Canadians take summers seriously, I am sure the drawn-out fall followed by a cold winter has a lot to do with it. Anup and I consider ourselves lucky as we live in the warmest part of Canada. For some other parts of Canada though, the old joke of those places having two seasons – winter and July, does apply! Even in Vancouver, I have seen people going overboard trying to make the most of the summer months. Guys wear their shorts even in subzero temperatures, as long as the calendar says it is May!
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It’s definitely shorts and t-shirt weather right now, and I wanted to capture the summer around my neighborhood today. So I took a stroll, went for a run on a trail next to my condo building and took some pictures. I found a couple of apple trees on the trail and I had to taste the fallen apples! They were a bit sour, but I will be keeping an eye on those trees for the next few weeks!
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Whenever I see things through my camera, the beauty in mundane things blows me away! There are so many inspiring, natural and beautiful things around us all, but I think the noise of the daily grind is too much for us to notice any of those things. The camera makes the world slow down for me, and I am so glad it does!
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After capturing the summer around me, I had to capture the season in my kitchen as well! This is a hearty, gluten-free salad with a summer bounty I found at the farmers market this week. I have used broccoli, peas, cherries, sprouts, avocados and sunflower seeds in this salad, making it quite filling. The mint, basil, and cilantro dressing does justice to this summer salad! I hope you enjoy this healthy salad with your loved ones on a warm, sunny summer day!
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Broccoli Salad with Millet
Cook time:
Recipe
1 cup raw millet
2 cups water/ vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup fresh/frozen peas
1 avocado – pitted and diced
1 cup cherries – pitted – cut in half
1/2 cup radish sprouts or any greens – arugula/spinach
1/4 cup sunflower seeds – toasted
Heat a large saucepan on low heat. Toast the raw millet for 5 minutes until fragrant and it starts making a popping sound. Heat 2 cups of water in the saucepan and season with salt and turmeric. Add toasted millet, give a good stir. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes until all the liquid gets absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff the cooked millet with fork, and taste for seasoning.
Add herb dressing to millet and mix well. Add broccoli florets, peas, avocado, cherries, sprouts and sunflower seeds and give it a good toss. Serve warm or cold!
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Herb Dressing
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 tbsp honey – optional
juice of 2 lemons
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Put all the ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning.
The best part about summer has to be for the bounty of salads. This looks so refreshing and delicious 🙂
You are so right! I am like a kid at the candy store at the farmers market in summer!
this salad looks gorgeous and so do all those pics of trees – so true how we don’t notice all that beauty!
This recipe is on my list to use up the millet. The dressing sounds very interesting.
Shruti, I hope you did try it!