Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Mexican Topped Millet




Those of you that know me will not be surprised to hear I had to listen to all the lectures for course two of the e-Cornell certification today. I just can’t help myself. Apparently my type-A personality traits run very deep. I got a slow start this morning because I wasn’t able to focus. However once I got a little exercise I was able to get through the lectures. Needless to say this meant that I didn’t start dinner until Dan was on his way home from work. Thankfully it takes him about 20 minutes from door to door. On those days when I am short on time I rely on millet or quinoa since they cook quickly. Here is what I made tonight:

Mexican Topped Millet
Serves 4

Millet Ingredients:

1 ½ cups millet
2 cups water
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt, as desired (I didn’t use any)

Topping Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (allow to stand 10 minutes before heating so allicin can develop)
¼ cup water to sauté the aromatics
10 ounces Rotel tomatoes
1 ½ cups white beans, cooked without salt and drained
10 black olives, pitted and chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pinch red pepper flakes
8 spears fresh asparagus, woody ends removed then thinly sliced
6 cups raw baby spinach, roughly cut
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions:

Combine the ingredients for the millet in a heavy saucepan with a lid and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

To make the sauce water sauté the onions and garlic until soft. Add the remaining ingredients except the asparagus, spinach and onions and cook over low heat will the millet is cooking. When the millet is done turn the heat off on the sauce and add the remaining ingredients and stir them into the sauce.

To serve top the millet with the sauce.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 473
Calories From Fat (13%) - 59.51

Total Fat - 6.67g
Saturated Fat - 0.76g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 490.33mg
Potassium - 969.57mg
Total Carbohydrates - 83.1g
Fiber - 16.38g
Sugar - 2.52g
Protein - 17.73g

Comments:

You may be asking why I added nutrition yeast and vinegar to the millet. I was trying to add a little background flavor without sodium. It did add some flavor but next time I will include an extra tablespoon of vinegar.

This is another dish that came together quickly because I keep cooked beans in the refrigerator and freezer. If you haven’t tried that “trick” yet I highly recommend it. It comes in very handy for me.

I think Heather and her love of Mexican food is rubbing off on me. I don’t normally make Mexican twice a week for dinner. However this was good and a nice change from the Italian, Asian or Middle Eastern food I normally make.

I added the spinach, asparagus and green onions at the very end of cooking so that they would retain as much nutrition as possible. Olive provided the fat so that we were able to absorb the fat soluble vitamins as well as adding salt.

Each serving of this contains approximately 5,100IU of vitamin A, 25mg of vitamin C, 155mg of calcium, 7mg of iron, 280mcg of folate, 250mcg of vitamin K, 400mg of phosphorus, and 190mg of magnesium. The stats for this are similar to most of my meals, which is a good thing.

To go with this we had a glass of fresh veggie and fruit juice like normal.

Unrelated note:

The second course in the e-Cornell program is much better than the first one. I was happy to hear new information presented by individuals that have not read before. I was also happy that the lectures were going into more detail. If anyone has any questions about course two feel free to send me an email or post a comment.

It will be nice to have things get back to normal tomorrow (no running around or school). I am considering spending half the day in the kitchen. Cooking is my therapy and I feel like I can use a little right now. Unless something comes up to ruin my plans you can expect to see a few recipes tomorrow. I have no idea what that means yet but there may be a new seitan sausage. I haven’t made a new one in while so that could be fun.

For now I am going to go and take care of a few things before it is time to turn in. I hope you all had a great day. I will chat with you tomorrow.

22 comments:

  1. It looks like Mexican was on both of our minds tonight! Yours looks great. Good job on your classes, too!

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  2. blessed mama,

    Thanks! I liked the sound of yours too.

    This second class is definitely better than the first one. I wasn't too thrilled with course one, because I didn't learn anything. But this one actually taught me a couple of things, so I was happy with that. ;-)

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

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  3. Being a type A is a pain, isn't it? I am glad the second course was better than the first! SO what are you making tomorrow in the kitchen???
    I am thinking of taking your porky seitan cutlet, and seasoning it with a mesquite marinade and trying to grill it??? What do you think?

