Snow and Stick-to-Your-Ribs Meals

The weather has been unbelievable lately. Our city is paralyzed by snow. We are as stuck as the snowmen forming on front lawns all around us. It is a reminder that this is the season for slowing down and a perfect excuse to enjoy our families.

My children are loving it. They spend their days outside building snow caves and sledding down the hill. The cold air makes them ravenous by the time they're ready for the warmth of our home. I love stews for their ability to bind the people that share them. The aroma that fills the air as they simmer provides an open invitation to rest, chat and enjoy.


I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Happy Hanukkah!
Merry Christmas!
Joyful Kwanzaa!
Happy New Year!

Turkey and White Bean Stew with Millet Polenta For the Millet: 1 tsp olive oil 2 cups organic millet 6 cups water 1 tsp salt 1 tablespoon butter 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan salt to taste For the Stew: 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup sweet onion, minced 1 large garlic clove, minced 1 Lb organic ground turkey, not extra lean 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste 2 cups cooked white beans, cannellini or white navy beans 26.4 oz carton chopped tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped parsley, optional for garnish To Prepare the Millet Polenta: In a medium to large pot, heat the oil and saute the millet for a minute then add the water and salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer covered, stirring every once in a while. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until mixture is cooked and creamy (like polenta). Add butter, sour cream, parmesan and more salt to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve. To Prepare the Stew: In a large pan, heat the oil and saute the onions, garlic until cooked and slightly caramelized. Add the ground turkey and cook, mixing to break a part the clumps. Once the meat is cooked, add the salt cinnamon, oregano, basil and red pepper. Saute for another minute then add the cooked beans and chopped tomatoes. Mix well. Bring to a low boil and simmer covered for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve on top of the millet polenta. Top each portion with freshly chopped parsley (if using).

Picture Perfect Edamame Millet Bowl

What is it with little children and mixed ingredients? If I serve my six
year-old millet, carrots, seaweed and cilantro, he will happily eat them as long these foods are not mixed together. However, if I dare to serve them in a one-dish-meal: it's all over. I know he will outgrow this aversion eventually. It's fascinating though--it's like an artist refusing to mix paint because it alters the purity of each color.



I have obviously outgrown this tendency since I love one-dish-meals. I play around with the colors, textures and flavors. It's comfort food to me. This edamame millet bowl is so delicious. The millet provides a great change from rice. You can use whatever seasonal vegetable you have on hand. Try to contrast the textures and sweetness/saltiness ratio and you'll have a winning dish. The secret, frankly, is the sauce which is generously poured over the mixture.

Edamame Millet Bowl with Ginger Miso Sauce (serves 8) Feel free to use your own mix of vegetables such as: baby spinach leaves, asparagus, and corn. Cook your millet the same way you would brown rice. I like to saute the grains in a little bit of olive oil for a minute or so and then add the water (1:2 millet to water ratio) and salt to taste. Then, simmer covered for about 35 minutes or until the water has been absorbed and then fluff with a fork. 4 cups of cooked millet 2 cups shelled edamame, steamed 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup cooked pumpkin, cubed 1/4 cup green onions, chopped 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 1 cup baked tofu, diced 1 sheet of roasted nori seaweed, sliced into thin strips Sauce: 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated 1 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 1 tablespoon GF soy sauce 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil 3 tablespoons white miso paste Toasted seeds for garnish Mix all the warm ingredients in a large bowl or platter and set aside. In small pot, under medium heat, bring to a boil the ginger, orange juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes, stirring every once in a while. Turn the heat off. Put the miso in a small bowl and add about 1/4 cup of the orange/ginger sauce. Mix well until fully combined. Add miso mixture to the rest of the pot and mix well. Pour sauce over the millet edamame mixture. Mix to combine, garnish with sesame seeds and serve.

Other great tofu recipes:
Tofu Saute in Peanut Sauce
Pomegranate Marinated Tofu
Caramelized Tofu

Millet Summer Salad

I don't know about you but keeping up with my daily routine since the school year started has been quite the challenge. I manage to do everything and more but long for the lazy days of Summer which we have left behind. The days of art, gardening experiments, hikes and picnics are crawling off the screen and being replaced by duty and structure.

In other news, I accidently deleted my entire "Delicious Blog" section on this site. Ooops! I have no idea how or why... As I went to my link airport to visit my favorite foodie sites, they were all gone. I have tried to re-establish it but it might take me a while.

In the meantime, I am hanging on to what's left of summer with some easy salad lunches. No wheat means no bulgur, no couscous... So sad, for someone use to making an array of wonderful summer salads with wheat as the grain. Surprisingly, it hasn't been a problem. On the contrary, it has allowed me to expend my pantry and my family's nutritional intake. All Summer, my salads have featured quinoa, brown rice, and finally millet. Millet is a great replacement for couscous or bulgur. It looks like couscous but cooks like brown rice, with a 1 to 2 millet to water ratio. Then, the rest is up to you and the produce you have on hand.

Millet was a staple of ancient Asian societies. It's as good a source of protein as wheat is and very rich in B vitamins as well. If that is not enough to convince you to try it, you should know that it tastes great.

Millet Summer Salad (serves 8)
Don't be intimidated by how big a batch this recipe makes, the leftovers are great for lunches and will stay good refrigerated for two days after you make it.
To cook the millet: Saute for 1 minute 2 cups of millet in a medium sized pot coated with olive oil (1 tsp). Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes or until liquid is absorbed by grain.



1 cup diced persian or english cucumber (small seedless)
1 cup diced colorful bell peppers
1 cup diced sweet tomatoes
4 cups cooked millet or other cooked grain, cooled
1 cup finely finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped mint
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon sea salt



Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Another salad to make your Summer last a little longer:
Kohlrabi Broccoli Salad

Wonderful Millet

I have discovered the joys of millet. Staring into my pantry, uninspired by our dinner options, my eyes shifted towards the large bag of organic millet I purchased a while back. I normally use it to add to my breads when I am looking for some crunch
but now that I have tasted the Cool-Aid, or millet in this case, and I am sold on the many possibilities that this little grain possesses.

Birds have had a monopoly on it for too long and I, for one, am ready to reclaim it as my pet grain. It is easy to prepare:
1 cup of the grain requires, 6 cups of water some heat and 45-50 minutes later you have a beautiful polenta like mixture.
You cook it like you would rice really--
I started by adding 1 teaspoon and a half of olive oil to my hot pot, then I added the grain. I waited until it was nice and toasty (popping sounds and fragrant smell) then added my water (you could do chicken broth instead). I brought it to a boil and covered it. It simmered for about 50 minutes (you might want to stir a few times during cooking so it does not stick to the bottom). Once it was cooked perfectly, I poured it into a strainer to remove any excess water. I plated it, salted it, added some good olive oil and finished with some cilantro for color and flavor (shown above with black beans and a swiss chard salad). It was the perfect consistency, creaminess, richness and dreaminess. I am on a quest now to explore the many possibilities of my new favorite grain (sorry Quinoa and Teff-- I promise to come back to you eventually).