Einkorn–a funny word you might be interested in if you have gluten sensitivities. Especially if you really, really want bread again, but even a whiff of wheat sends your gut into overdrive.

Follow me on Bloglovin

Hello again, Dear Readers:

Spring is springing up everywhere, especially since much of the US is now on Daylight Savings Time. Arizona, Indiana and a few other states don’t observe it, and there is a movement in Texas to ditch it for good. Will they do it? Who knows? I kind of wish the entire US would dump it–it’s just hard on us all twice a year.

A slow-cooked week

Yesterday morning, I tossed some on-sale beef of indeterminate origin into the slow cooker, seasoned it with some Paula Deen House Seasoning, a little olive oil and turned it on. Lately, that’s just how we roll, but there’s a dinner already cooked when we get home. We just cook some rice, quinoa, and whatever else to go with it. Monday, I did the same with some pork stew meat–and it was pretty good. I just tossed the frozen meat in the slow cooker, seasoned it and added a bit of olive oil, turned it on and walked out. We had a ready-and-waiting dinner that night. But after I put the meat in the slow cooker yesterday, one of his car-guy friends, Big Dave, called, and we did an impromptu barbecue. So with the slow-cooked meat, BF’s lunch was already made for today, and dinner for me later.

Today’s email from Stephanie O’Dea discusses taking your slow cooker on travel with the fam. Can you blame her? Apparently a lot of people do this. Camping, hotels–and the food is ready to eat, all you need is a working outlet, just like your waffle maker. If BF and I ever start traveling, we’ll definitely pack a slow-cooker if we can.

Still writing

I’ve been busy writing, and boy, have I got an interesting subject for you. (Well, I think it is.) Unless, of course, you already know what “einkorn” is. Even if you do, I invite you to keep reading, because you might be interested to know what happened when I finally got around to using some and foisting it, I mean, offering it to BF and his friends for a taste-test.

Amy’s disclaimer

Let me point out (again) that I’m not a doctor, nurse, or medical professional. I do research and report on it. You must use your own judgement when trying something new, particularly if you have a medical condition. Don’t go full bore and eat, drink or use something that you’re not sure about because Amy (or another blogger who is actually trustworthy) says you should. You must do a little reading and decide for yourself. What I do know is that if you have a gluten allergy, einkorn may be something you can have. BUT–you’ll need to read more and try a little of it if you think it’s worth it. That’s why I provide links, so you can see where I got my info from.

If you have celiac disease. . .no. Celiac is an autoimmune disease, completely different from the gluten allergy, and you absolutely cannot have einkorn. These things I know from my research, not because I’m an expert.

Now for some updates.

Post-modern menus in the Casa de Rurale

BF indulges me, and I take the best care I can of him. He says he’s just “humoring” me on these natural things, like the tea tree oil for his feet. Rest assured that BF is fed well, whether he wants to believe it or not. He explained to me a few nights ago that the menu in his kitchen is divided into two time frames: “Pre-Amy” and “Post-Amy.” (My first question: “am I leaving?“) There are foods he was used to eating and making for himself before I showed up, (i.e., Hamburger Helper) and the new, ultra-modern things that are produced in his kitchen now that I’m there (like Pea & Pesto Soup, and anything with cannellini beans, or foods from the waffle maker or slow cooker.) Me? I’m still trying to eat clean and low-carb in an environment with Kool-Aid, cookies and vegetable oil, best I can.

More culture shock

Last week his daughter, son and partner came for another impromptu BBQ dinner. I was glad to see them, but I wasn’t ready! I was hurrying to clear off the table and for dinner while they were outside trying not to burn down the house. Despite the frozen chocolate cream pie they brought, and the potato salad BF bought at Walmart, I was able to eat rather clean by requesting BF not put that stuff he calls “barbecue sauce” on my pork ribs. They were only subjected to the barbecue rub I have made for many years, with sugar or gluten or anything. The rest were coated with a “sauce” from a bottle loaded with HFCS and other dreadful chemicals. He was kind enough to use a separate pair of tongs for mine, too.

