Fresh Herb and Millet Salad with Tomatoes

I finally found the recipe I used at the Health Food Deli I worked at. It didn't use Quinoa like I thought, it used millet.

Nutritionally, millet is about as high in protein as wheat (about 4.2 grams per half-cup serving) and also provides niacin, vitamin B6 and folic acid along with some calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. It doesn't contain gluten so it can't be used in breadmaking, but it is a nutritious alternative to wheat products for those who are allergic to gluten.

I wouldn't call millet a substitute for wheat, but it is a nice addition to the diet. You can often substitute millet in recipes for buckwheat, rice or quinoa, and you may see it sold as couscous (although couscous usually is made from semolina, a wheat product). When baked into muffins, millet gives a nice crunch.

To cook millet as a grain instead of rice, just simmer 1/2 cup in 11/2 cups of liquid. If you leave it alone as it cooks, you'll get fluffy grains like rice; if you stir frequently and add a little extra liquid during cooking, you'll get a dish that resembles mashed potatoes. It takes about 25 minutes to cook millet by simmering.


Fresh Herb and Millet Salad with Tomatoes

4 c. cooked millet
1/3 c. finely minced chives
1/4 c. finely minced flat leaf parsley
1/2 c. finely minced basil
2 tsp. finely minced marjoram
S & P to taste
Juice of 1/2 lg. lemon, (about 2tb.)
1/4 c. olive oil
1 lg. ripe red tomato, skinned and diced (about 1/2 lb.)
Few black olives (opt.)

While the millet is hot, transfer it to a lg. bowl and combine with the herbs, salt, pepper, lemon juice and oil. Gently stir in the tomatoes. Serve at rm. temp. garnished with the olives.

Honey Whole Wheat Rolls

Since Easter is on its way .......I thought Id start to post a few of my favorite recipes for it. I love to make these rolls. I make them cloverleaf style in a muffin pan but you can just make balls of the dough too and bake in a square pan. Or you can use the dough like the picture above and get creative. These are so yummy I love them for breakfast the next day with some soft butter and jam. These are always requested!

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT ROLLS MAKES 1 1/2 DOZ.

3/4c. scalded milk

3 tb. veg. shortening

1/4c. honey

1tsp. salt

1/4c. cool water

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 egg

2c. sifted all purpose flour

1c. unsifted whole wheat flour or graham flour

3/4c. chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds (I use pecans, rich and delish!)

In a large bowl combine first 4 ingredients and stir till shortening melts, add the water, then the yeast and stir till the yeast dissolves. Mix in the egg. Combine the flours and nuts and mix into yeast mixture 1c. at a time. Mix hard till dough is springy. Pinch off bits of dough with floured hands and roll into balls about the size of large marbles. Place 3 balls in each cup of a greased muffin pan to form clover leaf rolls. Cover the rolls with a clean dry cloth and let rise till doubled about 1hr. Toward end of rising time, preheat oven to hot 400 degrees. Bake rolls in oven for 20min. or till nicely browned and sound hollow when thumped. Serve warm. A nice herb butter would be yummy with this.

Herb Butters

Garlic & Chive Butter - In small bowl, blend 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic and 1 Tbsp. finely chopped chives.

Parmesan & Pepper Butter - In small bowl, blend 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese and 1/8 tsp.ground black pepper.

Fresh Herb Butter - In small bowl, blend 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine and 1 tsp. each chopped fresh basil, thyme and parsley (or your favorite fresh herbs).

Wheatberry Salad

I never even heard of wheatberries until I worked at a Health food deli located in a health food store here. I sure learned alot and found that in spite of what you think healthy food can taste awesome. I took over the deli after working with a friend who was the chef there. I was disappointed in some of the stuff and so I worked on perking them up with lots of flavor. I know they tried to use the ingredients in the store to promote sales but sometimes fresher is better or less is more. So I took their recipes and cut down even more on the oils and fats used and added tons of fresh garlic, onions and herbs instead of always the dried. Dried has its place but when I can use fresh I always do. I even dry some of my own for when theres no fresh to be had.

Wheatberry is the unprocessed wheat kernel, before it gets refined into flour, wheat germ, bran, and more, so you get the full nutritional and fiber value of each constituent. Some chefs, recommend soaking overnight and cook for about an hour. We just cooked the wheatberry for an hour or till tender. I didnt have time to do overnite when I would be running out in the store sometimes.

Wheat Berry
Refers to the entire wheat kernel, without the hull, which contains the bran, germ, and endosperm. Wheat berry or wheatberry, as it is also known, have a tan to reddish brown color and are available as either a hard or soft processed grain. The soft grain will cook faster, but otherwise, either type can be used in recipes. They provide a tasty nutty flavor when used in salads, soups and stews.

WHEATBERRY SALAD SERVES 12
Dressing:
1/2 c. low fat mayo
1 tsp. dillweed
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. basil
1/2 c. fresh chopped parsley
1 clove of garlic minced

Salad:
1 c. EACH hard and soft wheat berries, cooked 1hr. drained and cooled.
3 chopped green onions
1 carrot, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 each of red and green pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped

All the vegetables can be chopped in a food processor if you wish, to about sm. pea size. In a bowl put all the chopped vegetables. In another bowl combine all the dressing ingredients. Add cooled wheatberries to veggiesand mix well. Add dressing. Mix and chill.

What I liked about the wheatberries are they are kind of chewy and they taste delish. But the texture really got to me. They dont get all soggy and mushy, its almost like eating a burger. Its a pretty hearty salad. You could easily cut this recipe in half or even a quarter if you want. Some of the stores that carry bulk foods have wheatberries. I like to buy mine at the health food store but if you buy more than you need I would freeze them. Most grains will get rancid over time. Also many times you will get grain weevils and such in any kind of product like this, even flour, so freezing kills them.