I have had a windowsill full of roma tomatoes staring at me for several days now.  Ever since I saw Ashley’s tomato and corn soup, I knew I wanted to roast them.  I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with them afterwards.  So I waited.

And waited.  And then just in time for lunch, inspiration struck.  There is no grain I love more than millet.  Something about it’s slightly corn-like taste and chewy texture gets me every time.  My husband is a huge quinoa fan, and while I make lots of recipes with quinoa, it’s actually probably my least favorite grain. 

I know.  The food blogger gods are probably bashing lightning bolts together or something.

Quinoa is fine, it just doesn’t get me excited.  Millet is a whole other story.  And paired with delicious roasted summer tomatoes, it makes the perfect lunch. 

Roasted Tomato Millet Salad

Print this recipe!

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 6-8 roma tomatoes
• 1 cup dry millet
• 2.75 cups water
• 1 cup basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1.5 teaspoons cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt + more to taste

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise and lay seed-side-up on a sheet pan.

Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Place pan in oven and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very soft.

In the meantime, prepare the millet.  Combine 1 cup dry millet with 2.75 cups water, and cook either in sauce pan or in a rice cooker until light and fluffy. 

After an hour or so, pull the tomatoes out of the oven.

They should be soft and juicy, with browning and caramelization on the skin.  Mmmmmmm.

Add tomatoes to a large mixing bowl along with basil and olives.  I chose to leave the tomatoes in large halves in the salad because I think the flavor is best when the juice is held in.  But if you prefer smaller bites, you can also dice the tomatoes before adding to the bowl. 

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, sugar, and salt, and pour dressing over mixture.  Stir to distribute the dressing evenly!

Finish seasoning to taste with salt, grab a fork, and dive in!

This grain salad is great served right away at room temp, or reheated the next day as leftovers.  It’s just one more way to enjoy my favorite grain, and use up any end of summer tomatoes that might still be resting on your windowsill.

As always, enjoy!

On Friday, I was responsible for making both lunch and dinner at work, plus I tacked on a 2 hour meeting with my boss at the end of the day.  And because it was Friday, I was only focused on the tasks that remained until I could start my weekend, and I was by no means thinking ahead to Monday.  So this morning crept up and I suddenly remembered that I was doing back to back staff lunches, and had to have a full lunch for 12 people prepared by noon – whoops!

I hit the ground running with NO plan.  First thing I needed to decide was what my main salad dish would be, and then I could throw together some lighter sides afterwards.  I walked in the door, dropped my bag, and immediately flung open the pantry.  I kind of felt like I was on an episode of Chopped – knowing I had 2 hours to cook and that I needed to get the longest-cooking things started first. 

My first thought was quinoa, but when I grabbed the box I realized it was nearly empty.  Plan B – a giant bag of beautiful French lentils.

I got the lentils going on the stove, and made my way out to the garage where the excess produce is kept.  Each week, the farm guys bring all of the excess veggies to our three giant overflow refrigerators.  My job is to try to use as much of the supply as possible, in order to utilize all of the available produce.  I saw a box of sweet potatoes on the floor and snapped into action.

Check out the size of this sweet potato!  Hard to believe it is organic and hormone-free.  Held up next to my head for a size comparison.  And yes, my head is abnormally gigantic, but it couldn’t compete with this sweet tater. 

The sweet potato monster and his friends were washed and trimmed for roasting. 

They were chopped and tossed in a little EVOO and S&P, and spread out on a roasting pan. 

And then sprinkled with some freshly chopped rosemary – pulled straight out of the garden with my own two hands!

Once my lentils were done, I gave them a cold rinse…

And tossed them in a delicious special sauce – recipe coming next!

I wanted to make a big garden salad as an easy filler dish, so I walked the grounds for a few minutes trying to find whatever salad-type veggies looked ripe and ready.  Totally pumped to find some YELLOW squash!

And I am pretty sure I took the only 5 ripe tomatoes on the entire farm, hehe. 

A little chopping and dicing later – viola!  Delicious garden salad. 

With about 45 minutes to go before lunch, I panicked that I wouldn’t have enough food for all 12 people, so I threw some millet into a pot and started toasting.

I added a handful of freshly chopped thyme, shaved parmesan, and (gasp!) a small slice of real butter.

Just before it was time to eat, my rosemary maple sweet potatoes came out of the oven.  I’m going to post the recipe for these too – they were a HUGE hit!

Did I mention that I did it all in my fun frilly Anthropologie apron?  Why wear professional white chef clothes when you can wear RUFFLES?  :)

Funny how I went into this lunch totally frazzled with no plan, it probably turned out to be the best one yet.  Final menu – green bean and lentil salad (recipe coming!)…

Fresh garden salad with a balsamic orange vinaigrette…

Rosemary and maple glazed sweet potatoes, mmmmm…

And toasted millet with parmesan and thyme.  No one on the staff had tried millet before, and they all LOVED it! 

The group ate every last bite – ultimate compliment to the chef.  :)

While I was busy cooking all day, Casey emailed me a picture of what was happening back at home.  As he went in to the kitchen to get something, he wandered by the laundry room and found this…

Why buy expensive dog beds when yours prefer cheap laundry baskets?  :)

Tomorrow is another Farm to Table Dinner, and I’m really excited – it is all RAW food!  I will be prepping with the chef this afternoon, and then working a fourteen hour day tomorrow to get it all done.  

Keeping my eye on Thursday morning, when I’m hitting the road to Hilton Head for a few days to run on the beach and visit family – wheeeee!  :)