Tag Archive | millet
January 15, 2012  

millet misunderstandings

It seems not even the impending move can stop me having a cleaning break and cooking.  Even though I create more mess to clean up.  Makes me happy so I’m going with it.  I’m killing two birds with one stone (horrible saying, poor poor birds) by usuing up stuff in the cupboard and cooking with it, so I don’t have to move it.  Genius.  Honestly, I just need a break form trying to scrub fly-screens.  I think these are the most annoying things to clean.  Ever.  Those and that massive oil stain on our drive way.  Stupid truck.  Bring on the high pressure hose.

I have noticed a bit of confusion and misunderstanding around when it comes to millet.  Millet has a poor reputation it seems (bird food, anyone?)  I think possibly people are just not cooking it in a way that shows of it’s potential.  Millet can be quite boring and stodgy when cooked and used as simply a rice substitute… it’s OK,  but there are much tastier ways to prepare the stuff.

One awesome way it can be used is as a savoury side dish – a faux mashed potato if you will… also brilliant for babies.

 Millet Mash:

  1. First up, rinse 1/2C millet well in a fine sieve under cold water.  Millet is similar to quinoa in the sense it has a bitter taste when this step is not followed.  Alternatively you can dry toast the millet in a fry pan as you would nuts or seeds.  Just for a few minutes until fragrant.   Add this to a small saucepan with 1 vegetable stock.  Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a very gentle simmer and wait until the liquid has been absorbed… 20-25 minutes.
  2. While this is happening, steam 1/2 a cauliflower until tender.
  3. Combine your cauliflower and stock- cooked millet in a medium mixing bowl with 1/3C nutritional yeast, 2t of vegan spread (Earth Balance, Nuttelex etc)  freshly ground black pepper, 1/4t ground white pepper and sea salt to taste (1/4-1/2t depending on how much salt you like).
  4. Now, mash mash mash.
  5. Serve as you would mashed potatoes.
  6. *If you are not vegan, feel free to add grated cheddar cheese, parmesan, blue cheese whatever you fancy*
Millet mash is all very well and good, by I’m a sweetie girl through and through.  You can add millet, raw, to your regular granola mix, and bake in the oven.  I love a combo of millet, quinoa, buckwheat, chia seeds and oats… contrasting textures, flavours and way more nutrition than just the regular plain oats.  Show me the protein, I say.  This next recipe is really simple; you can make it in the oven as per instructions, or in a dehydrator at 70 degrees until dry and crisp (8 hours or so).  I thought I’d leave this as straight up millet, so you can get up close and personal to this little gem… believe me, it’s a goodie.

 

Fruity Baked Millet Crunch Cereal:

(Vegan, gluten, nut, seed, soy and cane sugar free)

  • 1 1/4C raw millet (rinsed under cold running water or dry toasted to remove bitterness)
  • 1 1/4C pineapple juice (or any juice you have on hand)
  • 1T coconut oil (liquid… or grape seed, rice bran, canola)
  • 1T brown rice syrup (or honey/agave)
  • 1/4t sea salt
  • 1C coconut shreds
  1. Combine all ingredients well.
  2. Spread out on a lined baking tray.
  3. Bake for 30 minutes at 150 degrees C, checking in every 10 to stir.
  4. Turn down oven to 120 degrees C, cook for another 30 minutes doing the same as above.
  5. Bake for another 30 minutes at 100 degrees C, then turn off oven leaving tray inside until the oven is cool.
  6. Store in an airtight jar, as you would granola.

This is a lovely, fruity crunchy cereal that can be used just like granola.  I have in the past simply blended up a can of pineapple (no sugar added) instead of using plain juice… this is delicious but you will get those fruit fibres through the mix.  Doesn’t bother me.  I like this mixed with chia seeds and rice milk… tropical chia pudding.  Sprinkle on top of yoghurt, fruit salad, oatmeal, or simply eat with milk.

Here are a few alternative flavour combinations to try…. or let your imagination run wild and all crazy like.

