Millet ball stir fry? Why of course. The millet balls are a recipe from Vegan Delights cookbook, which I was lucky to win through a New Year's Eve giveaway over at Mehitable Days blog. It arrived with a group of donkeys:
The millet balls where the first recipe that caught my eye--officially called Wonderful Millet Balls in the book-- and they turned out tasty, if a bit on the delicate side. They're basically 2 cups cooked millet, 1/2 cup ground almonds (I threw in some ground flax too), and 1 Tbsp flour or arrowroot powder mixed with a variety of sauteed vegetables, tamari, veggie broth and seasonings to taste and to achieve a workable consistency.
I used finely chopped onion, shallot, garlic, celery, shitake mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots...for a total volume of about 2.5 cups of finely chopped veggies. The seasonings can be altered according to what flavor you want to give them...since I was planning a stir fry, I added some brown mustard seeds, ginger, and a little turmeric. Baked in the oven @ 400 F for about 25 minutes, they come out delicate, but sturdy up somewhat as they cool.
Before baking:
Out of the oven:
The stir fry was green onions, celery, and shitake mushrooms in a sort of teriyaki-style sauce (1/4 cup tamari, 1/4 cup mirin, 1 tbsp turbinado sugar, a few drops of toasted sesame oil, and about 1/8 cup water---thickened with arrowroot. Because the millet balls are on the delicate side, I added them in at the very end.
Speaking of giveaways, I also won this fun pink bandana from Molly over at VeganFlower. She sent some cool stickers and some of her business cards, which are really well done.
Thanks Molly!! I love it!
Not as wonderful as giveaway winnings or millet balls, but in other food recently...
...seitan sausages with sun dried tomato, kalamata olives, garlic, fennel, and oregano. I wrapped them in tin foil, steamed them, then uwrapped and browned them in the oven:
....with pasta:
Actually I take back what I said just now, the following is as wonderful as giveaways and millet balls...
Vic's BBQ Seitan Steaks from The Life blog:
You can't really see the seitan with the onions and mushrooms on top, but trust me: it's good.
Also an apple cake that looked nice, but came out rubbery:
Not sure why so rubbery...it was made from 1 pound of chopped apples tossed with 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning, and a pinch of salt, then mixed with a puree of 2 ripe bananas, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup raw cane sugar, 1 cup oat milk and 1 tsp of vanilla, then topped with apple slices and a drizzle of maple syrup. It might be better with whole wheat flour instead.
Inspired by Shen of Shenandoah Vegan fame, who often tops desserts with a little agave syrup...
...makes it all better.
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wear that bandana proudly:) its so cute!
ReplyDeletethe millet balls look so good, omgosh.and im glad i saw tht you steamed the seiten susages. i will try that next time.i hd been wondering if you could do that. when youmade that vegan pot roast i heded right to the kitchen to mimic it...my fav part was how cool it looked browned! it adds a lot! my friend and my husband commented on the "browning" straight off!
i would rather something come out looking bad but tasting great than so pretty and not exactly how i would want it to taste.it looks like a million bucks, A++ for presentation!!
How is it that I just discovered your blog? It's beautiful! Can't wait to keep up with what's happening in your kitchen (and garden?). Those millet balls look good...maybe I'll actually use the millet that's been in my cabinet : )
ReplyDeleteHaha, I thought bandanas were part of the eats. I was like, "maybe they're a Latin thing?"
ReplyDeleteAll the actual edible food looks amazing especially that kale alongside the spaghetti. I love making homemade sausages.
I made a pretty rubbery cake the other day too, but my bf loved it - I called it undercooked, he called it oatmeal-y and eggy, but whatever. I've noticed that applesauce in particular will do that sometimes. Anyway, looks good to me!
Michelle
ReplyDeleteThe steamed sausages work pretty well as long as you have the foil wrapped nice and tight...I've made them a few times w/o rolling them up well enough and they came out all wobbley.
Glad to hear the pot roast was a hit. I'm pretty sure you could brown it after braising it too, instead of before...I think that would be easier; I'm going to try that next time.
I agree: better to taste great and not look perfect than the other way around. :)
Stephanie
Hey, thanks for stopping by! Glad to meet you and I'm looking forward to reading your blog too! I've added it to my list.
FoodFeud
That's funny! Bandanas does sound like it could be some south of the border dish! I probably would have thought the same...I mean actual bandanas don't often spring to mind, especially on food blogs.
