Fare Exchange: Creating coconut rice, making your own granola

Welcome to the last day of promising September. Today’s requests are grainy: How do you cook freekah, farro, quinoa and couscous? Additionally, how do you know what to buy in terms of farro?

R.G. of Lookout Mountain sampled freekah for the first time and now is fascinated with grains, requesting recipes for all four mentioned above.

“I know that not all farro is alike, and that if you get the wrong kind it can be very chewy,” he wrote. “Additionally, I have read that quinoa must be rinsed to be good. I have also read that no rinsing is needed. Is this because there are different kinds of quinoa as well?”

APPLE TIPS

The sweet and tart anticipation of autumn includes the taste of apples. Of course. Elsie Keith of LaFayette wrote, “I went to pick up my apples today at Rock Spring. The Battlefield Farmer’s Market at Rock Spring is Saturday from 8 to 12 and Wednesday from 3 to 6. I buy my apples from Charlie Cornelison of Lookout Mountain, Ga. I overheard a conversation with the apple folks, saying they also sell at the St. Elmo market on Wednesday. Charlie has a variety of apples, just off the tree, and oh, they are good. The vendors are not as many now with the season winding down, but the apples are in abundance.”

Ms. Keith, who has been a most helpful correspondent for many years, offered an apple tip just right for these days.

“I am getting ready to make and freeze applesauce and thought I would share this. Instead of cooking my apples in water, I cook them in apple cider. I then run them through the food mill and heat the applesauce to dissolve the sugar and blend the spices. I make mine thicker than some might prefer, but if I need to thin it down, I again use the apple cider. It enhances the flavor of the applesauce. I also only use Winesaps for the sauce.”

COCONUT RICE

So you wanted to know how to make coconut rice? Read on, from one of Linda Leake’s favorite sources, Chez Piggy. The rice came along with a Brazilian combination of lime hot sauce and shrimp, but you certainly can have it alone.

Vatapa de Camarao with Coconut Rice and Lime Hot Sauce

Lime Hot Sauce

1 cup lime juice

cup water

1 red onion, finely diced

1 fresh chili, seeded and chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

Pinch coarse salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and set aside.

Coconut Rice

2 cups short-grain rice

3 cups water

1 cups coconut milk

Pinch coarse salt

2 teaspoons butter

Place all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Stir, then cover, and simmer over low heat until rice is cooked, approximately 20 minutes. Pour rice into individual molds and turn out onto plates. Serve surrounded by shrimp.

Shrimp

cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, pureed

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 fresh chilies, seeded and chopped

1 (1-inc) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 cup dried shrimp

cup shrimp stock (or substitute any basic stock)

1 cups coconut milk

1 cup cashews

1 cup blanched almonds

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled

Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

To make vatapa sauce, heat cup oil in a pot over medium heat and sauté onions, garlic, chilies and ginger. Place in a food processor, add dried shrimp and puree. Return to pot, add stock and coconut milk and heat for 10 minutes.

Grind cashews and almonds and add to pot. Heat through and set aside.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and cook shrimp. Add vatapa sauce and heat through. Garnish with coriander and serve with coconut rice, with lime hot sauce on the side.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

GRANOLA

A.E. saw the request for using chia seeds and, in the weeks since, has been experimenting with a recipe found on the Web, changing it to suit.

This granola makes a great bowl of cereal or yogurt topping, A.E. says. Gourmet granolas can be quite expensive, so homemade is preferable. For the best results, choose old-fashioned (not quick) oats. Quick oats don’t crisp up as nicely and tend to have a more powdery texture.

Granola with Chia Seeds and Coconut

4 tablespoons organic coconut oil

3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup honey

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup pineapple juice

3 1/4 cups oats

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3 tablespoons chia seeds or more to taste

Heat oven to 275 degrees with a rack in the center position. Line a half-sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or greased parchment paper.

In a large pot, combine the oil, brown sugar, honey, salt and pineapple juice. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Allow the mixture to boil for several minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the oats, ginger powder, coconut and chia seeds. Stir until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a half sheet pan, and spread into a thin and even layer.

Place the granola into the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to ensure even baking. Once the granola is crisp and golden, remove from the oven. Allow the granola to cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring it to a storage container. The granola will keep at room temperature for 2-3 weeks.

Variation: For a sugar-free alternative, replace the brown sugar and honey with 3 tablespoons Stevia. Bake the granola for at least one hour, or until the oats begin to crisp.

Makes about 14 (1/2-cup) servings.

Satisfaction is a fine thing, a just-full-enough belly after a delightful meal. But anticipation is right up there with it in terms of fun, so I will eagerly anticipate what you will send next to this column.