Her son is 3, and as active and precocious as they come. At some point, she asked me if there was any Kool-Aid. No kidding–and BF has some of that chemical-infused sugar powder in his pantry, in addition to soft drinks in the fridge. She made a pitcher of it and started putting it in the wee one’s sippy cup. Horrified, I asked, “you’re giving that to you child?” She said, “Oh, yeah, it’s great!”

She has not read Tox-Sick. (My paperback copy arrived last weekend.)

He thinks I know all this stuff

BF managed to leave out a few important details when he requested “spaghetti and meat sauce” the other night, like browning a pound of ground beef before pouring a jar of <ugh> Ragu spaghetti sauce into the skillet and letting that warm while boiling the pastas. His pasta was some of the multiple boxes of spaghetti in his pantry; mine was a cup of Ronzoni gluten-free penne pasta, found at the Hammond Winn-Dixie. I was browning ground beef at 9:30 at night. He just assumed I knew all this. I didn’t.

Never, ever assume anything. And, of course, read your recipe all the way through before you start chopping something and discover that you don’t have enough butter, oil, or something else crucial to your recipe. (Did that Sunday.)

Einkorn

So, recently I wrote an article for my natural health Upwork client on Einkorn wheat. (I don’t know yet when it will be published, but will give you the link when it is.) If you’ve never heard of it, well, you’re not alone–I didn’t either until I read Wheat Belly. Einkorn is what humans started cultivating as “wheat” a long, long, time ago in the Fertile Crescent when formal agriculture started, and before hybridization. Wheat is hybridized, not GMO, so I was wrong on that. (Amazing what you find out when you do more research.)

I was also surprised to find out that einkorn is actually widely available in the US.

I actually bought a bag many months ago at Erma’s Nutrition Center in Nassau Bay, intending to make bread with it and share it with the GER, mostly as a taste-test. (Maybe the GER assumes I’m the better baker, I dunno.) Well, I never got that far, the bag stayed in my fridge and made the trip to BF’s place last year, and still bounced around his his fridge. (In that bottom drawer where I keep my alternate baking stuff.) After taking on the task of writing a 700-word article on the subject, I realized, “I think I still have a bag of this in the fridge.” So I went looking for it and recipes to make with it.

Why Einkorn?

This “original wheat,” while not entirely gluten free, is a lot lower in gluten and starch than our modern hybrid wheat. It’s also higher in protein. This means that if you have a gluten sensitivity when you eat modern wheat, there is the possibility that you can tolerate einkorn.

Dr. Davis explains his experiment in the book, buying einkorn berries, grinding them and making bread with them. Eating the bread he made, he experienced no ill effects after enjoying some. He did the same thing with our modern dwarf wheat flour, made his bread, had some, and experienced two days of gut trauma. So, yes, it can indeed be the modern wheat we have in this country making you or your loved ones ill. Einkorn may allow bread, pasta, cookies, cakes and other wheat-based baked goods on your menu again.

More einkorn resources

This article by The Kitchen Steward explains five ways that einkorn differs from modern wheat. And At Healthy Home Economist, she explains why her family is switching to einkorn, soon as they use up what they already have.

Here are some baking tips on working with einkorn from Jovial’s Website. You can order it online, and use their locator to find it in your area.

Their daughter was sick

Jovial Foods was started by Carla and Rodolfo Bertolucci, whose daughter suddenly became very ill. With a background in organic farming and a love of Italian cooking, they discovered that she was ill from a gluten sensitivity, and sought to find answers. Carla found einkorn, nearly extinct, and they have, so to speak, “brought it back to life” for a new generation. Together, they founded Jovial Foods, naming it for the joy they felt after finding a way to help their daughter and create delicious food that wouldn’t make her sick anymore. Jovial offers flour, pastas and baking tools for working with einkorn. Carla even wrote a cookbook on the subject (and if you order the book, they’ll send you a free bag of flour with it.) Now, more people can enjoy einkorn–and bread–again.

Some fine print first

Let me point out a few things about einkorn. First, good as it is, yes, it is more expensive. It’s grown and harvested in Italy, organic, and is not like the everyday flour you get in your local grocery. You can’t just use it cup-for-cup in your regular bread or pizza crust recipes, either. Jovial offers some tips on baking with einkorn.

