My favorite recipes – Meet Joseph’s Grainery, Colfax

Jana Mathia | Sep 09, 20100

After being frustrated by wheat prices that soared and then crashed, Bill Myers of Colfax started looking for a better way to market his wheat. While researching the dilemma, he kept coming across people selling wheat direct to the consumer. He had never really considered eating his own wheat before—the only time he had was at harvest when he would grab a handful to munch on. Bill looked into it more and found that more nutrients are taken out than put back into “enriched” four.

Kelli Collins, Joseph Collins and Bill Myers.

He shared the idea with family, especially daughter Kelli Collins, Bainbridge Island.

“When he was telling me about it, it defiantly struck a cord,” she said, who noted at the time the growing trend was toward knowing where your food came from.

He sent her a computer file of the design he had in mind for the label. It was very basic and simple, so Kelli played around with it and created what is pretty much the logo today.

Thus, Joseph’s Grainery was born. Bill’s dad and Kelli’s son are named Joseph, but the name also carries a biblical reference to the Joseph who stored wheat through the seven years of plenty to prepare for the seven years of lean.

Joseph’s Grainery sells hard red wheat, soft white wheat, barley and lentil in whole kernels and flour. Bill noted the flour retains all its original nutrients.

“I’m a simple guy. I just dump the wheat in the mill,” he said.

Most of their products are sold on-line through the website Kelli maintains, http://www.josephsgrainery.com. It is also available at Rosauers and other local stores. Bill has been taking the products to Farmers Markets where he is met with several questions of what to do with the wheat. When he starts to tell them the different possibilities, he still gets some blank stares.

To help answer that question, the main page of the website is where Kelli keeps a food blog. There she lists recipes and pictures of food made with their whole kernels or flour.

“It’s been a ton of fun,” she said. Before Joseph’s Grainery, she hadn’t used a lot of flour and whole kernels, so she has learned a lot.

“This has really opened my eyes to I need to be feeding my family healthier food,” she added. In the year since they started Joseph’s Grainery, she can tell a difference in her family’s health with the change in diet.

Kelli tries three to five new recipes a week. A lot have now become a part of their regular menu.

“Some of the recipes are no more time-consuming than what you’re used to,” she said. While some of the recipes require more forethought to soak kernels or lentils, many she can have on the table in half an hour.

Not every recipe is a success.

“There are quite a few that don’t turn out,” she noted. Those she might try again later, tweak a few ingredients, or post on-line with the good ones asking for input.

In addition to the website, they also have Joe’s Grain channel on YouTube since January. Videos include instructionals by Kelli on how to crack wheat with your blender, mill it into flour and several recipes. There is also farming footage, showing where the wheat comes from and how it’s harvested.

“Shepherd’s Grain can show you the faces; I can show you the field,” Bill said.

All the grains come from Bill’s fields. When he doesn’t grow his own lentils, he buys from a local farmer.

“It all comes out of the Palouse,” he said. He has three 1,000 bushel bins he uses for storing the grain. Bill takes special care to make sure the products are clean with no chemical residue. What chemicals are used on the plant are done so early it doesn’t show up in the kernels.

Bill’s family has been farming for five generations.

“And who knows what they were doing in Germany. Probably farming,” he said. His great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather came to the area on their way west. This is where they ran out of money and stopped to work. By the time they had the money to go on, they decided they liked the place and started farming. The picture used for the Joseph’s Grainery logo is one of Bill’s dad and uncle in one of their fields in the Diamond area.

All this time Bill has had the feeling that their enthusiasm and energy are coming from beyond themselves, as if God is inspiring and pushing them along.

“I just can’t shake the notion this is going somewhere,” he said.

As Kelli adds to the website, they are playing with ideas of making mixes like pancakes and breakfast cereal. Bill hopes to someday create a franchise and have other farmers in different area around the nation under the Joseph’s Grainery name. He noted one of their biggest expenses is shipping. By having others around the nation, those costs could be dropped and more people could have the benefits of eating grain and flour as God made it.

Bill noted that 120 pounds of grain is supposed to be able to sustain one man for a year. With Kelli’s variety of recipes—more than 200 now posted on the web-site—that doesn’t seem like such a hard way to live.

Recipes:

Lentil & Sausage Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, diced

4+ cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb mild Italian pork sausage (or more if you want)

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 c Joseph’s Grainery Lentils, rinsed

8 to 10 c beef broth

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

2 Tbsp tomato paste (we actually put the whole little can in - oops!)

1 c fresh spinach (we used frozen)

2 tsp rosemary, chopped

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion in olive oil for several minutes in a big soup pot.