So the applesauce is the likely culprit. Good to know! Thanks for the tip :)
I love the giveaway you won! I think every vegan needs at least one item of clothing that says vegan. I still need one. Also, I never heard about millit balls besides the ones I used to give my birds! Awesome! Sorry your cake turned out rubbery :( It looks like the flavor was great though!
ReplyDeleteYour camera takes such nice pictures, Rose. What kind do you have?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked everything in the package and thanks for the compliment about my cards! The millet ball stir fry looks spectacular, as does the rest of the food. Yum yum!!
Just one mind-blowing picture after another. I want it all!
ReplyDelete(Unsolicited advice: serve the Apple Cake hot, with a scoop of Vanilla Soy/Coconut/Rice Cream).
If you say the millet balls are wonderful, then I believe you. The dish you made with them certainly looks wonderful. Millet is a grain I really like but always forget to use. I used to make millet-cauliflower "mashed potatoes" back in my macrobiotic days, and sometimes ate millet straight, as a grain dish, but lately it's just aging in the cupboard.
ReplyDeleteThe seitan steak recipe looks interesting, too, but I especially like the balance of the meals you assemble — beautifully colorful and healthy.
You really started out the year with a lucky winning streak, and I hope it continues for you! You'll look great in that bandana, I can picture it tied around your ponytail or around your neck while you're gardening or cooking. (And I love the look of your new business cards, Molly!)
ReplyDeleteLOL, your donkey card enhancements are too cute! You have to love donkeys who get excited about a vegan cookbook, AND are very polite, too. :-)
That was a very clever use of the millet balls, and your stir-fry looks delicious! As does everything else on your post (as always!) I checked out that seitan steaks recipe, and am wondering if you used the chipotle BBQ sauce the recipe called for, and if so if you made your own or used store-bought. I've never seen it in a store, but then I rarely frequent the BBQ sauce section.
Like Andrea, I love millet and never think to use it. I made that same millet-caulflower "mashed potatoes" dish once too! I can't remember which of my cookbooks has the recipe, but it was in my early vegan days. I remember it being quite tasty, so why I've never made it again is a mystery, except that there's such a huge abundance of new vegan recipes to try all the time, it's distracting! :-)
That apple cake is so pretty! I don't think I've ever seen a dessert that called for Old Bay seasoning. I have no advice to offer re: the rubbery texture, except to say that letting fat-free baked goods (especially when I've subbed applesauce for oil) sit for several hours ~ or better yet, overnight ~ really improves the texture. If I dive in too soon, they do tend to be rubbery, but by the next day they've always been perfect. I don't know if that applies in this case, but sure I love the look and sound of that cake!
omg, those millet balls! I NEED them!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks awesome.. Old Bay in dessert? Odd... there didn't seem to be any fat in the cake.. and a whole lot of moisture for that amount of flour.. that might be why it was rubbbery? It looked good though! haha
Carissa
ReplyDeleteYeah, we all should stock up on our vegan gear...:) I've never had millet balls before either...they were pretty good. I should make some bird friendly ones for the birds...thanks for the idea.
Molly
Thanks again for the bandana and the stickers...and your business cards are truly cute and very professional looking. I'm taping a couple of them up on the front of my cupboard where I put things I like to look at.
My camera is nothing special, it's a Canon point and shoot: PowerShot A10000Is. It's fine for me...except it gets a little grimy sometimes from hanging out in the kitchen while I cook and I can't figure out how to set the date time: it prompts me to set it every time I turn it on, but it never persists...I have to reset it every time I turn it on...I usually don't bother.
Shen
Thanks for the tip!! I'll definitely do that tonight!
Andrea
Same for me...I don't use millet very often either even though I think I should...the millet/cauliflower combo sounds really good! I'm going to have to look into that!
Laurie
I bought a lotto ticket to see whether my winning streak would come through for me...but no. Oh well, pink bandanas and yummy vegan cookbooks have a lot more soul.
Glad you liked the donkey thing, after I posted it I thought that the one donkey who is sort of turned to the side and looking back should be saying "did I hear someone say millet balls?"...I'm such a dweeb. lol
For the seitan steak I sort of tweak it to my own version...and I didn't use the sauce Vic mentions, just a standard homemade BBQ sauce that I make: organic ketchup, onions, cider vinegar, cane sugar, dash of hot sauce...simmered on the stove for while.
Thanks for the tip on the cake...as it sits the inside is becoming more like apple pie, which overall, is better than rubber...it has gotten better from sitting; it's sort changed from a cake into a pie! :)
Melody
I bet you're right about the cake! I'll leave it to your expertise.
