things.
I use my Instant Pot for this recipe, but it can easily be made in a thick-bottomed pot.
First, melt some butter on medium heat. If you're using the Instant Pot, use the saute button to warm the pot.
Next, add two cups of wheat and toast, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes (this is a great job for a three year old). I'm using red wheat here because I love the taste, but hard or soft white works perfectly as well.
Pour the toasted wheat kernels in your blender. I'm not sure a regular 'ol blender can handle this task, but my Blendtec does it beautifully. You could always channel your inner pioneer and crunch the kernels between two rocks, but my muscleless arms scoff at that idea. I blend the kernels on speed two for about 25 seconds.
They should look a bit like this. Now add them back to the pot.
Add four cups of water and one cup of whole milk to the pot, a few dashes of cinnamon and stir to combine.
I let mine sit overnight because soaking grains, oats and beans is magical, but that step is optional.
To cook, turn the pot on manual for 10 minutes then let the steam out. If cooking on the stove, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the wheat kernels feel like soft berries. The smell is intoxicating.
Serve with a spoonful of brown sugar and milk, or any fruit of your choice.
In other news, spring is so gorgeous in these parts. Everyday a new bush blossoms.
Logan, Clara and Emmie spend their morning outside creating hidden hideouts, digging holes (?), jumping on the trampoline and staring at the horses. Two new colts arrived this month (one last night!) and a lot of coaxing goes into a five year old's agenda when the prospect of petting new baby horses is on the line.
Here they are, carrots in hand.
Lela is like any other of the Whittier children - exceptionally happy when she's been adequately fed, napped and attended to. She's spoiled and only crawls when she has to; her siblings provide most of her transportation, free of charge.
Clara's starting to read and she and Emmie pick out the same two books every week at the library: The Princess and the Pea (the illustrations include pigs and tigers instead of humans) and The Princess and the Pea (this version starring a girl who really hates to eat peas).
Logan's picks are much more diverse these days; he just finished Ender's Game and now wants to read every Orson Scott Card book in print. I've had to slow him down in this pursuit, much to his chagrin, due to too-mature content, so he settles with The Chronicles of Narnia, any twaddle book about scariness, Louis Lowry books and Percy Jackson. A few weeks ago I read him a book about Margaret Mead and he begged me to check out her first book Coming of Age in Somoa from the library. I didn't think he'd sit through one page, but he's been surprisingly engaged. Homeschooling is more schooling for me than for them, I'm convinced. (I had never heard of Margaret Mead).
Our house is nearing the end of the remodels we've signed on for, and some we never talked about but decided to do last minute. Our goal was to finish a year after we moved in, then 18 months after we moved in, then before my birthday this month. We're nothing if not consistent in underachievement. I'm convinced it will be done by the first of May, though.
Here's a picture of our newly sanded, painted, hardwared kitchen cabinets.
- 6:42 PM
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