  • Apple juice…. cut down coconut shreds to 1/2C, add in 1/2C almonds and 1/2t cinnamon.  Stir through sultanas once the mix is cool.
  • Cranberry juice….. cut down coconut shreds to 1/2C, add in 1/2 cup pistachios.
  • Orange juice…. add in 1/2t ground ginger, 1t grated orange zest.  Stir through 1/2C dark chocolate chips once the mix is cool.
  • Blackcurrant juice… omit coconut, add in 1/2C sunflower seeds, 1/2C chia seeds.  Stir through chopped dried apple once the mix is cool.

Snacking cereal complete, back to scrubbing, scraping and elbow grease action.  Oh joy.

Still does look a bit like bird food. Oh well.

December 9, 2011  

full o fruit

I watched this last night.

Wow, it really hit home.  I tried to tell Viper about it, and he got upset when I started telling him how 1 in 12 women die during childbirth in Liberia… “Why can’t you tell me something nice, Lou?  I don’t want to hear about it!.”

Fine then, but the reality is not pretty.  Not pretty at all.  I could easily count up 12 women I know well that have given birth in the last year (including myself).  If we were in Liberia, one of use would have died.  Crazy.  They don’t even have access to paracetamol during labour, let alone gas, epidurals, emergency C sections and the likes.  I mean, I was pretty proud of myself for getting through labour without any pain relief, but at least I knew it was there if I really needed it (memory of me begging Viper for ‘DRUUUUUUGS! PLEASE, I NEED THEM.’ ‘No you don’t, Lou, look what you wrote and signed on your birth plan.’  Stupid birth plan).

The reality of the situation is that life is unfair.  There are the haves and the have nots.   It’s pretty clear cut.  I must have done something kind of right in a previous lifetime as I am definitely a have this time a round.  You are too if you are reading this.  If you have a computer, and the leisure time to spend perusing the internet you are totally a have.

If you get the chance, you should watch this TV series… the occupation changes weekly, and it’s a real eye opener (love BBC).

 

Obviously, as a have child, we had biscuits.  Not a lot, mind you, they were a treat.  More often than not Mum would bake her own – delicious memories of warm chocolate chunk cookies straight out of the oven or a chewy oatie sultana biscuits.  We did have the type of packaged bikkies as pictured above.  Now, these could be described as “Nana” biscuits – by that I mean the kind of bikkies Nana’s have with their cups of teas.  The kind of biscuits that Grandma’s offer children who turn up their noses at the prospect of something that not only contains fruit but doesn’t contain chocolate.  Come on, Nana.  My worst nightmare was the Malt Biscuit:

Ew ew ew.  Disgust.  A friend’s Mum used to smear these with butter about an inch thick and chow down, smacking her buttery lips in appreciation.  Disgust.  The only good (if that’s an accurate description) that can come of a malt biscuit is:

 

Lolly Cake.  A New Zealand classic.  Malt biscuits, butter, sweetened condensed milk and weird fluro powdery lollies called “Fruit Puffs.”  Bash ‘em up, mix together, roll the whole lot in coconut, shove it in the fridge, and bob’s your uncle, call it a cake.  Ah, bless New Zealand, I miss you and your simple ways.

Back to the fruity biscuits – I actually loved Full O’ Fruits… I’ve always been a fan of dried fruit.  I suppose this could be described as my recipe-tweak to create something that resembles (?) something kind of in the vicinity of a Full O’Fruit.

Lou’s full-o-fruity-Krisket

(vegan, gluten, egg, nut free)

