Every year at the beginning of summer, articles in newspapers and magazines recommend the best books to take to the beach – those action novels, mysteries, and romances that help us while away a lazy day in the sun.

Now that summer is drawing to a close and we’re all returning to salt-and-sand- free environments to do most of our reading, we want to recommend some great online reading for lovers of whole grains. Read on, to discover some of our favorite whole grain blog posts and recipe sites.

King Arthur Flour. Last September, one of the ways we celebrated Whole Grains Month was by partnering with EatingWell magazine for a Whole Grains Makeover Recipe Contest. One of the winning recipes was Crunchy Parmesan Crackers, made with King Arthur’s white whole wheat flour. Last week, in King Arthur’s blog, PJ Hamel detailed just how to make these crunchy wonders – can’t wait to try it myself. Digging through earlier posts, we also found some other great reads, like a post called “Whole Grain without the Pain” comparing foods made with whole grain flour and those made with all-purpose enriched flour. Keep looking; although this blog doesn’t deal exclusively with whole grains, there are lots of inspiring posts for whole grain aficionados. (Whole wheat naan with raita, anyone?)

Maria Speck. Maria Speck, author of Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, is a culinary advisor to the Whole Grains Council. She writes lovingly of all manner of good foods on her blog (we admit it! You can’t live on whole grains alone!) – and recently wrote a great post about storing whole grains. The gist of it? Just use common sense – and, we might add, eat lots of whole grains so you use them up sooner rather than later. You might also like her post on popcorn with olive oil and Aleppo pepper or last summer’s post on saffron-scented faro with oven-roasted cherry tomatoes.

Whole Grain Gourmet. We like the spirit of André Della Santa and his family, who created the website wholegraingourmet.com. As they say on the site, “We want our whole grains to taste good. … We want our children to enjoy them. … We never want to have to say, it’s pretty good… for a whole grain.”  The site is just recipes and nothing else, but clearly it’s attracted a dedicated community, because many of the recipes have copious suggestions and comments attached. The site has a nice friendly feel.

Bob’s Red Mill. It’s not surprising that Bob and his gang have a lively blog that sings the glories of whole grains regularly. This summer they’ve been running a series of “Discover…” blogs authored by Cassidy Stockton, highlighting grains like Kamut® Khorasan wheat, millet, spelt, amaranth… the list goes on and on, interspersed with ideas of what to do with these grains. Carrot Amaranth Bread? Teff Polenta with Sauteed Chard? If you like this blog, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy for some time: there are 95 pages of posts you can work your way through here.

Robin Asbell. Robin Asbell, whose most recent book is Sweet & Easy Vegan: Treats Made with Whole Grains and Natural Sweeteners, is also a WGC culinary advisor. She caught our attention with a recent post on how to bake bread in your outdoor grill, on summer days when it’s too hot to keep the oven going inside. Now that’s summer reading! She’s also got one on Grilled Quinoa-Avocado-Filled Collard Rolls. Or, if you get excited by the crackers post from King Arthur Flour, you can try Robin’s take on the same topic.

It’s wonderful to see how all these different writers share their passion for whole grains in such inspiring ways. Do you have a favorite whole grain blog? Write and tell us, in the comments below. (Cynthia)