If you’re already dealing with it. . . .

Second, as I’ve said before: if you have someone in your household who has these kinds of allergies, you’re already spending on alternative ingredients to be able to feed them. Incorporating healthier alternatives into the everyday meal plan helps the whole family, and may help the allergic one feel less “left out.” It’s not fun to be singled out because you’ve got this allergy that you can’t help, you know? And it’s not a bad thing if the rest of the family gets to try something tasty and healthy and learns to enjoy it.

Third: gluten sensitivity is not the same thing as celiac disease, although some of the treatments may be the same. Celiac is an autoimmune disease, and celiac sufferers can’t indulge in einkorn, sorry. (That’s from my research on the other article.) And gluten sensitive folks need to try just a little einkorn to make sure they can enjoy it safely and they don’t end up getting sick from it. Many GF folks can tolerate einkorn because of the lower gluten and starch content. And, as I discovered, modern bread has more starch added in to make it lighter and fluffier. No wonder people get sick from it. Jovial’s website also offers additional information on gluten free and specifically, on celiac disease.

What does it look like?

Well, when you open the bag, it looks like. . .flour:

It definitely doesn’t smell like your regular Martha White flour, (it smells good) and it feels bit heavier than your regular flour, too.

I finally used it!

OK, I *really* wanted to bake bread with it, but I didn’t have time this past weekend.  I’ll do that soon. But out of the blue, BF and I were invited to his friend’s place for dinner on Sunday. It was supposed to be a birthday dinner for someone, but that couple couldn’t make it. So. . .it was six of us: me, BF, his friend Big H, his girlfriend K, her 13-yo daughter M and Big H’s 13-yo nephew, also named H. BF worked during the day Sunday, and after I picked him up, we headed over to H’s homestead. He’s already got a lovely house, but he’s also building a barn, and a saw mill, and a few other things on the property.

It’s the kind of place that I envisioned for myself. . .in Texas. North of Houston. By myself, with Internet, and being that copywriter homesteading in the woods. Oh, well. . .me and BF are doing it with one bathroom and not enough closet space.

During the einkorn research, I found a bread recipe as well as one for brownies on a blog called Live Simply. I saved both of them to use later, and I’ve uploaded them to the Recipes page as well. Again, as of this writing, not made the bread yet, but plan to at some point, and get more of the flour on my next trip to Whole Foods. (That comes under the category of “BF indulges me.”) Kristin Marr, the blog author actually has four recipes for einkorn on her website, if you’re interested; just do a search for “einkorn” and they’ll all show up.

Brownies, in a side-by-side taste test

So, with my article sent to the client, I left the library early with BF and spent most of the weekend doing lots and lots of chores. (They never end at the Casa de Rurale.) About a third of the chores actually were completed, and those will be done this week now that the laundry is mostly finished. I decided that I would use his friends as additional taste-testers, which they were happy to do when I said “brownies.” Big H told me not to talk about the “alternate” version until people had tried them, especially the kids. And BF didn’t mind too much, because I was going to make his favorites anyway.

I pointed out that I wasn’t looking for accolades, but opinions. Things like, “Wow, Amy, you’re a great baker!” That doesn’t tell me anything, right? Besides. . .I already know!

It was a day where I kept looking around saying to myself, “where’s my water?” This is what I’m looking for:

 

I do get the irony of the red plastic cups that BF insists on using. No dishwasher (of course not, it’s Louisiana, almost no one has one) and he’s not about to wash dishes. But anyway. . . .

I started baking

Since the einkorn brownies were made in a skillet, I made the Duncan Hines version in a skillet too. And of course, didn’t tell anyone which was which. They were obviously different, but again, didn’t tell anyone until I got an opinion from each.

This is pretty simple–just dump it into a mixing bowl and go for it:

Mix really well, 50 strokes the box says:

And it comes out like this:

Grease your pan:

Now, the instructions don’t tell you how long to bake these if you’re using a cast-iron skillet, so I had to estimate.

I went with 325F, and I think it took about 25 minutes. Naturally, I forgot to take a picture of this pan when it came out of the oven. I texted one to BF, so I guess that’s why I didn’t use the camera.

