Our Good Friend Bob

Back in Texas we were only briefly acquainted with Bob, but now that we live here in Oregon, we are only an hour a way to visit our good friend Bob!

Bob's Red Mill that is!

We had a fabulous time- in awe really- while shopping at Bob's Red Mill Store in Milwaukee, Oregon.










When we first got there, we got some lunch at their quite popular cafe. Wonderful split pea soup with carrots and celery in a huge tasty bread bowl, and a side of steamed veggies! It was so filling, and the bread was so soft and fluffy.


Despite being a small-sized store (only setback was that the aisles were too small and it was really crowded), we enjoyed parading down each aisle and finding cool products. We felt like excited little kids! The best part of the store was the bulk section. Instead of buying a whole package of one product (which would cost about $3-4), we loved being able to get $0.40-$2.00 worth of products to try. So, we ended up buying a lot of different products, but our bill was quite reasonable.

Triticale meal, Triticale Flour, Green Pea Flour, White Popcorn, Pumpernickel meal, Rolled Spelt Flakes, Creamy Rye Flakes, 10 Grain Flour, Millet Flour, and Chana Dal Beans!

The popcorn was fabulous - we literally hadn't had popcorn in years, and we made a huge batch of delicious popcorn on the stove. It cooked up just right! Had leftovers the next day and added some nutritional yeast.

The pumpkernickel meal is now a favorite! We think it's better than quinoa, millet, couscous, and steel cut oats. We had some for dinner with just olive oil and it was simple but delicious. There is a recipe for rye crackers on the label, and we are thinking of making some this weekend.

The green pea flour can be used in guacamole, bread, soup, and other creative concoctions. We're not sure how we'll use it yet.

Fig Nuggets, Whole Wheat Flour, Whole Wheat Potato Flaxseed Bread Loaf, Flaxseed meal, Date Pieces, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Kelp Granules, and Apple Pie Spice.

The Figs and Dates are the best! We use them in everything - cereal for breakfast, snacks, ice cream... Note to self - buy these by the case next time!

The wheat potato bread was a light airy bread with a good brany texture but not as soft as we would like. Can't wait to make our own bread with the wonderful flours from Bob's Red Mill.


We also bought some Grande Whole Grains and had that in a Thai Rice Bowl with broccoli, bean sprouts, Just Tomatoes Freeze Dried Peas, and a Thai nut sauce (hemp seed butter, crushed red pepper, garlic, lime juice). Chewy nutty grains!


As for the spices, we've used the Pumpkin and Apple Pie spices like crazy - oatmeal, smoothies, ice cream, and apple salads. Here's a pic of a fresh apple salad with apples, dried fig pieces, apple pie spice, and vanilla soy yogurt. A healthy filling dessert!


Hoping to visit our good friend Bob once a month! Can't wait to bake and cook with all of the flours and grains! What are your baking suggestions for cereal meals and grains and flours? - LK