So the other day I was kind of bored with my usual lunch choices…I guess that is a creative license to play in the kitchen for sure, right?! I was not in the mood for ramen noodles again, we had exhausted the surplus of leftovers I usually heated up and the kids opted for canned beefaroni (it was on sale and yes, sometimes I cheat…at least for lunches!), which I was not in the mood for. At all. Well in my quest to (sometimes!) eat a little bit healthier, I had started to purchase more new-to-me whole grains, different dried fruits, new and untried (by us anyway) veggies, nuts, seeds…So there was plenty to experiment with. Yeah, I’m thinking “play in the kitchen”! And to top it off — I actually had a spare few moments!!!
Kamut is an interesting grain. I find I appreciate it’s chewy texture and it is a great stand-in for rice, especially with the recent arsenic scare. Not many people have heard of kamut yet. Here is a site that offers some good information on various ways to prepare kamut: http://chefinyou.com/2009/08/how-to-cook-kamut/ I am really grateful to have found a local store that sells not just the grain, but also kamut flakes (which will likely be featured in a coming breakfast post!).
I have also been reading a lot about how turmeric is good for many health conditions. Whenever I think of turmeric I guess I think about curry, so I decided to make a quick curried kamut dish similar to a curried rice. To get an idea of how turmeric is beneficial, you may find this site helpful as well: http://www.ask.com/web?q=turmeric+health+benefits&askid=f46453d0-1219-4cf6-bfbe-0c06bea359cb-0-us_gsb&kv=sdb&gc=0&dqi=&qsrc=999&o=4416&l=dir
Sometimes I don’t always plan too well, but some happy accidents happen in the kitchen, don’t they? I had hoped to pair the kamut with some frozen peas, but I’d used them up in a pasta alfredo-like dish earlier in the week and I was not about to venture out into the cold to run to the store — so I dug around in the freezer and found some frozen corn, which I much prefer over canned. I found the natural sweetness of the corn complimented the entire dish, so I was not disappointed.
Have I mentioned that I am horrible about measuring when I’m “just experimenting”? You will no doubt need to adjust and tweak this to your personal taste, but here is what I did:
* Boil 1 cup water. Add 1/3 cup kamut and then simmer, covered, til close to tender (about 35 minutes).
* Add 1/3 cup frozen corn, 1 tsp turmeric and 1-2 tsp curry powder and let steam on low heat til most of the liquid is absorbed.
* Season with salt to taste.
In the original dish, I ate it as recorded in the above recipe — but for leftovers the next day it occurred to me to add some craisins (we were out of raisins) and some cashews. It gave the dish more depth of flavor, and I will be adding it to my “try on the family next time” list!
Come Play In The Kitchen! 