Corn and Amaranth Cakes. Photo: Fine Cooking (Feb. 2011)

I’m always reading about interesting grains like teff and amaranth. Sometimes I even buy them. But they seem to just sit in the fridge because I’m not quite sure what to use them for. Even grains I’m more familiar with, like millet, tend to be underutilized in my kitchen. Well, that’s going to change, because I rounded up some amazing-sounding recipes featuring off-the-beaten-path grains. I hope they inspire you to move beyond brown rice in the coming weeks, too.

In addition to teff, amaranth and millet recipes, I’m including an intriguing recipe for Purple Barley Risotto with Cauliflower created by one of my cooking heroes, Martha Rose Shulman. But Martha, where in the world can I buy purple barley? I’ll have to check at Whole Foods. Meanwhile, if you have luck finding it, please report back!

Recipes to expand your whole grain repertoire:

Corn and Amaranth Griddle Cakes with Spicy Black Beans adapted by The Bitten Word from a fab article in Fine Cooking. (Recommend substituting a heart-healthier oil for the butter.)

Turkish Millet with Garden Fresh Greens from Veg Kitchen

Purple Barley Risotto with Cauliflower from Martha Rose Schulman’s Recipes for Health column

Teff Date-Nut Coffee Quick Bread from Kitchen Therapy

Spiced Almond Amaranth Pudding from The Spiced Plate

Check it out – Lorna Sass’ great cookbook, Whole Grains, Every Day Every Way is on sale, and you can get it right here at my shiny new Amazon store.