Hearty Bread made into a Cheesy and Yummy Bulgar side

Its been kinda rainy and drab here so I decided to make some new bread to cheer me up. I have been wanting to try this bread for a while but have had difficulties finding the ingredients, in particular cracked wheat. If you ever need this stuff Bob's Red Mill makes it, and it should be either with the cereals or the baking goods. Some of you might be fortunate enough to have a grocery store that actually carries things like this but I was forced to go exploring and finally came across it at MOMs.



I was surprised by the deep greyish color of the bread when I cut into it. I've never made bread with buckwheat flour and I just didn't know to expect it. It has great flavor though - and something else I didn't know, buckwheat is actually an herb. New fings we learn. I got this from the book Whole Grain Breads

Buckwheat and Cracked Wheat Bread : 1 qt

2/3 cup water
1 tbsp canola or corn oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cracked wheat
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp rapid rising or active dry yeast

For those of you with bread makers, put the water in first at room temperature. Then put in all the other ingredients in order. Make a dent in the flour to pour the yeast into, making sure it doesn't get wet. Use Basic or Whole Wheat Cycle and set the crust to medium.
If you don't have a bread maker and want the other directions just let me know

So it's raining still and my shoes are wet and I can't find my umbrella and I just really want some bacon. So I make this





Boy does this do the trick.

Bacon Buckwheat Cheesy

2 thick slices Buckwheat Cracked Wheat Bread
pesto
Havarti with Dill
Cheddar
3 slices cooked bacon

You all know how to make a grilled cheese so I wont bore you - but man do the flavors play well with each other in this one :)

On the side there you may notice some rice looking stuff with tomatoes, that's actually bulgar. It's something new Im trying as a substitute to rice ( I eat rice so much at work I have to have other options at home) and its really good for you too! Again, I had to go to an organic grocer to get this, but here is the deal:

Bulgar Pilaf for 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups medium-grain bulgar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed, coarsely chopped (or just used bagged salad spinach)
1/2 cup fresh basil (my favorite)

1. put oil, broth, bulgar, garlic, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in skillet and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to low, cover, and summer until bulgar is tender, 15 to 17 min
3. Add spinach and basil, stir until wilted then serve with fresh tomatoes

This one I got from Real Simple but modified it to fit my needs. I also halved these ingredients so that I wouldn't be eating this stuff for the next 3 weeks. I made it last night and then ate it again cold today with the samich. Enjoy