  • 1/4C toasted millet* (Dry toast in a fry pan until fragrant – maybe 5minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour onto a lined bakin sheet and bake at 150 degrees for around 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.  Do a big batch, it’s a great crunchy grain to have on hand for adding to cereal, salads etc.  Toasting it like this makes it really nutty tasting). *Substitute with toasted buckwheat groats (kasha) or rice puffs/flakes it you wish*
  • 2T toasted sesame seeds
  • 1/4t salt
  • 2T ground flax
  • 4T chickpea flour
  • 1t cinnamon
  • 2/3C finely chopped dried fruit (I used raisins)
  • 1/2t coconut oil
  • 6T water
Pre heat oven to 150 degrees C.  Mix everything together except the water and oil.  I made sure the dried fruit was cut very finely, and sort of crumbled it in with the flour – like how you would ‘cut’ in butter to a scone mix.
Add in water and oil, let the mix rest for 10 minutes or so.
Spread onto a lined baking tray.  Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven.
Flip onto a cooling rack (which is oven safe) and peel off baking paper.  The dried fruit creates a bit of moisture so it will stick a bit.
Don’t stress.  Doesn’t matter if a bit is left behind.  We are very forgiving here at fridge scrapings.
Return to oven for a further 10 minutes at 150 degrees C.
I don’t really know what this is.  Not a biscuit, not a cracker, not bread, not a muesli bar.  I would best describe it as a sweet cracker that is not crisp, but then the millet gives it crunch.  It’s yummo, that’s all you need to know.
I find it’s a really good idea to make a big batch of the dry mix, and keep it in a jar…. just add the water and oil at your leisure – freshly baked snacks in 30 minutes.   Hurrah.
Particularly good spread with almond butter and topped with banana.
The man next door is learning to play the guitar and his rendition of “Water of Love,” is ridiculously bad.  I mean, good on him for trying and all, but he can’t sing to save his life.  Now his 3 year old is singing too.  Boosty has started howling.  I’m going to bed.  With my cup of tea and whatever it is I just made… Viper called it a “Krisket.”
October 26, 2011  

i eat sunshine for breakfast

I know I keep going on (and on) about the glorious Spring time weather (and the delicious produce that comes with it) that I am experiencing in sunny Queensland at the moment.  I love warmth.  I love sunshine.  I love the beach.  I do not like being cold.  I get angry when I am cold (half the reason I left New Zealand; it sure is pretty –  but damn it’s nasty in the Winter).

I even wear these in Summer

If you are like me, and need a little sunshine in your life, I can help.
For those who are in the middle of “Fall-Fever,”  or you just live in a cold place (NZ anyone?) you can still experience a taste of the tropics.
With the right accessories (see end of post) you can even create a complete tropicana-style experience.
It all started when I found these in my local bulk health food store:
Organic dried pineapple and mango.  Not those horrible ones that are soaked in sugar, pumped up with fake colours and dried, these are the real deal.  So amazing.  I think I need a dehydrator so I can make my own.
Inspiration tweaks… I decided to make some sort of roasty toasty cereal.  I wanted to make a quinoa style granola again, but alas was completely out of quinoa.  I was actually considering bundling myself and Misty into the car and doing the mission to purchase some more, when I reminded myself to practise what I preach.  Use what you have on hand – scrape that fridge/pantry.
Sunshine Cereal:
  • 2/3C coconut flakes
  • 2/3C buckwheat groats
  • 1/2C hulled millet
  • 1/3C sunflower seeds
  • 3/4C whole oats
  • 1/4C oatmeal
  • 1/2t sea salt
  • 1/3C sesame seeds
  • 1/4C dark agave syrup (or honey, rice syrup etc)
  • 1T coconut oil
  • 1/3C orange juice
  • 1 mango
  • 1/2C chopped dried pineapple and mango

  1. Mix dry ingredients together, except dried fruit.
  2. Blend together mango and orange juice.
  3. Melt coconut oil, combine with agave and mango mix.
  4. Mix everything together and place on lined baking trays.
  5. Bake at 140 degrees C for 50 minutes, rotating trays and stirring every 10.
  6. Turn oven off and leave trays in there to cool down completely.
  7. Mix in dried fruit.
Set the scene.
It’s more fun when you eat out of a pineapple too.
On a stolen (from Misty) Haiwaiian themed bunny rug/quilt thing.  I didn’t have any ukelele luau music which was disappointing.  Viper made me a grass skirt once (out of bamboo, which doesn’t make sense and was really scratchy and uncomfortable, even when worn over clothes).
Don’t even ask.
I’m just going to eat the cereal.