My love/hate relationship with Quinoa

Quinoa, a blessing and horror is disguise. This grain is amazing for you. One of the top 10 most nutritious foods. It's the ONLY grain that is a complete protein (like meat), it fills you up because of that and you can eat it for any meal. It's also great to take places or to make a salad for a party that you know you can eat. That being said, quinoa doesn't taste the best.... it has a nutty flavor. And it just gets kind of gross after a while. I'm in that stage right now. I made this huge amount of this quinoa salad for a potluck dinner I attended last week. I just finished the last bit tonight. I've had it for dinner or lunch over the last week. It's so good for me and fills me up without feeling grossly full. But arg, like I said love/hate.

That being said, this recipe was actually a really good one. The trick is an oil or vinegar as a dressing. Don't just eat it without a coating. Whole Foods makes the most amazing quinoa salads and that's their trick that I didn't do. But this salad is very good and has lots of veggies and protein!

Anyways, try it for yourself. You can also have it warm for breakfast. Kind of like oatmeal. With fruit, yogurt, milk, nuts and such.

Quinoa Black Bean Salad

1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cooked black beans. If using canned beans, drain and rinse well
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced, OR 1 tsp garlic powder
1 red pepper, sliced thin
1 green pepper, sliced thin
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 cup chopped scallions

Dressing:
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper
Pinch cayenne or chili powder

Directions

1. The quinoa can be made ahead of time and refridgerated
2. Soak the quinoa 1/2 hour in cold water
3. Rinse very thoroughly in water several times. For each rinse, pour off most of the water and finish draining through a large fine mesh strainer
4. Place in 2 qt pot with 1 1/2 c. water and 1/2 tsp salt
5. Bring to a boil, turn down to low, cover tightly, and cook for 15 minutes
6. Remove from heat and allow to sit 5 minutes covered
7. Fluff gently with a fork and set aside to cool
8. Sauté jalapeno, fresh garlic, in 2 Tbsp oil until garlic is browned, pepper and celery are softened
9. Add the green and red peppers and sauté briefly
10. Add the cumin and coriander, cook and stir 5 minutes
11. Blend dressing ingredients with a whisk or shake in a jar
12. Gently combine sautéed veggies, tomatoes, black beans, quinoa and dressing in a large bowl
13. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cilantro and scallions, and serve warm or cover and chill

From Savvy Vegetarian

SUSHI!

I made sushi Friday night. It was a very good meal after a long week. I love making sushi because it's very easy, fills me up, is cheap and I can eat a lot and not feel bad like I would at a restaurant. It's dairy and gluten free naturally too! I take a lot of the credit, but I really can't. My friend Leslie, introduced me to making sushi last summer. And I have been addicted ever since. Thanks Leslie :) I'm still working on the rolling and cutting part but I'm getting better. Anyways, here's the recipe!

Sushi (makes about 6 rolls)
Rice
3 C sushi rice (brown or white) (available at an asian grocery store or regular)
3 1/4 C cold water
1/3 C Rice Vinegar
2 TB sugar
1 tsp salt

Other Ingredients
1 avocado
1/2 of a cucumber
1 carrot
kiwi
mandarin oranges
raw or smoked salmon (found at asian grocery stores or Whole Foods) Remember to eat sustainable and healthy fish.
Cream Cheese
Nori Paper (Seaweed for outside)

1. Boil the rice and water.
2. After boiled, put on simmer for 20 minutes with lid.
3. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Leave lid ON and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. While rice is cooking cut up veggies/fruit/meat.
5. Also, warm rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pan on the stove. Do not boil.
6. When rice is done, put into non metal bowl and mix with vinegar mix.

Please Google for how to roll. There are many videos out here. This is a good website for more information on making sushi. Enjoy!My "Green Roll"--Avocado, Cucumber and Kiwi

Soup!