Did I mention I was coloring my hair while this was going on? Don’t worry–my haircolor is a plant-based organic, and even if any did get into the brownies, it’s fine. (No, none did. At any time.)

The Duncan Hines brownies came out as they normally do. Took them out of the oven, set them on the stove, and set about on the next recipe.

Naturally Sweetened Einkorn Skillet Brownie

This one is a little more complicated, and calls for more ingredients, as you might imagine. Because, why? They’re made from scratch!

For all of you readers still working in IT, yes, I brought my laptop into the kitchen. I was very careful, and there were no accidents. But I really do need to clean that keyboard and use the little tiny attachments I have to vacuum all the dust out of it.

The recipe calls for 12 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled. Guess who only had one stick of butter left? Yes–and thankfully, there was an option for one stick of butter and a quarter cup of coconut oil, also melted and cooled. So that’s what you see off to the left. And if you’re paying attention, you’ll see the label of a bottle of good Texas honey from HEB. When you buy it, they have little plastic bottles at the store–but I already had a glass jar to store it in, and just transferred the label over. That’s BF’s little bottle of cinnamon, but trust me, we have more–a lot more. I think I’m going to have to refill it so he doesn’t panic.

Two exceptions

In my local Winn-Dixie, I couldn’t get the brand of chocolate chips Kristin recommended, nor could I get instant espresso powder. So. . .I got what I could, and what was cheap and would do the job. Bought little packets of Folger’s Instant (I can’t find the big jar of the HEB instant) and some of the regular Winn-Dixie chocolate chips.  If I’d planned a trip to Whole Foods, I might have been able to get them, but that’s not in the cards yet, darnit.

Yes, Miss Sunie, you may tell everyone that I’m still missing my HEB. And tell Miss Carolyn and Miss Lei I said “Hi,” please–I was thinking about Miss Lei just this morning.

First, mix the wet ingredients

Mix the butter (or in my case, butter and coconut oil) , and then the vanilla and espresso (coffee) powder:

I’m still using home-made vanilla extract, just like The Barefoot Contessa does:

If you don’t know this, grease the inside of that cup before you pour some rich, delicious Texas honey into it:

Once you get all those put together–carefully, so your butter and/or coconut oil doesn’t seize or freeze up–whisk it:

Get that stuff moving:

Now leave it alone.

Next, the dry ingredients

Whisk together all the dry stuff and make sure there are no lumps:

And cocoa powder, of course:

Baking powder:

 

And a little of BF’s cinnamon:

And whisk that all together.

Another quick kitchen tip

Something else I’ve been teaching BF to do is check the bottom of the bowl to make sure it’s all mixed. Sometimes when he’s baking from a box, he doesn’t check this. But, seriously, take a look:

If I hadn’t looked, it wouldn’t have come out right. Finally, I got it all done:

Then I mixed the dry stuff into the wet stuff. I can’t take a picture of myself while mixing the wet into the dry–I only have two hands, and BF was at work.

Not so fast

At this point, you let it sit for ten minutes. It thickens up considerably from a fluid liquid to a thick, pasty liquid, no kidding. The oven was already preheated:

So I just put a bit of coconut oil in the Lodge skillet:

And once it thickens, you fold in the chocolate chips.

Since I wasn’t able to get the brand Kristin recommended, and the mini-chips cost twice as much, I bought the Winn-Dixie brand. They’re not bad, but I know the HEB brand would have been better. (Just an opinion.) So Kristin says to use a “heaping 1/2 cup” if you’re not using the mini-chips.

Fold them right into this now-thickened batter:

Mix and fold well:

It looks like this:

And pour into the skillet:

Yeah. . .pour it right in.

I had to put down the camera and scrape it out with the spatula by hand. It’s that thick. No kidding.

So you bake it for about 25 minutes, testing it before you take it out of the oven. At this point, it was also time to take phase 2 of my hair color out, so that worked out well. It was great once I took it out of the oven:

Unfortunately, some of the pictures I took have. . .disappeared. I don’t know why, but I can’t find them. But I can tell you the rest of the story. Both pans were wrapped in foil and loaded in the back seat of the  White Knight and transported to Big H’s place about 20 minutes away.

