I was recently given a copy of new cookbook Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours by Kim Boyce. As someone who loves to bake but doesn’t love to eat tons of white flour, I was excited by the potential of trying recipes using whole grains as varied as amaranth, teff and kamut to boost the nutrition and flavour of recipes.
First up? I couldn’t resist the lure of the pink pancakes: Quinoa and Beet Pancakes, that is. It uses half a cup of pureed roasted beets for colour, flavour and a bit of a nutrition boost (plus they lessen the need for sweetener), and the flour is 1/4 whole wheat, 1/4 quinoa and 1/2 white.
The verdict? 1. They are very pink, and I love it, and I imagine they’d be really fun to make with kids, especially the ones obsessed with the colour pink. 2. You can definitely taste the beets, but as a beet-lover, I think that’s a good thing, and roasted beets are very sweet and go well with syrup and yogurt, which is how we served them. 3. I couldn’t really taste the quinoa flour, or I didn’t think I could, but I’d be interested in doing a comparison test between these and all-wheat pancakes. 4. The recipe definitely makes enough for four, and since we’re only two, I’m going to try freezing them for quick breakfasts in the future.
Oh, and I love this recipe book. For once, something on the market that’s actually got a new (and challenging) angle on cooking.
Kat eats local in Toronto 