Sunshine glistened off Neshaminy Creek as water flowed over a low-head dam near Castle Valley Mill. Inside, the sound of a bucket elevator competed with the hum of a seed cleaner called “The Clipper” and the whir of a disc aspirator. Standing in the stone and timber building, Mark Fischer explained how his grandfather, a master miller from Bavaria, “saved it from falling into the creek.”

“We know it was here in 1800,” he said of the mill’s history and pointed to a wall, where “people wrote their names in 1817.”

Now Fischer’s writing the next chapter — restoring the Doylestown mill and machinery inside, stone grinding local wheat, corn and rye along with lesser-known grains like spelt and emmer.

“Here’s the emmer, which is an ancient variety of hard wheat. And this is an ancient variety of soft wheat,” said his wife, Fran, pointing to a jar of spelt. “It’s just silkier. It’s a little more velvety. I love working with it.”

She’s not alone. More people are falling in love with ancient grains.

“Kamut, amaranth, quinoa – all these things are pretty readily available,” said Art Roman of The Kitchen Workshop in Paoli. “They’re not as elusive as grains used to be.”

Ever heard of millet? It’s small, round and naturally gluten-free.

“People say, ‘I think I’ve seen it in bird seed mix,’” observed the chef, who makes hazelnut and millet pilaf with thyme and apples.

“It’s fresh. It’s light. It’s something that’s unexpected,” Roman said. “It’s great for vegetarians. It’s great as leftovers. It’s good as a side. It’s just very versatile.”

Bulgur and quinoa star in winter tabbouleh salad.

“That’s one of my favorites. It’s really tasty,” explained Joanie White, chef-owner of Union Jack’s Olde Congo Hotel in Barto.

She’s also a health coach and uses ancient grains in some of her specials.

“People will be pleasantly surprised how fast they are to cook and how good they are for you,” White said. “You can make breakfast, lunch or dinner out of them. You can do anything from a porridge with dried fruit and a little bit of honey to a main meal.”

“They’re all really good sources of protein and minerals and things I don’t think people get enough of in their diets,” she added. “People shouldn’t be afraid of them.”

Back at Castle Valley Mill, Mark and Fran Fischer weren’t afraid to learn — about everything from ancient grains to old machines.

“When we started, you could not walk through this place. It was floor to ceiling junk,” he said. “It’s sort of ‘if you mill it, they will come.’”

Spelt and Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

2 cups spelt berries

4 shallots, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 handful of parsley, finely chopped

1 cup white wine

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

¾ stick butter

4 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

4 cups chicken stock

3 cups mushrooms of your choice, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces if necessary

Instructions

In a saucepan on a medium heat, add the olive oil and then the shallots and cook gently. Add the spelt and stir for about 3 minutes until it gets hot and glazed in the oil. Pour the wine and reduce by 1/3. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock a little at a time until the spelt is cooked (about half an hour).

In a frying pan, on a medium heat add the olive oil and then the mushrooms. Cook until golden brown. (I also added a little more wine during the sauté.) Add the garlic and the parsley, and cook for another minute. Add the mushrooms to the spelt, check the seasoning and finish by stirring in the cheese and butter.

Recipe courtesy of Castle Valley Mill

Hazelnut and Millet Pilaf with Thyme and Apples

A perfect side dish for pork or poultry and equally delicious made with a pear instead.

Ingredients

4 cups whole millet, cooked according to the package directions

½ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

1 large apple of your choice, diced, with or without peel

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 tablespoons (a half-stick) butter

1 cup scallions, roughly 6 to 8, sliced into ½-inch diagonal pieces

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, place hazelnuts in a pie pan and toast them for 10 to 15 minutes until they’re light brown and they smell, well, nutty. Let them cool and then give them a rough chop. Peel apple, dice and toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Put cooked millet in a large bowl and set aside. In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the scallion, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Sauté over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped nuts and then add the diced apples. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. The apples should be tender, but maintain their shape. Stir in the cooked millet. Cook on low heat until warmed through. Transfer to a serving dish or keep warm in a preheated low oven until serving time. Serve 6 to 8.

Recipe courtesy of The Kitchen Workshop

Winter Tabbouleh Salad

A variation of the classic Middle Eastern tabbouleh- in the summer it would be with tomato, cucumber, etc. This one is awesome for using winter seasonal veggies and two kinds of grains.

Ingredients

1 cup soaked coarse bulgur wheat (cover bulgur wheat with warm water and soak 10 minutes; drain well)

1 cup cooked quinoa (rinse first before cooking)

1 cup chopped fennel bulb, small dice

1 cup chopped raw cauliflower florets, almost crumbled

Approximately 6 tablespoons of coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Approximately 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

Approximately 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 cup pomegranate seeds

Dressing:

1 minced garlic clove

Pinch of cinnamon

½ cup pomegranate juice, boiled until reduced by ½ and then cooled in fridge (Will be almost a syrup.)

Pinch sea salt

Pinch black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

Combine all dressing ingredients and shake in jar before tossing with salad. For salad, toss everything together in a large bowl and then toss again with dressing. This can be made with all bulgur if you want, but I like to add the quinoa for extra nutrition.

Recipe courtesy of Joanie White

Grain guide

Amaranth: A staple of Aztec culture, amaranth is a “pseudo-grain” like quinoa and buckwheat.

Bulgur: Bulgur boasts more fiber than quinoa, oats, millet, buckwheat or corn.

Emmer: One of the first cereals ever domesticated in the Fertile Crescent, emmer (often called farro) later sustained the Roman legions.

Freekeh: Found mostly in Middle Eastern and North African cuisine, freekeh traces its roots back to ancient Egypt and surrounding areas.

Kamut: Brought back as a souvenir said to be from an Egyptian tomb, this variety appeared at the 1960 Montana State Fair as “King Tut’s Wheat.”

Millet: Many sources say millet was a staple of the Sumerians and grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Quinoa: Long cultivated by the Inca, quinoa (KEEN-wah) is a complete protein, containing all the essential amino acids.

Spelt: Some people sensitive to wheat can tolerate spelt, which is also higher in protein.

Teff: Thought to have originated in Ethiopia, teff has more than twice the iron of other grains and three times the calcium.

Source: Whole Grains Council