Spiced Almond Amaranth Pudding - Vegan, GF, Cleanse Friendly

I have a confession.

I'm a huge word dork.  I could happily pass the time by typing in words at dictionary.com, piecing the puzzles of word origins together.

Around 12 years ago when I was in high school, I  attempted to read the dictionary in search for words with intriguing etymologies or useful definitions.  I even took notes.  I think I made it up to J before I found better things to do.

One of the words I remember writing down was "amaranth," whose etymology and definition is "a flower that never fades."  Doesn't that sound heavenly?  I connected the word to the seed/"pseudograin" while working at a health food store during that time, so I got to try it out. Amaranth cereal was delightfully nutty, and the grain cooked up like teeny tiny bites of couscous.

This morning, I woke up to snow.  By February most Mainers are disgusted by the white powder; I on the other hand find joy in how everything looks fresh with a cozy blanket of snow.  The cold wintry weather made me yearn for something warming and sweet to bake.  I originally wanted rice pudding, but then remembered the jar of amaranth I had waiting for me in the pantry.  I thought about how this "flower that never fades" would make a delightfully textured pudding that would fade from the baking dish pretty quickly. Paired with my last cup of almond meal and a mixture of heat-inducing spices, I was right. 

Amaranth is a winner nutritionally -- it's higher in protein than rice or wheat, and contains a surprisingly complete array of amino acids not usually found in other grains or seeds.  It's also high in iron, phosphorous, manganese, and fiber.  No wonder it was a staple grain of the Incas and Aztecs.  Paired here with almond meal, this dessert packs a protein punch.

Spiced Almond Amaranth Pudding - Vegan, GF, Cleanse Friendly

• 1/2 cup amaranth seeds
• 1 cup almond meal or almond flour you could use coconut if you were feeling tropical
• 2 1/2 cup almond milk or milk of your choice
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 16 drops vanilla liquid stevia
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of allspice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Pour the almond milk into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat until it starts to froth and bubble.  Stir in the amaranth, salt, stevia, and spices, and turn off the heat.  Transfer your mixture into a small greased casserole dish, individual ramekins, or even a pie dish.  Sprinkle with slivered almonds and an extra dash of cinnamon.  Place in the oven for about an hour and ten minutes, or until the amaranth is a chewy texture.  Keep an eye on things:  you might have to add more milk in if you see things drying up a bit too much.  Serves 4 people who can restrain themselves, or 2 people who can't.