Picnic Premier Season IV: Millet Time!

Our picnics together rate right up there with romantic Valentines' Dinners.  With unseasonably warm weather here in West Virginia, we didn't have to wait until spring.  Yesterday I made this Jambalaya and cooled it quickly in a shallow pan in the refrigerator.  Today, while the thermos preheated with hot water, I reheated the Jambalaya to 165 F.  My house smelled so good while making the seafood broth, browning the local sausage and sauteing the vegetables.  Our spirits were lifted today eating this delicious entree outside under a warm winter sun.  The secret to this Jambalaya is to remove the shells and tails from the raw shrimp and simmer those in water to use for the broth base.  I browned the shrimp separately-3 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other-and served those cold for our picnic today.  Instead of traditional rice, I use millet which, along with the corn in the dish makes more than a serving of 100% whole grains.

Jambalaya

(4 cups)

Sauté peppers, onion, garlic, fennel and celery in oil for about 5 minutes.  Remove to bowl.
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup sweet peppers, seeded and diced
2 tablespoon onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon fennel
1/4 cup celery, diced

Crumble sausage and brown.  Set aside.
6 ounce Italian sausage, mild

Remove tail and shells from shrimp.  Place shells and tails in saucepan with water.  Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer in water for 10 minutes.  Stir in bouillon cube. Strain shells and tails, reserving broth. 
12 ounce jumbo shrimp, in-shell, raw
3 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube, low sodium

Return broth to saucepan.  Add sautéed vegetable mix, sausage, corn, tomatoes, millet and spices to pan.
½ cup corn
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano 
1/3 cup millet 
Simmer until most of moisture is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

In a separate saucepan greased with olive oil spray, sauté shrimp for 3 minutes on one side, then 2 minutes on other side.  Set aside.

Add shrimp to mixture just long enough to heat.

This is one of the recipes I'll give to my class participants on Whole Grains Sampling Day, along with the 1/3 cup dry millet sample to make the dish at home.

Whole Grains Sampling Day is March 29th.

Our picnic today was at Prickett's Fort State Park in Fairmont, West Virginia, about 30 miles from home.