Rick’s Super Duper Grain Mix

My father was the short-order breakfast cook in our house.

I don’t remember my mother ever making breakfast for us, though I suspect at times she did.

But it’s my dad that I can still see, standing at the stove, scrambling eggs, pouring orange juice, and buttering toast.

He and my mother shared cooking duties for the other two meals of the day, but breakfast was his domain.

It was a bit of a shocker for me to learn as an adult that all men did not cook breakfast.

My husband falls into that category. For a good part of his adult life he owned a restaurant, so people assumed he was a cook.

Not so.

He appreciates a good meal, and is my biggest fan when it comes to cooking, but it’s not his thing.

With one exception.

He can mix up the best concoction of grain Miss Pepper has ever tasted.

As far as she is concerned, Rick is the best “cook” ever.

Food Network star quality.

And I must agree that his grain mix does look inviting.

His secret ingredient is tiny shredded bits of alfalfa.

He scoops them from the bag of cubes and liberally mixes them into the grain mix, which already consists of two kinds of grain, and shredded beet pulp softened in water.

He even includes a few chunks of alfalfa cube.

And let me tell you, Pepper is in heaven.

She’s a salad girl. Loves her greens.

Those little chunks of alfalfa make her nearly swoon with delight.

When Rick does the “cooking” for her, she almost always licks the pan clean.

The problem is, we don’t always have access to shredded alfalfa cubes. They come when we’re close to the end of the bag.

So Rick’s mix is a treat.

Like going for ice cream on a Sunday afternoon.

I’ve tried to replicate the mix, and do an okay job of it, but nothing compares to Rick’s version of the super duper grain mix.

Just ask Pepper!