Wow, have NOT blogged in a while. Been busy and unmotivated to write. But I've made some amazing things lately so I just have to share. Soup. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Love it cause it's easy and can be well balanced meal. Hate it because it's salty and not enough substance. This soup I made conquers all. I control the salt content and how much stuff is in it. It was a really well balanced mix of veggies, beans and broth. My first time cooking with white beans and kale so super exciting. It made about 5 servings and I froze some of it for a busy night. Highly recommended and enjoy!

PS-Recipe is from Whole Foods so you can find most of the packaged stuff (365 Brand) there for cheap.

Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

3 TBS olive oil

1 C diced onion

4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 (32-ounce) box vegetable broth

4 cups packed chopped kale

1 (14.5-ounce) can italian-style diced tomatoes

1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5-ounce) can sliced carrots, drained; or two large carrots, peeled and sliced

1. In large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add onion; cook 3 minutes.

3. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes.

4. Add broth, kale and tomatoes (and fresh carrots, if using) and cover; cook 5 minutes or until kale is tender.

5. Add beans and canned carrots; heat thoroughly. Serve hot.

Enchiladas!

Hello! I saw this recipe (well 2 of them) in The Gluten-Free Vegan by Susan O'Brien. It's actually the reason I bought the book.... It turned out pretty well. I acidentally added the black beans to the sauce instead of putting them with the yams inside the tortillas. And I guess I'm just not a big garlic fan because the garlic was a little too overpowering. I could just smell when I opened the container of leftovers. Sometimes I just like things bland and this was one the times. I'll probably try it again with beans on the inside and no spices. And this did make a lot. I had to freeze 2 servings because I wouldn't be able to eat all of them before going bad just in the fridge. I also served it on top of brown rice for extra nutrition and topped with avocado slices for amazingness! Here's the epic recipe:


Yam and Black Bean Enchiladas with Pomegranate Sauce


3 Large Yams
1 medium yellow oinion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic (I only put in 2 and that was too much for me!)
1 TB crushed coriander seeds
1 TB cumin seeds
1 TB cocoa powder
1 TB chile powder
1 tsp brown sugar
2 TB dried oregano
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (or diced)
Seeds and juice from 1 pomegranate
Vegetable Oil
12 small corn tortillas

1. Microwave yams for about 5 minutes after pricking with fork.
2. Saute the onion in a large skillet over medium heat until transparent.
3. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and continue to saute for 5 minutes.
4. Add the cocoa, chile powder, brown sugar and oregano. Cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and pomegranate seeds/juice.
6. Simmer for at least 20 minutes, adding water as necessary to create a medium thick sauce.
7. Cut up the yams into small squares. Put in a bowl.
8. Drain the black beans and add to the yams in the bowl.
9. Heat up a skillet with vegetable oil in it. Warm up the tortillas in it as needed, if tear as rolling.
10. Place enough sauce in the bottom of a 9x11 pan to cover it. Fill the tortillas with the yam and black beans, place in the pan.
11. After all the tortillas and pan in filled then pour the rest of the sauce on top. Place in an oven preheated to 375 degrees. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
12. Serve with avocado and brown rice for a superfood meal! And don't forget to freeze the leftovers!

It was different and delis!

My friend and I try to make dinner every Tuesday night. She has the same food standards that I do, very healthy. And she knows that eating gluten, dairy and meat free is amazing. I saw this recipe in the Whole Foods Market Local Food Magazine also. Told you it has amazing recipes. I wanted to try a different kind of quinoa recipe because I feel all of them are kind of weird. This one was very good. It made a large bowl full! So we had extras for lunch the next few days. I like it because it has all the food groups in it. Protein (3 kinds- nuts, grain, yogurt), veggies, fruit and yeah that's all I eat so yes. Anyways try it out for yourself and enjoy!

