There are some nights it starts getting close to dinner time and I still have no clue what I am going to serve. On those evenings I am glad I have a pantry with some choices in it. Don’t get me wrong – I love to cook and most nights I have my meals planned but other days either because I don’t feel well or the day got away from me I need a quick and easy dinner. This is somewhat easier in the summer when I have the produce from the garden but thanks to said garden it’s also easy to pull something together thanks to canned and frozen veggies. On this particular night I decided to work with something differnt than rice or pasta so I needed to come up with a millet recipe. I was also glad to have some delicious strawberry balsamic vinegar and blood orange olive oil on hand. I cannot tell you how much I love, love, love blood orange olive oil.

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Millet Recipe: Millet Garden Salad

Serves 3 – 4

1 cup millet
1/4 cup sun dried tomato pieces
1 quarter cantaloupe melon cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 cup corn, canned, frozen or cut from the cob
1/2 cup green beans, canned, frozen or fresh
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
2 TBS plus 1/2 tsp Blood Orange Olive Oil (such as from patriciaandpaul.com)
3 TBS Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar (such as from patriciaandpaul.com)
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cup of millet and boil for about 12 minutes until it is cooked but still a bit al dente

Drain and put the millet into a bowl. Stir in the sun dried tomato pieces. Add the 1/2 tsp of Blood Orange Olive Oil and several turns of fresh grated black pepper. Mix well and set aside until the millet cools a bit.
Make the dressing: Mix the 2 TBS of Blood Orange Olive Oil and 3 TBS of Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until emulsified. Set aside.

If you need to toast your pumpkin seeds do so. If you have them already toasted – you were smarter than me.

Add all of the fruits and vegetables to the warm millet and stir gently. Add the dressing and mix and add salt and pepper to taste.

How Was the Millet Recipe?

I truly didn’t know what to expect but this was DELICIOUS. Hubby ate two and a half bowls full!
It was a little sweet, a little bit nutty and a little bit citrusy. All of the ingredients came together in a wonderful way. This is something I will definitely make again.

The dressing is a real winner. It is so simple yet so delicious. I can see it on a summer salad. The blood orange olive oil is so delightful and pairs wonderfully with the strawberry balsamic.