Spicy Millet Salad with Corn and Peanuts

You know we preach the gospel of whole grains. Yes, we've got the book on GRAIN MAINS, just out. (Look to the right for it.) But really, our devotion is more than a mere cookbook. It's personal, too. And a story we've never told.

About two years ago, one of us had a health scare: a scary colon matter, more than a polyp, with a 100% chance of its turning into cancer. It was removed--and we're all the better for it. But we started eating more whole grains--partly because the health professionals encouraged it. Brown rice at first, mostly because we didn't know much better. Then wheat berries. Maybe wild rice, too. We started by putting them on the side of the plate--with that pat-of-butter cliché.

But something happened: those whole grains were so darn delicious, we wanted more. And more kinds. We started moving them to the center of the plate. Bye bye, pat of butter. Hello, some of the most satisfying main courses we've ever created.

Then something else happened: because of the way whole grains interact in the body, both of us ended up losing over ten pounds each, despite heaping platefuls--that is, by eating MORE, not less.

Ahem. Great taste, good health, weight loss. Convinced yet? Dig in to this freebie recipe, adapted from our new book:

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Spelt Berry Salad with Pesto

Well, it's here: the long-awaited GRAIN MAINS, the first-ever attempt to move grains from the side to the center of the plate. Check it out to the left. It's shipping, available, ready--and we're excited.

You see, we believe that whole grains are the gourmet ingredients hiding in plain sight. We're not talking about their health claims. (As we say in the book, we promise never to mention your colon.) Instead, we're talking about the ways that whole grains amplify, mute, and morph flavors in a dish once they become its ballast, its very reason to be.

There's no better way to prove our theory than to start with a simple whole grain salad made from spelt berries. We love them! They've got the best chew of almost any whole grain and they have a sweet/sour slapdash flavor that turns surprisingly elegant when combined with savory, fresh ingredients. If you want to see whole grains as the gourmet finds right under your nose, just make a simple recipe like this one.

Soak a batch (maybe 1 cup?) of spelt berries in a bowl of water overnight, drain, put them in a large saucepan, fill the pan two-thirds with water, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Drop the heat to low, cover partially, and cook about 45 minutes, until the spelt berries are tender with a little chew. Drain in a colander set in the sink and refresh with cool tap water to stop the cooking. Drain thoroughly.

(Having trouble finding spelt berries? Look in most high-end grocery stores and almost all health-food stores. Or order them online from dozens of suppliers. Or click here.)

Chop up some tomatoes and celery--the perfect ingredients for a summery salad.

Mix the tomatoes, celery, and spelt berries in a big bowl. Then pour in some pesto--not too much, just enough to moisten the grains. We used our own homemade pesto--but purchased can stand in for an even quicker salad.

Stir it up, give it many good grinds of fresh black pepper, stir it again, and chow down on this easy salad main course, a great lunch any day of the week. Honestly, you'll see what we mean at first bite. This is something you haven't experienced. This is a whole grain in all its glory--not shoved to the side of the plate or tarted up in a baking recipe. This is what you've been missing!

Kamut, Tuna, and White Bean Salad

Okay, we're excited. It's less a little over two months until our new book comes out: GRAIN MAINS. All whole grain main courses. And we mean whole grains. No desserts, no side dishes. And no flours, no pasta. Or if there is a whole grain flour in a recipe, there's a "true" whole grain in there as well. It's the first book of its kind--moving whole grains to the center of the plate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (To get your copy, click here for amazon, here for Barnes & Noble, or here for indepedent booksellers.)

To celebrate, we thought we'd blog a simple, whole-grain recipe that's something of a lunch standard in our house. It's made with KAMUT, an organic brand of ancient khorasan wheat--and surely one of our favorite whole grains on the market. Kamut has a nutty, chewy pop; it's mild and sweet as well, a perfect foil to the tuna in this whole-grain rendition of lunch.

So let's get to it.

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Wheat Berry Salad with Zucchini, Boiled Lemon Rind, and Toasted Almonds

When I see these two pots on the stove, boiling lemons and simmering wheat berries, I know there's something delicious ahead--that is, one of my all-time favorite grain salads: tasty, summery, and fresh.

And there's something delicious ahead for you. This is the first recipe I've posted from our new cookbook, GRAIN MAINS: 101 SURPRISING AND SATISFYING WHOLE GRAIN RECIPES FOR EVERY MEAL OF THE DAY. It hits stores in August, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at one of its many whole-grain salads. If you want, you can even pre-order a copy--click here for Barnes & Noble, click here for amazon, or here for indepedent booksellers.

But for now, the salad.

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