I am a budgie!

not me, I read and re-read directions because I'm so unsure about my cooking skills

Probably. I would expect you to be twittering about now...emphasis on the "twit". (Loved your response to Dawny.)

Oh yes many a time lol but that is just me I never look before I cook lol

Apparently Hemp seeds are highly nutritious but I don't know if they are low in cholesterol or any of that other stuff. I have heard it touted as an optimal food source, though. Yes, have screwed up many a meal, in learning culinary arts. And I'm sure I'll screw up some more in the future. It is just part of the learning experience. I've also been told that Pumpkin seeds help to prevent prostate cancer.

Hee hee! I like serving barley to my guests, but I have to sneak it out of the bag in the chicken shed under cover of darkness. It´s hard to find barley in our local supermarkets, but the feed salesman sell it in 40kg bags :-)

A Budgie! Well, if your are becoming an Australian bird, then you will have to start following the Aussies in the Ashes! We need all the support we can get at the moment! Don't let anyone smuggle you if you become a budgie! Do you know what 'Budgie Smugglers' are? Soaking nuts and seeds does make them easier to digest and they are also healthier if you soak them first. Soaking them starts the sprouting process, which releases enzymes which were locked inside the seed until the soaking process. I am not sure about soaking in hot water, this might harm the enzymes. I normally soak my nuts in cool water!

I have always read the instructions on new foods first but I remember making some mush (polenta for the snobs! ) a couple of years ago. I kind of new how it was made but had never made it myself, just watched my mother and grandmother make it. Mush is corn meal mainly, and you fry it in bacon grease and serve it with syrup and it's yummy!! Of course, I didn't use bacon grease because we all know better these days and I used sugarless syrup. It wasn't as good as my mother's but nonetheless it was tasty and brought back nice memories of hot mush on cold winter mornings! I have also undercooked brown rice and decided I didn't like it before I recently found out I had not cooked it enough. I hope you try the millet again!

hi pikey just when I thought all the discussions were boring giggle giggle oh yes garbanza beans and I did cook them but had never used them before. My poor hubby was having problems with his fakse teetg abtwat and crunchy beans was not very welcomed.Soi next time I soaked them in warm water and they seemed better but still very frim. I think if you cooked those things for an hour theywould still be a very firm bean.They are very good for you and the taste is okay but they gave me a jawache from chewing.lol lol lol. oh and tilaphia fish,you cannot cook them but just a very few minutes otherwise you have a fish stew, the flesh falls to pieces like a fish paste.very delicate flavot. they were pretty expensive to have them dissolve when frying. wow. oh on the subject of seeds they are a no no to me along with nuts. I do eat nuts 'but am leery of seeds. I do not want to end up again in the ospital with bleeding diverticulitis. It took 4 blood transfusions before the bleeding stopped.all on account of a handful of ripe delicious blackberry,innocent little seeds clogged up a little diverticuliti and sliced an artery open, wow,

Well there was the sausage the mother-in-law left. I tried to cook it and it pretty much disintegrated...

It wasn't preparation I didn't know, but how to eat what I learned about. We went to a Chinese restauant that served a bowl of edamame. I'd heard of it but had never seen them to know that you didn't eat them with the pod on, which is how they were served. I quickly learned the pods aren't edible. But, I also learned that edamame are very good!!

Hi P1key, Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!! aren't you tweet! poor P1key, I just experiment with food to see how it turns out but never cooked or ate a handful of millet, I thought you can't eat them, now there, I learnt something new. I hope you teeth are ok, lol! hugs. Tamara

Do budgies actually eat the millet? Most bird seed mixes contain it, but most birds won't eat it. Mostly (at my feeders anyway) they push it up and over the edges so that they can reach the other various seeds and nuts in the mix. They seem to dislike the red millet more than the white. I get lots of millet seedlings in my flower garden, giving me plenty to weed out throughout the spring. Whenever I go to ethnic restaurants, I eat things that I wouldn't have a clue how to make. I like it that way, because if my husband gets a hankering for something like that, we have to go out to eat. In that respect, sometimes ignorance does pay...lol.

Bravo you! Either way you go, you can't do any lasting harm if it's vegan. Millet comes from South America, it's native to that region. The macrobiotic diet is very particular about eating grains that only come from the region you're living in. Let's see if I can remember them. Australians are best suited to eating wheat, Asians have rice, Buckwheat is meant for Russians, Corn for Americans, Barley if you come from Britain, Oats for the Irish & Rye for the Germans! Millet is very yin & is meant for much warmer climates. It has never really agreed with me. I go better on rice, like my Asian neighbours, & am gluten-intolerant, even before becoming veg*n. I've read that before boiling millet, one is supposed to brown it slightly in a frying pan (dry). I've read that all other grains should be soaked for a minimum of 12 hours to eliminate enzyme inhibitors (limits protein absorbtion)& phytic acid (limits vitamin & mineral absorbtion). Sprouting is even better & increases a grain's protein content by up to 300% & vitamin & mineral content by up to 1000%. Yes we all have our own stories of a shaky start & my story is little different. The important thing is to make that start & stick with it. Oh, if I might add, using a pressure cooker not only keeps all the nutrients in, but halves cooking time into the bargain. Also when boiling millet, one must be sure to keep the lid off (those gasses are actually poisonous!) & drain any scum or foam that forms on top. Hope this helps