Mother’s Day Bouquet with Multigrains

The bouquet here refers to the chive blossoms and the oyster mushrooms that look gorgeous enough to compete with their floral cousins. Thanks to the Farmer’s market for the fresh bouquet! The grains taste lot better than it looks in the picture. Enjoy!

Special tools:

None

Ingredients

• 2 cups multi-grains (1/2 cups each of spelt, rye, barley, brown rice) cooked in 3 cups water for about 90 minutes
• Allium: 1 bunch of chive blossoms, chopped)
• Umami: 1 large oyster mushroom (torn into smaller pieces by hand)
• 1 tbsp chili-infused EVOO
• salt to taste

Method

Dry cook the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes and set aside. Add the oil and chopped chives and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes till bright and fragrant. Mix in the cooked grains and salt to taste. Mix well.

Notes, hints, tips:

1. The bouquet looked more impressive in real life than in the photo here. In my attempt to avoid the shadow of my cell phone, I missed the best line of view.
2. Set the cooking time of the grains for 60 minutes; check and add the 30 minutes or less as required.
3. The brown rice here is actually a mixture of brown and black rice in approx 7:3 ratio.
4. I have learnt from a Japanese cook that the best way to chop mushrooms is tearing by hand. Indeed.

Millet-Bulgur with Maitake & Greens: For this second combination of grains, I use 1 cup millet and 1 cup bulgur with cooking time of 20-25 mins. The allium is tender green onions and the mushroom is maitake. I also use a bunch of greens (greens of radishes and of kohlrabi). Separate the stems from the leaves; dice the stems and chiffonade the greens. Mix in the stems with the alliums and follow the same method as above. Except, add the chiffonaded greens and let them wilt before adding the mushrooms.