Sweet and Sour Turkey (or Tempeh) with Millet

It's a cold, cold Monday.  Spring officially starts Thursday but the weather report is calling for crappy weather all week.  Sigh!  See, this is why I hate March!  We'll have yucky, winter-like weather, about 2 minutes of spring, and then go right into the extreme heat and humidity of summer.  Hmmph!

At least the cold is a good excuse to cook up some yummy comfort food.

Rice ranks up there as one of my favorite foods.  So I've been trying to ignore reports about high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in rice for a while, but the piece about it in the most recent Nutrition Action Healthletter scared me enough to try to cut back.  They recommend no more than 2 cups of any kind of rice per week.  Gasp!  I can easy shovel down that much in a single sitting!



Source

So I grabbed some millet at the health food store the other day.  I've been meaning to try it for a while, and this gave me the perfect push.  Like quinoa and rice, millet is gluten-free and it cooks up much like rice.  I read that it has a bit of a natural sweetness to it, so I thought it would pair well with this recipe.  I was right, this was a winner.  Admittedly, however, I can't say I like it as much as rice.  It doesn't have the same chewy, toothsomeness of rice.  But I am going to make a bigger effort to mix it up a bit more.  I'll definitely be making this again!

My mind is also buzzing with other uses for millet...a sweet breakfast porridge...desserts...stay tuned!

Sweet and Sour Turkey (or Tempeh)

1 lb skinnless, boneless turkey breast, cut into strips or 350g block of tempeh, cut into strips*
1 onion, sliced
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced
1/2 cabbage, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup fruit sweetened raspberry jam/spread
2 heaping tbls dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Herbamare or regular sea salt
1 can tomato paste
Crushed chili flakes, to taste (optional)

Place onion, fennel, cabbage, garlic and vinegar in a large skillet or pot and cover.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.  Add jam, mustard, and seasonings and continue cooking until veggies are softened.  Add tomato paste and turkey (or tempeh) and cook over medium/low heat until meat is cooked through.  Serve over millet.

Millet

1 cup millet
2 cups water

Place water in a pot over high heat and cover.  Bring to a boil and add millet.  Turn heat to medium/low, re-cover and cook about 35-40 minutes until liquid has been absorbed.  Makes 4 servings with Sweet and Sour Turkey.

*If you prefer to use turkey thighs or other dark meat, you can brown it first before adding veggies.  If you use the breasts however, do add after so they don't dry out.

This recipe has been submitted to Vegetarian Mamma's Gluten-Free Friday.