Having a bad cooking day.. millet porridge and pilchards..

[Jenkeywoo]

I don't know what has come over me today - decided to make porridge for brekkie with millet flakes andc soy milk (DD is milk allergic) - millet is meant to be really good for you I believe, not sure what went wrong but it tasted so bitter, bitter cement.

lunch time - had a funny 5 mins, no food in cupboard as mr. tesco not coming till this evening. DD1 loves pasta with tomato sauce so I kind of blended a tin of pilchards with a tin of toms and served it with her usual pasta and veg - she ate a bit then proceeded to stuff loads in her mouth then run to another corner of the kitchen and spit it all over the floor - (took a good few mouthfuls before I realised as was despondently feeding DD2 who was rejecting her lentils with pilchards....

I've made beef casserole for dinner so let's hope that's ok - I'm normally quite a reliable cook so I don't know why I'm having such a crap day.

Has anyone worked out the whole millet flakes thing? tell me what went wrong.

I mix the millet flakes with porridge oats, they have a funny taste on their own. I also add a small teaspoon of molasses to sweeten slightly and to boost iron. Or mash some pear up.

I also have bad food days, almost as many now as my bad hair days . I'm normally quite imaginative in mixing foods and flavours but recently I have been coming up with some horrendous combinations in the rush to invent a quick dinner with a whining child clinging to my leg. And then I get pissed off when my DD won't eat. I must start planning menus.

Millet is good for you, it's relatively high in protein and contains iron. I sometimes use the whole grains instead of rice in a risotto. They're also good in soups, I make a lentil and ginger soup with millet which is delicately flavoured and much loved by my DD.

thanks brangelina - i make a lovely lentil and ham soup so i'll add some millet in there and give it another chance!

Some brands of millet flakes taste bitter because they are not vacuum packed and the flakes go stale quickly. If you can get the Zwicky brand they are vacuum packed and, in my opinion, they have a nice taste and make a lovely porridge.

i had no joy with millet so tried the quinoa porridge flakes and they were just plain ghastly urgh yuk. I'm back with oats. on a bad day i usually do pasta with toms onion garlic and pulses and beans for little one or omlette. i have lots of bad cooking and baking days