lemony millet salad with chickpeas, corn, + spinach

Lately, our dinners have been last minute + pretty make-shift.  Tortilla pizzas for the win!  While sometimes those dinners are delicious and create little cleanup, they also don't offer leftovers that can be eaten for lunch the following day.  So, I'm on a mission to come up with a handful of new recipes that work as dinner, lunch, or leftovers.

I also want to focus on simplicity and fresh flavors.  This recipe is just that.

The dressing is literally 3 ingredients: olive oil + lemon juice + lemon zest

While you could get fancier adding a little sweetness, mustard, garlic, or the like, it's really not necessary at all.

A sprinkling of fresh herbs on top is really all you need as the finishing touch.

By the way...can I just say that I am loving my lemon thyme + oregano plants so very much!  I can't believe how lemony the lemon thyme actually is!

If you're new to millet it's a definite must try.  It's a bit thicker + chewier than quinoa with a less earthy flavor.  My favorite way to cook millet can be found in this post.  I typically cook it with no oil and only water, but adding a little oil in the pot before cooking and using half veggie stock-half water is also a great option for more flavor.

As the millet cooks you can work on the chickpea, corn, and spinach mixture.  I again went simple with the spices using only garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper.  

I am loving the pairing of cumin + lemon!

I would definitely call this a 30 minute meal.  And after it's done cooking you can serve it up hot or let it chill in the fridge and serve cold.  

Or, for two other serving ideas you can:

1. wrap this up in a tortilla or large collard leaf with fresh herbs + avocado
2. scoop onto a bed of greens with fresh herbs, avocado, pepitas, and an extra squeeze of lemon

Print this!

Lemony Millet Salad with Chickpeas, Corn, + Spinach

gluten-free, vegan // yields 3-4 meal-sized servings 

• 3 cups cooked millet
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained + rinsed
• 7-8 cups chopped spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt + pepper
• 1 tablespoon safflower oil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• zest from 1/2 of a lemon
• toppings: fresh thyme, oregano, avocado, pepitas, hot sauce, etc.

1. Pour 1 tablespoon safflower oil [or other cooking oil] into a large pan over medium heat.
2. Once hot, add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Add the corn and cook for another 7-10 minutes until the beans + corn are starting to turn golden brown.
4. Add in the cumin, garlic, and a big pinch of salt + pepper.  
5. Stir for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant then stir in the spinach and cook until just wilted [about 2 minutes].
6. Remove from heat and toss with 3 cups of millet, then refrigerate uncovered until fully chilled.  Stir the mixture while chilling to speed up the process.
7. Combine the olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a jar and shake vigorously to combine.
8. Pour desired amount of dressing over the chilled millet mixture and toss to coat.  I used nearly all of it.  Or, leave undressed and portion out dressing to package up and take to work with you if desired.
9. Taste and adjust salt + pepper and add more lemon juice if desired.  
10. Finish each serving with a sprinkling of fresh herbs + avocado.
11. Or, place in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to eat.  Keeps for about 2 days after dressing.  

notes/subs: Feel free to serve this hot if desired: After step 6, toss with the dressing and serve with fresh herbs + avocado.  I prefer this meal chilled.  If you don't have millet on hand quinoa would work perfectly.  [A non-gluten-free alternative would be couscous.] 

Fresh.  Simple.  Leftover-friendly.  Mission complete.

Ashley

Other leftover-friendly salad-type meals from the archives:

• millet salad with sun-dried tomatoes, kale, and beans
• orange ginger veggie noodle bowl
• lemon basil bean salad
• thai kale salad with peanut dressing
• lemon basil grilled corn pasta
• lemon dill pasta salad
• lemon, olive oil, + roasted garlic pasta with spinach + lentils
• quiona broccoli casserole
• summery quinoa millet casserole

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce + Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

I've just recently become a huge fan of barbecue sauce.  Sure, growing up we ate barbecue sauce from time to time but it was never a big thing and I could really take it or leave it.  But for some reason I'm currently hooked on putting barbecue sauce on everything.  Most everything.  Not breakfast.  Although I wouldn't put it past me.

Ever since making blueberry + pineapple barbecue sauce I've been trying to think of what flavor to play with next.  I thought of rhubarb but was hesitant.  Would it take too much sugar to mellow out?  Would it pair well with savory flavors?  Since it's most common to see rhubarb in pies o jam it seemed a little odd to try and make barbecue sauce with it.  

While it does require more than a handful of ingredients nothing is too out of the ordinary.  The item you might have the hardest time finding is the rhubarb!

Luckily, you can find rhubarb growing randomly all over our town.  A little urban foraging never hurt anyone, right?

The stalks you see above actually came from my cousin.  He has two gigantic rhubarb plants randmoly growing in his backyard.  I've never noticed rhubarb growing so freely in any other location, but then again, maybe I was never really looking for it.  I'm pretty sure they should be selling it for free around here and not having it shipped in from the other side of the country charging $7.00/lb.

I wanted to highlight this sauce in a simple way so I decided on a grilled veggie sandwich.  No tempeh, tofu, or portobellos here.  Just a pile of delicious summer veggies, grilled up in minutes, sandwiched between toast, and smothered in barbecue sauce.

To me, THIS is summer.

And the sauce??  Oh my.  The dipping got a little ridiculous.

It has a nice smokey-tang that you can not only taste but smell, and it's finished with a kick of heat from the jalapeno.  

Slather this on anything you like!  From corn on the cob to grilled veggie sandwiches, tempeh, tofu, or your protein of choice, on quinoa or millet, or as a dipping sauce for fresh veggies...or french fries.

Rhubarb barbecue sauce, who would've thought?

Print this!

Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce 

gluten-free, vegan // yields ~2 cups sauce

adapted from: pineapple barbecue sauce

• 2 cups chopped rhubarb, 1/4-inch slices ~5 large stalks
• 1 cup canned tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons diced + seeded jalapeno
• 2 - 3 1/2 tablespoons muscovado sugar, sucanat or light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons stone ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• oil for cooking

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
2. Once hot, add the onion + jalapeno and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.  About 6-8 minutes.
3. Add in the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
4. Add in the rhubarb, tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, 2 tablespoons muscovado sugar, molasses, garlic, smoked paprika, mustard, salt, and pepper.
5. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium-low/low and simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes until the rhubarb is tender and easily mashed.  Mixture should be thick.
6. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes, then place in your blender or food processor and [carefully! hot liquid!] blend until fully smooth.  
7. Return to the pot over low heat, taste and adjust seasonings [more sugar/salt/pepper -- I used 3T sugar total] if needed.  
8. Serve immediately or allow to cool then store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.  Or, allow to fully cool, place in a sealable bag and freeze.  Thaw in the fridge 24hrs before using.

For the grilled veggie sandwich:  I used zucchini, eggplant, and orange bell pepper with a fresh slice of tomato on the bottom.

1. Preheat grill to about medium/med-high heat.
2. Slice veggies and toss with oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Pour out into an even layer on a grill pan or grate and grill for 4-5 minutes, toss, and grill another 3-5 minutes until grilled to your liking.
4. Remove from the heat and serve.

notes/subs: The seeded jalapeno is optional if you want a medium spice level.  It is crucial to use smoked paprika and not plain paprika.  Costco sells a large container for about $4.

A little on the messy side, but I'd say it's worth it.

Ashley