I’ve grown bored with winter and am ready to move on to spring. Unfortunately, for us in the Northern Hemisphere spring doesn’t officially begin until the 20th of March. That’s 18 more days for the official start, and who knows how many more for the weather to begin reflecting the new season. Sigh.
Instead of spending my time looking out the window searching for signs of sunnier and warmer days ahead, I find myself gravitation towards sunny food colors. Perhaps it is my impatient sub-conscious orchestrating it all. Lately I can’t get enough of turmeric’s golden color — you’ve probably noticed that. The color reminds me of sunshine, warm weather and light meals. So it’s easy to understand why it’s been making so many appearances on our kitchen table.
Bright fruits and vegetables too are helping me put a little sunshine on our plates. Green vegetables, red peppers and carrots make me happy…and paired with vibrant yellow hues of turmeric and millet seed makes me that much more happier.
Millet’s yellow color makes me happy. Have you ever eaten millet? It is a great gluten-free grain that can be used much like rice or even as a replacement for couscous. It’s also commonly used as bird food or ground into flour. The taste is pretty mild with a slight nuttiness to it, and one of the things I love most about it is that it takes on flavors well. You can purchase a bag at health food stores, Indian, Central and Eastern European shops, or of course online too.
Let me show you how to put a little sunshine on your plates with this recipe.
- 1 cup Millet
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
- frozen peas to taste
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- Heat the oil, once warm add the carrots and celery and saute until soft. Next add the peas and minced garlic, saute for 3 minutes. Next add the bell peppers and cook another 2 minutes, then add the millet and cook until millet begins releasing a nutty taste -- after about 3 minutes. Pour the broth, add the turmeric, salt and black pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat until millet is soft and cooked through. If need be add a little more broth until millet is tender. Cooking time will be about 15-20minutes.
As you can see this recipe is a no-brainer. If you don’t fancy the vegetables I’ve used feel free to substitute them with your favorite or whatever is in season. I served this golden millet with pan-grilled chicken breast and zucchini. I think it would be great with steak or pork too.
Enjoy it and I hope it makes your day a little brighter. Have a great Saturday!
P.S.
Check out these great side-dish recipes by February’s YBR Feature winner, Claudia of What’s Cookin’ Italian cuisine. Cheddar Pepper Caulflower Recipe, Quick Baked Zucchini and Yellow Squash Parmigano Recipe, and Avocado Chickpea Cucumber and Tomato Salad Recipe.
A deliciously wholesome dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa!
Where is the measurement for the tumeric? I must have missed that.
Thanks for catching that Cindy! It’s 1 tsp of ground turmeric.
So easy…so pretty. Thanks for this simple, yet beautiful recipe.
Extremely easy and simple too. Thanks Victoria!:)
Stunning photography, as ever. Gosh, millet – yes, I cooked with it in my studenty vegan days and had totally forgotten about it. Thanks for the inspiration here – and gluten free too? I’m in.
Thank you Jill! I love it for our vegan days too. Enjoy.
I haven’t cooked with millet, but it on my ‘must try’ list as I’ve heard great things about it. I printed the recipe and will make this my maiden voyage. :)
It’s a really great grain Judy, I hope you give it a try soon.
So healthy and another outstanding photo Its like 3D just want to eat the screen! NICE JOB!
Thank you Claudia! Yes, it’s quite healthy.
What a healthy dish!! Looks so vibrant and healthy!! Definitely sunshine on a plate.
Thank you Nandita!
You have created a wonderful colourful dish. I use quite a bit of turmeric for its colour and health benefits. I even add a pinch to custard to increase the colour.
We have just offically slipped into Autumn here – we change on the 1st of March. Quite sad really.
Thanks Suzanne! I haven’t added it to sweets yet — but definitely will and maybe in custard too. I hope you Autumn will be a warm one.
I love yellow colors in food, which is why I love turmeric and saffron. Your dish looks delicious, I initially thought it was couscous.
Me too Julia:) Thanks
I’ve never tried millet but I know I’d love this! Turmeric is a favorite spice, I love the vibrant color!
You should give it a try Laura, you can bake with it too. Thanks!
I have never tried millet on it’s own… I have only mixed it with quinoa. I must try it like this. :) Love all that gorgeous color the turmeric gives. :)
That sounds like a great combination of grains. Thanks Ramona!
This popped up on my Zite reader and i was immediately attracted by the beautiful golden color of the grains and the contrasting red and green of the veggies. Then I realized it was none other than a recipe from Spicie Foodie. Of course… who else?
Funny, I”ve never had millet. Time to try it!
Thank you Frank, I love that you that you recognize my work. :) Give it a try sometime.
Beautiful! I really love the colour of these clicks and the recipe sounds and looks wholesome!
Thanks Angie:)
I don’t know if I’ve ever had millet. I know I’ve never cooked with it. What a beautiful and healthy little dish! The colors from the spice and the veggies just scream “healthy and tasty”. Hum – sounds like I need to get some millet from the market.
You should totally give millet a try MJ. Maybe give it a South-West spin?:)
Great color, and anything with turmeric is OK with me. I rarely use millet – something I should do more often. And I’m bored with cold weather too! Definitely looking forward to spring. Anyway, good post – thanks.
It’s always in my cabinet and I don’t use it as much as I should — like you. Thanks, hopefully spring is on it’s ways.
I vowed that this was going to be the year that I explored cooking with different whole grains and I still haven’t tackled millet. This recipe looks like a good one to start with!
I hope you can try it soon Kiersten. Can’t wait to see your vegetarian version. Thanks!
So nice of you to give us a beautiful jar of sunshine!
Thank you Sandra, and anything helps right now.
Very healthy indeed, TRUE!
Never cooked with millet, but is very nutritious too! :)
Cheers!
Joanne
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You should give it a try sometime Joanne!
Hi, It looks delicious! Can I use any kind of millet? I have seen in the market white or light brown and red millet.
Hi Mayda,
I have only used the yellow kind but I do think any would work okay. Enjoy!:)
Wow, this is definitely going to become a regular in our house and I look forward to checking out the other recipes on here
Thanks Liz and enjoy!