One of the things I enjoy most about having the kids home with me in the summer is working together with them in the kitchen. Often times I try to find ways for them to help me with dinner preparation- grating cheese, stirring pasta, shelling peas, shucking corn, etc. Once in a while I’ll try to think up a sweet and healthy treat that’s a little more exciting than just dinner and that I know would be especially fun for them. This chocolate millet crunch was our most recent little project. It’s simple enough for the kids to make almost on their own, but tasty enough that it’s hard to just eat a few pieces. These are little mounds of chocolate coated puffed millet, chopped hazelnuts, and goji berries with just a touch of shredded coconut sprinkled on top. Puffed millet can be found in the cereal aisle of a natural foods store and although I find it rather bland on its own, it complements the chocolate nicely and it adds a certain crisp lightness that I love. These must be served chilled to get a crunch, which makes them perfect for those hot days when you just need a little bit of chocolate. [Read more…] about Chocolate Millet Crunch
Continue ReadingTomato Saffron Mixed Grains Soup
With the cold weather officially here to stay, we’ve transitioned into full-time soup and stew eating mode over here. This comes as a relief to me since soups and stews have such flexible cooking times and can be so easily prepared in advance. Now that it’s November, I feel that I should have our after-school routine running smoothly each day, but instead I find myself continuing to struggle with helping the kids with their instrument practice and homework, taking them to various activities, and cooking dinner all within the 4:00-6:00 time frame. I always feel so good on the days when dinner is done before they even arrive home because it’s one less thing I need to worry about.
I made a double batch of this Tomato Saffron Mixed Grains Soup last week so I could have some to freeze and have a healthy meal easily available when I need to balance out all of the upcoming holiday treats. I find grain soups so hearty, cozy, and nourishing. The pleasant hint of saffron in this soup reminds me of the warm flavors of a Spanish paella, but this soup is a lot less time consuming to make. This recipe is extremely versatile and the spelt, millet, and quinoa can be easily substituted for other whole grains such as farro, wheatberries, or rice. To keep it gluten-free, use any combination of rice, millet, and quinoa. Or for simplicity, choose one single grain to work with. Pre-soaking whole grains such as spelt or wheat berries is recommended to aid with digestion and improve texture. Soaking for a few hours is optimal, but soaking for even an hour makes a difference. The soup thickens considerably after it sits for a while, but it can thinned it out with a bit of additional water if desired.
PrintTomato Saffron Mixed Grains Soup
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon saffron
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup spelt, soaked for at least 1 hour and drained
- 1/4 cup millet
- 3 tablespoons quinoa
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ouches) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Add bay leaves, paprika, cumin, saffron, spelt, broth, and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until spelt is tender, about 30 minutes.
- Add millet, quinoa, tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, and pepper and continue to simmer until millet and quinoa are cooked and flavors have blended, about 15-20 additional minutes. Discard bay leaves. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Sprinkle with a garnish of parsley to serve.
Notes
adapted from Martha Stewart
Pumpkin Millet Muffins
Goodness, I think I bake way too many muffins around here. It’s just that they’re so perfect for a quick breakfast, packing for lunches, and they always seem to hit the spot when I’m in the mood for eating something sweet but not too sweet. And it’s 15 minutes to make the batter, 20-25 minutes in the oven, and then they are done! It’s instant gratification in the kitchen.
Pumpkin millet muffins are one of my favorite variations of the more traditional pumpkin bread. It has all of the warm flavors and spices that you would expect from a pumpkin muffin, but the addition of toasted millet adds extra nutrients and a little crunch. It’s really quite lovely. I used coconut sugar as the sweetener as coconut sugar has been one of my top alternatives to refined sugar lately. It has some caramel undertones to it so I find that it works well as a substitute in recipes that call for brown sugar. The coconut flavor is hardly noticeable at all in these muffins. I only used 1/2 cup of sugar since I prefer my muffins not to be overly sweet (theses are muffins after all, and not cupcakes), but go ahead and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup if you prefer a sweeter muffin. Also, note that this recipe calls for 1 cup of pumpkin puree for 12-muffins. Since most canned pumpkin comes in 15-ounce cans, I usually double the recipe and just use the entire can of pumpkin. Serve these warm from the oven or these also store well in the freezer for later.
PrintPumpkin Millet Muffins
- Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup millet
- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Butter or line a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the millet and stir with a wooden spoon until millet starts to pop and becomes golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer millet to a small bowl to cool.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Add millet to the flour mixture and stir to incorporate.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk, butter, pumpkin, and coconut sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Divide muffin batter among prepared muffin cups.
- Bake 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
adapted from Whole Foods