Yeah, the Old Bay sounds a little weird in a dessert, but it's good with apples; it just gives a mild celery/mace-like flavor; my husbands not big on cinnamon, cloves or other lovely spices, but he tolerates the Old Bay and it adds a little spice w/o using too much cinnamon or other spices he won't eat if the flavor's too strong.
Thanks again for the cake advice!
Rose, everything looks delicious! Those millet balls sound so good...actually everything does. The food in your pictures look like they are just going to jump through my computer screen. :o) Congratulations on your winnings!
ReplyDeleteThe bandana is too cute!
I agree - Old Bay in dessert sounds weird. Some of it (nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves) sounds good with apples, but the rest of it sounds weird. That sure made a pretty cake, though, and the agave drizzle looks good too.
ReplyDeleteThe delicate millet balls look good too, but calling them wonderful is making me giggle a little. What wonderful things you've been cooking lately!
Just wanted you to know this post has launched me on a millet mission. I went through a few of my cookbooks and found a couple of recipes I want to try (grocery-shopping day tomorrow, how handy!), along with this one of Mitten Machen's I remembered wanting to make (but it's still on the heap of my good culinary intentions!)
ReplyDeleteBummer about your winning streak not offering up a winning lottery ticket! You'd have done splendid things with your winnings.
And you're no dweeb... but if you are then so am I. I get my best blogging ideas AFTER I hit "publish." (Catch most of my spelling boo-boos then, too!) ;-)
Michelle
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, I know what you mean about food jumping through the computer screen; I often feel like that while I'm looking at blogs and getting hungry.
:)
Jessica
Yeah, I guess I am a cake weirdo....all I can taste from it when I used just a little in a large cake is sort of a celery flavor...yeah, I'm a cake weirdo. :0)
Laurie
Those millet falafel sound really good! You'll have to keep us updated on your millet mission meals. "Good culinary intentions" ... I like that; I have a pretty big heap of those too! :)
How are you able to make something as potentially bland as millet balls and present them so beautifully? I'm making millet tonight with dinner, plain 'ol millet. Maybe I should experiment with it. It's still somewhat of an unfamiliar grain to me. And, as far as that cake, I'm sure what you deem rubbery, was probably actually magnificient to my plebian family. Hurry up with those dishes, will ya?!
ReplyDeleteYou know I meant washing the dishes, right? Not making them. Argh, when a tease goes wrong!
ReplyDeleteBlessedMama
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't use millet too much either...it was all the onions, and spices that gave the flavor really. I don't think I'll make them again, but do want to use millet more often though.
Let's face it, I'll never be the cake diva you are! Actually, as the cake sat, the insides turned into something more like pie filling...how's that for a magical cake? I think it gives Shen a run for her money on the magic cake front.
I'm doing the dishes as fast as I can...promise! lol :D
Oh, I'm no diva, that's for sure! Just with at least five to ten birthday cakes a year, I get more practice that I thought! :-) Oh, well, at least I have you to look up to for millet. Give me more millet inspiration over here!
ReplyDeleteAs my mom always says: "practice makes perfect"...you certainly get your cake practice in! What a fun thing to practice though, especially with enthusiastic little blessings to make them for!
ReplyDeleteI'll keep my eyes open on the millet front...Andrea and Laloofah both mentioned a millet and cauliflower dish that sounds good...I'll be looking into that.
Have any good recipes for vegan corn muffins?
BlessedMama
ReplyDeleteI just found a recipe for corn muffins on your site! I'm making them tomorrow!!! :)
*crackling static noises* Uh, Millet Module to Mother Ship - Phase One of Mission: Make More Millet Meals, procuring millet, was successfully completed at approximately 1700 hours (Zulu time) yesterday. Millet Module over and out. *crackling static noises*
ReplyDeleteMillet Module to Major Tom...er I mean Miss Laloofah; good work on Phase One...
ReplyDeleteoh wait: You're Millet Module, so I must be mother ship: Millet ship to Millet Module: good work on phase 1. Expecting delicious progress on phase 2. Over and out.
PS: Think we need to get some walkie talkies...we had some as kids but they never worked.
wow beautiful picture! makes me hungry just looking at it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jacklyn :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMillet Module to Millet Mothership...
ReplyDeleteOf COURSE you're the Mothership, who else would it be? Didn't you get your mission orders? ;-)
Roger that, Walkie Talkies would be fun, I just don't think they'd quite reach!
Millet Module over and out.
You make a very good point Millet Module.
ReplyDeleteWow, so much - I don't know where to begin. The sausages look totally fun. Everything looks delicious. It's always so fun to win giveaways!!!
ReplyDeleteIt all looks fantastic!!
ReplyDelete