Real Foodie Maria Speck
Today’s Real Foodie is Maria Speck, author of the cookbook Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, which won the Julia Child Award and was named a New York Times notable cookbook, a Washington Post top 10 cookbook and one of Cooking Light’s Top 100 Cookbooks of the Last 25 Years. Maria has a passion for propelling Old World staples such as faro (our favorite!), barley, polenta, and wheat berries to the forefront of new American cooking. She draws on food traditions from across the Mediterranean and northern Europe to reveal how versatile, satisfying, flavorful, and sophisticated whole grains can be. Maria has been kind enough to share her recipes for Fig Muffins with Creamy Goat Cheese Filling and Kamut Salad with Carrots and Pomegranate with us, which are fantastic Real Food Recipes for the family to enjoy.
When we asked this critically acclaimed cookbook author why she chooses Real Food, she had this to say:
"For me, one of the big pleasures of cooking and eating real food has to do with flavor. You might find yourself amazed at the clean taste of a garden-fresh tomato or a cucumber in summer, or you might discover layers of flavor in good-quality chocolate or a local cheese. Personally, I have been smitten by the nuances of flavors in ancient grains, which so many still just regard as a blank and bland canvas. Grains to me not only have many fascinating textures, from comforting (think polenta or millet), to softly crunchy (as in amaranth and quinoa) to supremely chewy (as in wheat, spelt, or rye berries). They also have subtle flavors I learned to cherish and use in my everyday cooking: rye, for example, brings enticing tang, Kamut buttery richness, and oats a pleasing natural sweetness. Discovering these aromas can be a revelation."
Let us know what you think of the amazing flavors of Maria’s Real Food Recipes!
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