A Lady Who Lunches

Now that I'm a real housewife of North Carolina, I find myself happily waiting until midday when I can make and eat lunch at home alone. This may seem like an odd thing to be excited about, but after three years of hastily eating microwaved leftovers at my desk or running out into the crowded SOHO streets to buy an over-priced salad, the ability to make a fresh lunch in my own kitchen and actually sit down at my little table to eat it is one of the greatest luxuries of this new life. Sam and I are on a pretty strict budget (Mom, you would be very proud of my bargain hunting), and I'm determined to use up everything we buy.  So when I found myself with a lot of leftover parsley and some delicious farmer's market tomatoes and cucumbers that were on their way out, I immediately thought of making tabouleh.  It's the best way I know of to use up massive amounts of parsley (I'm not really a big garnisher) and it seemed like the perfect way to showcase the fresh produce.
But when I looked up a recipe and realized that the grain I needed was bulgur, I was a little disappointed at first.  I had made a pact not to go back to the grocery store until the weekend and I certainly wasn't going to do it for just one dish. So I checked our store of grains (I was really into a gluten-free diet for a little while, but more on that later) and realized I had a very small amount of millet left over.  It was too small of an amount to feed both Sam and me as a side, but I thought the consistency of the cooked millet might do the trick as a substitute for the bulger in a tabouleh salad.  I'm so glad I experimented!  The millet worked perfectly, the tabouleh was a delicious complement to the hummus I had in the fridge, and the whole thing made for a fresh and delicious lunch.

Quick Millet Tabouleh

Makes 4 servings

1 large bunch (about 2 ½ cups) flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 small cucumber, peeled and diced

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

½ cup cooked millet, cooled

¼ cup olive oil

Juice and zest from ½ a medium sized lemon

Salt & pepper

Roughly chop the parsley and place in a medium sized bowl.  Add the diced cucumber and tomatoes and toss together.  Add the oil, lemon juice and zest, and the salt and pepper to taste.  Add the millet and mix everything together until completely coated.