I know, I know… I haven’t posted in a while. My time at home has been mostly spent cleaning, super boring adult stuff like doing taxes, and fun things like watching the chickens learn what their wings are for and playing with the rest of the pets.

Oh, and I found a roommate! The spring cleaning is stepping up to a whole new level in preparation for her arrival. This morning I took on the kitchen cabinets, and discovered I had a bunch of millet in there, and yet I never actually cook millet. Until now!

This meal is the perfect healthy and filling dish to make when you’re feeling extra strapped for cash, or just because it’s delicious. Millet ain’t just for birds, you know! It’s a really delicious slightly nutty grain, and it’s much less expensive than its posh cousin quinoa. The only other ingredients were kale (which is always super cheap around here), chickpeas (I cooked up a batch from dry beans last week, so this was literally pennies per serving), some lemon juice and zest, and a few things you definitely have in your pantry.

1 1/2 cups millet, cooked (I used my beloved Zojirushi rice cooker)
1/2 bunch kale, stemmed and finely shredded (I used 4 large leaves)
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (or 1 can)
juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
olive oil
salt
pepper
curry powder

Preheat a cast iron skillet in an oven to 400F. Meanwhile, start the millet in your rice cooker if you don’t already have some prepared.

Once the skillet is good and hot, add the drained chickpeas, drizzle with oil, salt, and curry powder to taste and shake the skillet around to get everything covered (with an oven mitt, over course!). Stick that skillet back in the oven. After 10 minutes or so, shake the beans around again and return to the oven for at least another 10 minutes — you want them lightly browned and crispy.

Dump your shredded kale into a bowl with a few drizzles of oil and some salt, and give it a massage. This used to make me giggle when I saw it in recipes, but now I’m a huge massaged kale believer. Kale salads are the best, as long as the kale is treated right.

By the time your kale is good and tender, everything else should be finishing up. Add cooked millet to the kale, and mix in a little more oil (if needed), lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Once it is evenly mixed, stir in the crispy roasted chickpeas. And then eat it all* with a smile on your face 😀

*it makes a lot, so don’t actually eat at all at once…