What to do with Amaranth.

[Mincepiedermama]

I once made a sweet, stodgy pudding involving amaranth and water, but I still have a big bag of it lurking in the cupboard.

Any ideas?

Amaranth (Amaranthus) has a colorful history, is highly nutritious, and the plant itself is extremely attractive and useful. Amaranth was a staple in the diets of pre-Columbian Aztecs, who believed it had supernatural powers and incorporated it into their religious ceremonies. Before the Spanish conquest in 1519, amaranth was associated with human sacrifice and the Aztec women made a mixture of ground amaranth seed, honey or human blood then shaped this mixture into idols that were eaten ceremoniously. This practice appalled the conquistadors who reasoned that eliminating the amaranth would also eliminate the sacrifices. The grain was forbidden by the Spanish, and consequently fell into obscurity for hundreds of years. If not for the fact that the cultivation of amaranth continued in a few remote areas of the Andes and Mexico, it may have become extinct and completely lost to us.

note the recipe there:

Aztec women made a mixture of ground amaranth seed, honey or human blood then shaped this mixture into idols that were eaten ceremoniously.

yummy!

this may be more help though amaranth recipes

Mmmm thanks. I think I'll opt for the amaranth crepes in lemon sauce rather than the human blood option.

oooooh starlover, you are the fountain of all knowledge!!!

are you sure? i bet they'd go down a treat at the next brighton meet!

oh aren't i gossifer? a walking encyclopaedia!

Oh no! Just commented on amaranth on the quinoa thread. It's the devil's grain, as far as I'm concerned. Sludgy, sticky - ugh. Use it as grouting, or put up some new wallpaper in the hall, maybe. Don't eat it.

what about amaranth on yer pizza?

PMSL at 'grouting' franny'.

Maybe I could make a pizza base out of it gossifairyonthe'.

I bet you're all making a mental note never to accept a dinner invitation to my house.

well apparently you have to be very careful not to overcook ... or it turns into sludge!

so maybe you just cooked it too much f&z?

spidermama... i thought that said "grouting fanny"
pmsl

Ouch!

i hate things that have to be cooked "just right"... i like to justr chuck it all in a pot and forget about it.

and i definitely don't want any fanny grouting going on with my dinner either!

i suppose it could be a version of footsie under the table

(i really don't get out enough....)

Oh, maybe I did cook it too long. I probably lost concentration as I was trying to grout my fanny at the same time.

Well I was feeling peckish but now I'm cured.

lol franny!

spidermama... i think the best thing to do with your amaranth is chuck it in the bin!

I don't know if it's responsible to inflict it on landfill starlover. It may not ever decompose.

bury it in the garden.. it mnight grow into a beanstalk!!!!!!!!!

You could probably lay a patio with it?

Walter De La Mare knew his amaranth from his elbow.

Very old are we men:
Our dreams are tales
Told in dim Eden
By Eve's nightingales:
We wake and whisper a while
But the day gone by
Silence and sleep like fields
Of amaranth lie.

It has nice purple flowers apparently.

That was the rewrite, commissioned by the Amaranth Marketing Board. The original went:

Very old are we men:
Our dreams are tales
Told in dim Eden
By Eve's nightingales:
We wake and gag a while
But the day gone by
Sticky and dull like plates
Of amaranth lie.