Millet

The meatballs are rolled in millet and then fried for a delicious, crunchy texture.

The key to a toothsome alt-grain polenta is blitzing the grains for less time than you might think.

Sorghum is a gluten-free grain, with a texture similar to wheat berries, barley, and millet—so feel free to substitute those for this chicken recipe instead.

This fresh take on tabbouleh eliminates the bulgur entirely and uses the golden seeds of millet instead, which give a nutty, cornlike taste to the salad. (Here's how to master millet). But it's really all about the green herbs: Feel free to add too many!

This energy-sustaining bread makes beautiful toast.

If you don’t have each and every grain listed, don’t stress. Use what you’ve got—just bump up the quantity.

The batter for these fritter-like cakes is pretty dry, but that’s what yields crisp results. Pressing them flat in the pan also helps maximize the crunch factor.

Millet, a wonderfully healthy, naturally gluten-free grain, stands in for the more common bulgur wheat in the North African–inspired parsley salad in this simple baked chicken dish.

This moist, chewy loaf is packed with seeds, oats, and whole wheat, which makes it both energy-sustaining and beautiful to look at.

Millet flour and rice flour are bolstered by tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch, and guar gum in this gluten-free all-purpose flour substitute.

Sorghum is a gluten-free grain, with a texture similar to wheat berries, barley, and millet—so feel free to substitute those for this chicken recipe instead.

Knowing you have a bubbling hot breakfast waiting for you on a chilly morning makes getting out of bed so much easier.

When I was pregnant with my son, all I wanted in life was Mexican food. This was a dish I came up with to satisfy some of those cravings in a mindful way, rather than constantly caving to my ultimate weakness: chips and salsa (which I would happily have eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

Bright zucchini, sweet corn, nutty millet, and creamy white beans add vibrant flavor and texture to these gluten-free veggie burgers.

EFFORT: NOT MUCH
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 6 HOURS
KEEPS ON WARM: 1 HOUR The ingredient list is designed for use in a medium (4- to 5 1/2-quart) slow cooker. See the cook's notes for ingredient lists for small (2- to 3 1/2-quart) and large (6- to 8-quart) models.

Despite some tall tales, Hostess Twinkies do not last forever. The box of Twinkies that my friends gave me as a gag gift were, in fact, hard as a rock in less than a year. These cream-filled chiffon cake snacks, made with real, unprocessed dairy and eggs and whole-grain flours, won't last nearly as long as preservative-laden Twinkies, but you will almost certainly gobble them up in no time at all.

When I make a vegetarian entrée, it is always in the back of my mind that a minority of people eat this way, so I try to come up with things that are interesting and balanced for a vegetarian but that someone who does eat meat would find filling, or at least a satisfying side dish to their protein of choice. I try to use kale often, as its nutritional profile is quite impressive. In this dish, its short time in the oven helps it to retain most of its structure, but make sure that the oil really coats the kale, since if you use too little you will get something more like kale chips. If you use curly kale, which is less tender than lacinato kale, or you prefer your greens more wilted, you could sauté it quickly instead. I use lots of liquid in the millet, so the result is nice and soft but bound together by the sharply flavored cheese. The bits of millet are still detectable, but it has a comfort food texture. Whether you serve it as an entrée or a side is up to you.

Lemony sorrel brightens the flavor of spot prawns, large shrimp that can be served with the head and tail on or peeled. To remove the shell, use scissors to cut down the back to the tail tip. Like all shrimp, prawns only take a minute or two to cook, and after that can become tough. Millet provides a fluffy bed that soaks up the sauce. Start this recipe the night before serving so that the millet can soak.

The tall, stalk-like plants that millet comes from are lush, and in the field, the variety sometimes called broom corn millet resembles acre after acre of swaying pussy willows. Whole millet looks a lot like quinoa, and also like quinoa it’s both gluten free and a great protein source. It cooks up plump and creamy in this recipe, and with the compote and almonds, it makes for a delightful breakfast or anytime pick-me-up.

This is classic slicing bread, great for toast in the morning, and wonderful for sandwiches. Make it the morning after a big supper when you have leftover mashed or baked potatoes.

For a hearty combination, serve with Hearty Bean Bread (page 146), or for a lighter accompaniment, serve with Bruschetta (page 159).