Grains in many guises-- gourmet, health-foody, and redundant

As has been well documented, I love me some '70s "health" food. That, of course, was the draw of Cooking with Gourmet Grains (Stone-Buhr Milling Company, copyright 1971, though mine is from a 1978 printing). I mean, just look at the natural wood, squashes, and jars of whole grains on the cover!

I was not disappointed, either. If this seems like the kind of book that would have a recipe for Soy Beans and Millet Casserole, well...

Good call! It's totally got Soy Beans and Millet Casserole! It's the kind of casserole that starts out by assuming you have soy beans and millet on hand, and it does not include canned soup, so you know it's healthy.

This is also the kind of book that imagines sunflower seeds floating around in hot broth is somehow a proper soup.

Sunflower Soup is not the worst recipe I've ever seen (Obviously!), but it's still pretty hard to imagine getting excited about sitting down to a big bowl of soggy sunflower seeds.

While a lot of '70s health food sounds pretty bland, some recipes in Cooking with Gourmet Grains are right upfront about it!

The Farina soup "is a very mild soup that is a favorite with people who prefer foods that are not highly seasoned." In short, bland.

Occasionally, though, the book seems almost forward-thinking in its health foodiness. Wheat-free recipes like the Rice Flour Cake nearly seem meant for our modern gluten-avoiders.

And then you notice the package of Dream Whip, which puts this squarely back in the '70s.

Aside from the health food theme, I enjoyed seeing how the book managed to fit grains into recipes that don't traditionally call for them. Tuna Salad is often served on bread, but that's usually its only connection to grains. 

Not in Cooking with Gourmet Grains, though! Tuna salad needs a base of brown rice in this version.

And while Carrot Raisin Salad doesn't usually have much more to it than the titular ingredients and some salad dressing...

This version is bulked up with cracked wheat. 

Even traditionally grain-centric recipes get bulked up with extra grain. Is the bread in French Toast not quite enough grain for the grain company? Well...

The Puffy French Toast doesn't just get a soak in an egg-and-milk custard. It gets dipped in an actual floury batter before frying! It's kind of like bread dipped in bread.

That's enough carbo-loading for today! Better stop before we get as puffy as the French toast....