Add sausage and garlic and saute until sausage is browned.

Add carrots and saute for several more minutes. Then add lentils and saute briefly.

Add broth, tomatoes, paste and seasoning and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes.

If it becomes too thick, add more broth or water.

Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Cracked Wheat & Raspberry Scone

1 c Joseph’s Grainery Soft White Wheat, cracked in a blender for 1-2 minutes

1 c Joseph’s Grainery Soft White Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 c, plus 2 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 c milk

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 c water

1 tsp vanilla

1 c fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries or blackberries)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the mixture, until it has small lumps the size of peas. Add the liquid ingredients and mix no more than 20 strokes. Mix the berries into the dough. At this point you can either A) roll the dough and cut into wedges or B) if you’re like us and are adverse to dirtying more dishes and surfaces, just form the wedges with your hands. Place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with the 2 Tbsp of sugar. Bake for about 18 minutes.

Soft Barley Pretzel

2 1/2 tsp Dry Active Yeast

1 Tbsp honey

1 c Joseph’s Grainery Barley Flour

2 1/2 c all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

You’ll also need 1/2 c baking soda and salt and/or sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling over the pretzels.

In a large bowl add 1 1/2 c warm water (about 100 degrees) and honey to the yeast, stir to combine. Then add the flours and salt and stir again. On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 12 minutes (sometimes we just flour our hands and walk around the house kneading it in our hands). Use cooking spray to grease a large bowl, put the dough into the bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for an hour and a half. It will double in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place the two racks at the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. Cut the dough into 12 pieces and roll into long skinny “snakes”. Shape into pretzels

While you are waiting for the pretzels to rise (about 15 minutes), fill a large pot with 10 cups of water and bring to a boil. When the pretzels have finished rising, add 1/2 cup baking soda into the boiling water. Do this slowly or you’ll have a big mess on your hands! Poach the pretzels 2 at a time, for 30 seconds a side. Transfer them to the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt or with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through.

Veggie and Wheat Tacos

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 c Joseph’s Grainery Hard Red Wheat, cooked

1 tsp chili powder

salt

pepper

1 1/2 c frozen corn, thawed

small can black beans

2 c, loosely packed spinach (frozen works great)

3/4 c feta cheese

3/4 c salsa, (store bought works great)

8 tortillas, warmed

sour cream

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the wheat, chili powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Saute the wheat for about 5 minutes. Add the corn and beans, cook until heated through. Add the spinach and salsa, cook until spinach is wilted. Spread a thin layer of sour cream over the tortilla shells, fill with the wheat and corn mixture and top with feta cheese. Enjoy!

Cracked Wheat Artisan Bread

3 c lukewarm water

1 1/2 Tbsp granulated yeast

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

2 c Joseph’s Grainery Hard Red Wheat, milled in blender to a stone ground consistency (or Joseph’s Grainery Hard Red Whole Wheat Bread Flour)

4 1/2 c all purpose flour

Mix all ingredients together. We use our kitchen aid mixer and let it knead the dough for a few (2 or 3) minutes. Place dough in a floured rubbermaid type container (we use the 17 cups size). Let the dough rise at room temperature (on your kitchen counter for 2 hours, with the lid of the tupperware cracked open. Then let rise for another 3 hours in the refrigerator.

Once the dough has risen for at least 5 hours you can make a loaf of bread. Pull off 1/4 to 1/3 or the dough and form into a ball. Place the ball of dough on a corn meal covered pizza pan or cookie sheet. Dust the loaf with flour and cut a simple design in the top. Let the loaf rest for 30 minutes uncovered.

Place a pan with boiling water in an oven that has been preheated to 450 degrees. Place the loaf in the oven on the rack above the water bath and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before serving.

Cracked Wheat Breakfast Cereal

1 c water

1/2 cup Joseph’s Grainery Hard Red Wheat, cracked in a blender or food processor

dried or fresh fruit (optional)

Bring 1/2 cup Wheat and 1 cup Water to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender (5 to 7 minutes. Serve as is or top with dried or fresh fruit.

Either Hard Red or Soft White Wheat will work for this recipe. Hard Red Wheat has a little bit more distinct flavor, so that is why we recommend it for the cereal.

Whole Wheat Gingersnaps

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c molasses

11/2 tsp ginger

1 egg

1 c Joseph’s Grainery Whole Wheat Flour

1 c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c sugar for rolling the dough in

Mix together the wet ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients over the wet mixture, then stir to form the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Form balls of dough about 1 tablespoon in size and then roll the balls in the sugar before placing them on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. These cookies will be devoured before they are ever allowed to completely cool!