One is millet flour. This morning, I was yearning to make biscuits. Not to eat them, particularly, but to mix a batter, to knead a dough for a minute,and feel the weight of a future meal accompaniment in my hand. This started after seeing Molly of Orangette make biscuits for her house guests. The recipe she used was from a lovely sounding collection entitled, The Breakfast Book. It fascinates me how one cook's recipe can inspire someone, and how that someone can inspire someone else, and then, here I am, with the urge to bake on account of this chain of inspiration.
So, my idea was to make these biscuits both a bit more hearty and gluten free. I pictured them something true British folks would like - a bit edgy, needing butter or jelly, or perhaps a nice slathering of chutney. Millet flour and oats seemed like they would fit the bill. The problem was, however, that I didn't have millet flour. A whole jar of bright looking millet seed was gleaming at me from the pantry. I decided I had nothing to lose by throwing a quarter cup into the blender.
Millet Oat Biscuits
adapted from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book
- 1 cup millet flour you can buy millet flour already ground if you don't want to make your own
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup oats be sure to get the gluten free kind if you can't eat gluten!
- 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon stevia you can use 1 teaspoon sugar or honey if you wish
- 3/4 - 1 cup milk of your choice see instructions -- you may need more or less, depending on the consistency of your flour, oats, and batter in general
- 3 tablespoons applesauce you could use an equal amount of butter if you desire
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
Preheat your oven to a toasty 425 degrees.In your favorite medium sized mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients thoroughly. Add in the butter and applesauce, stirring vigorously. Slowly pour in the milk, a little at a time, until a handsome dough forms - you should be able to pick it up without things dripping through your fingers. Place your baby ball of dough onto a floured surface and knead gently for about a minute. Using your hands (or a rolling pin if you're so inclined), form the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Slice the rectangle into 8 squares. If you remember, brush the squares with butter. If you're like me and forgot, that's okay -- they'll taste just as good. Put them on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart, and let the magic happen in the oven for about 15 minutes, or when a golden brown has appeared on the bottom edges. Yields 8 of various sizes.
I have a beet-apple chutney that I'm dreaming up for these lovelies. I'll be sure to share with you if all goes well with it.
Other things I've needed lately are a few good supplements. Nothing too major, just something to give my diet a little oomph, especially since I've been cleansing. The good folks over at Swanson Vitamins were nice enough to treat me to a few supplements to try out.
I received Mega Probiotic Chewables by Food Science of Vermont, Organic Chlorella from Green Foods, and Liqui-dulse iodine supplement from Bernard Jensen.
I chose these three to review because I knew they'd be beneficial to me on my cleanse.
Probiotics are a fantastic supplement to help your belly digest food properly -- the more good bacteria in your gut, the better!
Chlorella is full of iron and iron's absorbing buddy vitamin C, vitamin b12 (something that a lot of vegans are lacking), and is used to increase energy and immunity. In addition, chlorella and aids in the detoxification process -- pretty perfect for the boost I needed in my nutrition.
Iodine is an essential nutrient to the thyroid, and helps your metabolism function properly. Iodine also flushes the body of toxic chemicals -- again, something great for cleansing. Since my salt isn't fortified with iodine and I don't get to eat a lot of seaweed, this supplement sounded like something I wanted to add to my regimen.
The Chewables from FoodScience of Vermont tasted pretty amazing. They claim to be an orange flavor, but they were more sweet and almost vanilla to me, but my taste buds might just be a little off. They recommended to take 1 tablet, 3 times a day, but since I thought that the 2.25 billion CFU of probiotic cultures per tablet to be a little low (although great for a chewable), I took more than that. I think I got a bit addicted to the taste. I stored mine in the refrigerator to keep those bacteria alive, although the bottle didn't recommend that, it's the practice I've done since learning about it when working in a health food store. It also had some enzymes like amylase, bromelain, and lipase. Gluten free and yeast free, I'd definitely order these. I've been taking them for 3 weeks and know they have helped my belly to feel better.
The Organic Chlorella impressed me with its high nutritional value. You did need to have 15 tablets to achieve the full effect, but it wasn't that hard to do, spreading throughout the day. They come in tablet form, and I chewed them and even put them into smoothies a few times. I'm sure you could swallow them, too, but I tend to chew if possible. I hardly felt tired during my cleanse, and perhaps this helped keep my energy high.
The iodine will last me a while -- you just need 4 drops to get 150% of your iodine requirements. Thus, I only took 3 drops in the morning. I didn't notice any differences, but like I said, I've had a great level of energy during my cleansing process, so I'd like to think this helped too. There's a history of thyroid problems in my family, so I think this is something I'd like to keep taking, even after the cleanse is over.
Do you take any supplements? What things have you needed lately?