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  4. Brandi,

    I am happy the second course was better too. And ... yes being type A does cause problems. ;-)

    I have not tried grilling the seitan cutlets yet. My gut reaction is to cook it at least 75% in the oven first and finish it on the grill. What did you have in mind?

    Alicia

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  5. I'm sure you're a star pupil...glad to hear that you're getting into some material that is new and of interest.

    The food looks great as usual...I love adding nutritional yeast to things...it is indeed really tasty.

    Looking forward to seeing what you brew up during kitchen therapy tomorrow. :)

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  6. Rose,

    That is very sweet of you to say, thanks!

    I think nutritional yeast really is underused. It gives food a nice little cheesy background that I find very appealing.

    I don't know what I am cooking tomorrow. But I am looking forward to spending some time in the kitchen.

    Alicia

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  7. Hey there - dinner looks fantastic (of course). I'm glad I'm rubbing off b/c that means more recipes for me to try! ;-)

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  8. Heather,

    Good Morning to you! Glad you like the idea of this. Dan loves millet so that part was an easy decision last night. But it would have been just as good with quinoa.

    This morning is the first disk (chest and back) of P90X. I will send you an email when I finish and let you know what I think.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  9. I love the idea of the vinegar in the millet. It must really brighten it up.

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  10. SV,

    Thanks, that was what I was going for. Lemon juice should be good too. I got the idea from the Egyptian meal from Sunday. It worked so well in the rice I thought it was worth trying with other grains.

    Alicia

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  11. I have some millet that I need to do something with. This recipe looks great! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tasha,

    Thanks! I hope you enjoy the recipe, we did.

    Alicia

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  13. I add nutritional yeast to just about everything--even my salads, lol! I love the stuff and can't seem to get enough! SO good :-)

    Courtney

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  14. Courtney,

    Thanks for sharing that idea. I would never have thought of adding nutritional yeast to salad. I assume you are using it like parm and sprinkling it on top. However, I bet it would be good in dressing too.

    thanks again,
    Alicia

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  15. What an excellent idea! Millet has always seemed a little boring to me, over shadowed by super grains like quinoa. This topping combo you've come up with some fantastic. I'd love to try it sometime. Thanks for sharing :)

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  16. Jill,

    Millet is actually my husbands favorite grain. I prefer quinoa for the protein, but I make millet too because he loves it. The veggie topping is definitely required to give the millet enough flavor.

    Alicia

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  17. Yes! I sprinkle it right on top and it is sooooooooo good :-)

    Courtney

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  18. Courtney,

    Thanks! I will give that a try tomorrow with my lunch salad. Sounds like a great idea to me!

    Alicia

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  19. Hi Alicia,

    I'm so glad to hear your comments on class 2! I hesitated to take the second course because I felt the same about course 1- that I didn't learn anything new from it. Would you recommend it? I've read many books from The Esselstyns, Dr McDougall, Dr. Fuhrman, John Robbins, Howard Lyman, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Cohen the Notmilkman. It sounds like you have read many of the same books. What do you think regarding course 2?
    Thanks,
    Lea

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  20. Lea,

    Send me an email and we can chat about it. I don't think I will have a firm opinion until I have finished all three courses. At the moment if you asked my opinion I am still on the fence in terms of value. For people like us that have read about this extensively there isn't a lot so far. I think the course is geared more to people that are just starting down a healthy path.

    Alicia

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  21. I think I'd really enjoy that course, too. I'm also a type A and would have to listen to every little thing! I love using millet and/or quinoa when I'm in a rush, too--this dish looks like a perfect way to use it.

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  22. Ricki,

    I am actually listening to the lectures for a second time today. I want to make certain I didn't miss anything. ;-)

    We use a lot of quinoa and millet. They have become our go to grains. While I love brown rice it does take much longer.

    hope you have a great weekend,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete

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