Over the river and through the woods. . . .

For dinner, we had, among other things, this delicious chicken roasted outside on a rotisserie:

And there was some grocery-store rolls coated with butter that were baked, (I passed) salad, and some jalapeno & cheese sausage going on, which I liked even better than this delicious chicken. We were told that it’s available at a slaugtherhouse up in Kentwood, where K lives. (Half hour away, maybe?) Yeah, I got two words for that sausage: ROAD TRIP!

How did they like the brownies?

Well, we talked about all kinds of stuff, and had a great time. More culture shock: K’s daughter loves Harry Potter, but her grandmother told her that it was “evil” or something, and that she shouldn’t watch it. Fortunately, K disagrees, and M is a huge fan.  Little H was telling me about his grandmother, a heavy smoker, and how she uses basil to help her breathe. From there I couldn’t stop telling him about pesto, and Pea & Pesto Soup. Both were smart kids, and it was great to talk to them.

When it came time for brownies, I explained that I was looking for opinions, not accolades, and that’s what I got.

The results of the taste test

BF, of course, knew immediately without being told which one was the Duncan Hines, and of course, he preferred it. He said that the einkorn brownie was “okay,” but a bit dry.

Both of the kids enjoyed both types of brownies, and Little H took a couple of them home. M said they tasted a little like red velvet cake. And, in the light in big H’s kitchen, I had to agree that they looked like red velvet, too.

K felt like the Duncan Hines was fudgier, but that the einkorn type was pretty good, too. Like me, K watches what she eats for health reasons, but she did tuck into one or two of those rolls she baked up.

Big H said that with a glass of milk, it would be a pretty passable brownie, especially if you couldn’t have the Duncan Hines (or other wheat-based brownie) anymore. He agreed with the assessment that there was a taste of red velvet cake involved, and that it wasn’t a bad thing at all.

We also some gave some to Big Dave last night, right next to a Duncan Hines brownie. He said it would be good with coconut oil. Well, it has some–but he enjoyed it as well, even if it was a bit drier. “It’s good, but it’s different,” he said.

And me, well, I like the einkorn brownies. I’ve tried Duncan Hines type once or twice. It’s a little too sweet, and of course, has the “fudgy” quality when you use one egg. Actually, I’d call it more “sticky” than “fudgy,” but that’s the high amount of sugar and other chemicals they add to make it taste good. The einkorn brownie has more of a strong, stark chocolate taste to it, and it’s more of a “cake-like” brownie than “fudgy.” Maybe if you served them warm, they’d be “fudgier.”

What’s next for einkorn in the HeatCageKitchen?

Last summer, before I was getting ready to move, I was chanting with Miss Alice at her place. I could not stop thinking about baking bread for BF. Weird, right? So that’s probably going to happen at some point, along with cooking up some more delicious food as I find the recipes.

I saw Carla Bertolucci’s einkorn cookbook in the Clear Lake Barnes & Noble a couple of years ago, but didn’t buy it. I read through it and liked it, and put it on the mental list of books I want in my collection. Now that I know I can get a free bag of flour if I order it from Jovial, well, that’s a plan! Sometime. . . .when I make some more money. I need more bookshelves first. Along with one of those baking tools and the linen thingy they have, too. I know that I can get the einkorn flour in Mandeville, Baton Rouge or New Orleans, so it’s just a matter of when I get to one of the stores when I need to. Much as a I prefer grain free, I do like the healthier option available, much like the delicious things in the Babycakes books. They’re not everyday items, but occasional healthy treats that are good to make and have for company or just for the week.

Until next time. . . .

I hope that I’ve offered up some suggestions for anyone looking at gluten-free, or who knows someone dealing with a gluten allergy. Einkorn can be a part of a delicious, healthy, organic eating plan that includes everything you might want, but you have to do a little work for it. If and when I bake bread for us, I’ll report on it, of course.

Again, I urge you to do more reading if you (or someone you know) have a medical condition and aren’t sure if einkorn is would be a good thing. Start with Wheat Belly, and go from there. The information is out there, Pinterest has loads of recipes, and Jovial Foods has plenty of info available on their website, too.

Enjoy!