Quinoa Salad with Stone Fruit and Basil
1 1/2 cups quinoa
6 Tbs. Olive Oil-divided
4 Tbs. lime juice- divided
1 bunch fresh basil (we only used 4 leaves because we didn't want it too strong, but you could use a few more)
2 cups halved fresh cherries or sliced plums, nectarines, or apricots (I also used pears)
1 cucumber, diced
1 can (1 1/2 cups) cooked chickpeas
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts (we used pine nuts-yummy!)
1/4 cup plain soy yogurt

1. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a pot. Stir in quinoa. Reduce heat to medium, cover and let sit for 15 minutes, or unitl all the liquid has been absorbed.
2. Remove from heat and cool. Transfer to serving bowl and toss with 3 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Lay 5 or 6 basil leaves flat on tip of one another on cutting board. Roll tightly into cylinder, then slives into thin strips.
4. Add basil, cherries, cucumber, chickpeas, shallots and alomonds to quinoa mix. Toss. Chill for 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop.
5. While that is going on, whisk together yogurt, remaing 3 Tbs. olive oil, and remaining 2 Tbs. lime juice in small bowl. Serve salad with yogurt dressing.

Trying for normalcy

Hello! It's been awhile but I have been busy with classes starting and all the randoms that come along with that. But my boyfriend did come up the other weekend and I made wonderful dinners for him. He is the new person I cook for. He is a full meat, dairy and gluten eater so I really have to impress. But he's a good sport, eats what I make and says it's wonderful. The way it should be of course. I know he loves burgers, I was going to actually make real burgers with real meat. (Local of course) But I saw this great recipe in the Whole Foods Market Magazine- Local Edition. (I swear I don't live there) Surprisingly, most the recipes in that edition were gluten free. It was a nice surprise. But anyways, back to the dinner. First of all, it took FOREVER. Somehow I labored over these burgers for 2+ hours! I think it was just the rice cooking (but I was cutting up veggies), mixing in the different steps, letting it cool, then refrigerating the burgers after I made them before grilling them. It was kind of lame. Should have had a glass of wine because I was frantic. But the burgers turned out very well. Had a little kick to them. I put in more sauce then it called for I think. But it was a different flavored mexican dish so that was nice. The guacamole on top was the icing on the cake. And I added Alexia Gourmet Sweet Potato Julienne Fries which are amazing! I had extra burgers of course so they are sitting in my freezer, waiting to be grilled on a busy day.

Hot Tamale Burgers (Makes 8 burgers)

1 cup short-grain brown rice

1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

3/4 cup corn kernels

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced, plus 2 tsp. sauce (I bought a can in the mexican section)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (I despise this stuff so I left it out)

1 1/2 Tbs. lime juice

3/4 tsp. lime zest

1. Boil rice and 3 cups of water. Simmer after until soft, about 45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, pepper, corn, chipotle, adobo sauce, garlic, cumin and salt. Saute 2 minutes, reduce to low heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

3. Whisk 1/2 cup water with cornmeal in a bowl. Add to skillet mix. Stir in and let cook for 10 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, stir in rice, cilantro lime juice and zest. Cool 20 minutes. Shape into burgers. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Grill!

Guacamole

2 avocados

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 TBS lime juice

1 tomato, finely chopped

1. Smash avocados in bowl.

2. Mix in other ingredients.

3. Eat with everything!

Is anything too healthy?

My doctor told me that I needed to diversify the grains that eat. Because I was eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She suggested breakfast as an way to add them in. Quinoa and amaranth were top on her recommendation list. I saw this recipe on the Closet Cooking Blog, that I love by the way. Is this guy single?! Really. But the recipe, yes, it was for quinoa with yogurt and fruit. I was so excited for a new way to eat quinoa. But it does kind of taste funny and all the salads I make with it for dinner kind of taste the same. So I figured I could do that and then just mix in some ammerath and we'd have a monster combo. Plus, I don't have to buy cereal anymore. Which is really expensive, not very good and not that healthy for you(?!). Sticking to whole foods, yes! So here's what I put in it:

