Amaranth Date Nut Bread

What is Amaranth?

I have a habit of checking out the 'clearance' section at Kroger. I don't buy the day old bread, outdated soups/cereals, or half crushed containers of anything. I look for utensils, appliances, and other gadgets I have no room or use for.  Sometimes I buy gifts. Sometimes I buy gags. Sometimes I buy things because my wife says I don't need it.  I'm a guy. We do that kind of stuff.  Every now and then I see something that's interesting. That's what happened the day I saw the overstocked Amaranth, Teff, and Quinoa. I simply couldn't resist the urge to try new stuff. Besides, I had just purchased some really neat glass containers. Big, bulky and brawny enough that Cheryl didn't want them on the counters.  Perfect. 

What Do You Do With It? 

So I grabbed up several packages of each, and took it home. I already knew what Quinoa was. But I had no idea about the other stuff. I didn't know how to cook any of it. Recipes all looked too complicated or called for impossible cooking methods. I don't have an underground, rock lined, solar heated sand oven. So I decided to look on the package and adjust the best I could.  For the first grain I decided I'd make an Amaranth Date Nut Bread.  I wasn't sure that I would like it.  I'm not just saying this to hear myself talking... this bread is damn good.  This Amaranth Date Nut Bread recipe is pretty easy, and honestly well worth trying.  I've never been happier about a purchase from the clearance section.

Ingredients. 

• 1/2 cup Bob's Mill Organic Amaranth Grain 
• 1 Cup Chopped Dates
• 1 cup Water (boiling) 
• 2 Eggs 
• 1/2 cup Honey 
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter 1 cup 
• 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 
• 2 tsp Baking Powder 
• 1/2 cup Pecans 
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Directions 

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or spray a loaf pan; set aside. 
• Step 2 Soak amaranth grains, dates and butter in boiling water for 15 minutes. 
• Step 3 In a small bowl mix together eggs, vanilla and honey; set aside. 
• Step 4 In a large bowl mix together the flours, baking powder and pecans. Pour the amaranth grains, dates and butter mixture into the flour mixture. Add the egg and honey mixture. Beat all ingredients together. 
• Step 5 Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. If you serve it immediately with a little butter on it...you'll love it.  If you let it sit overnight, and then 'toast' it with butter... you'll like it that way too. 

Bottom line is that this is a really good bread. I've made two loafs in three days. Everybody that visits has loved it.  As long as you don't put too much butter on it, and use the whole grain flours, I think it's safe to say it's semi-healthy.  

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About Potato Chip Sandwich

According to some people, men can't tell time, can't follow directions and can't cook. That's simply not true. The owner and author of the site, me.. Stan Bush can cook. This site is simply a way for me to keep up with my recipes without putting it into my other 10 or so blogs. Everything is Google-ized, so it's connected to all my other stuff. This site gets it's name from road trips when I was in my 20's. By the time we would head home all we could afford was a loaf of bread and some potato chips.