1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup cooked amaranth
soy yogurt
fruit (I used pineapple and coconut flakes for a tropical theme, usually I'm the berry type)
nuts (I used slivered almonds)

(There is left over grains for more mornings or a group of people)

It was pretty delis. I wasn't very sweet though. That's why I like berries. So maybe I'll just sprinkle some sugar on top tomorrow morning ;-)

It's a party

And it's graduation time. My brother graduated from high school yesterday. So of course with big events like this come the parties. Well yeah I basically can't eat anything at parties ever so I made my own food. This is "Wonder Cake" from The Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook. It's gluten, dairy and sugar free. My brother is currently living sugar free so I wanted to make a treat for him that he can eat. So needless to say the cake turned out pretty well. The texture was moist and fluffy. A little crumbly like all GF things are. Then I made royal frosting in his school colors for people who eat sugar. The weird thing was the recipe called for olive oil and not vegetable oil. I could kind of taste the olive oil and it was kinda gross. So maybe next time I'll make it with just vegetable oil. Anyone have any thoughts?

Wonder Cake
1 egg
1/3 c each honey and molasses (I only used honey)
6 TB olive oil
1 3/4 c rice flour
dash of salt
2 ts cinnamon (I used 3)
2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1 cup apple juice
1 small apple, chopped
1 small pear, chopped
1/2 c raisins (I used Craisins)

Cream the egg. Blend in honey, molasses and oil. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and soda. On low speed mix in the juice. Stir in the chopped apple, pear, raisins. Pour into a parchment lined 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Royal Frosting
1 egg white
1 3/4 c powdered sugar
2 TB water

Mix all together. Add more powdered sugar/water if needed. Can add food coloring.


I also needed to make something with substance to eat for dinner. So what better than quinoa?! I actually had this recipe for lunch at PCC last week. I immediately tried to find the recipe online when I got home. I came up with one pretty close. It's really easy and doesn't call for many crazy ingredients. Remember you can buy some them in the bulk section. Pumpkin seeds, quinoa, pepper. Anyways, the salad turned out really well, my family was impressed. And it's just super healthy and makes you feel good! Oh the perks of being gluten, dairy, meat free!

Aztec Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
1 cup thawed frozen corn kernels
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 or 3 scallions, minced
1-pound can pinto, pink, or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 heaping cup diced canned tomatoes (I used 1 fresh)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 c Pumpkin seeds

Optional:
Black olives
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add quinoa and simmer gently, covered, for 15 minutes. When the quinoa is done, remove it from the heat, fluff it with a fork, and transfer it to a mixing bowl. Combine the quinoa with the remaining ingredients and toss well. Also good when served chilled.

Cornmeal Pizza

Pretty sucky weather over here in Seattle. It's June, and it's rainy. I finally braved the rain and went for a run this morning. It actually wasn't that bad. Quite refreshing. But now I'm cold. Even when surrounded in fleece. But last night I made a quite epic pizza. I went to the Bellevue Farmer's Market for the first time this season. There was this amazing toffee. I will get some next time. I was expecting to get all the vegetables for the pizza from the farmer's market. In Fort Collins, the market has any vegetable you could possibly want. But not here. So I only bought onions and scrumptious heirloom tomatoes. I saw the recipe for polenta in one of my cookbooks, "The Gluten-Free Vegan" by Susan O'Brien. I'd never had it before so it's been enticing me for quite a while now. I saw that my mom had cornmeal in the cupboard (I don't have that at home) so it reminded me and motivated me to make it. It was actually really easy. and yummy too. Actually, it didn't really taste like much. If anyone has any suggestions about what herbs to add that would be wonderful! But I'm definitely going to make it again. I think you can buy cornmeal in bulk from Whole Foods.....

Polenta Crust
3 c soy milk
4 c cornmeal

Boil the soy milk, then gradually add in the cornmeal. It should be like really thick oatmeal. I just stopped here and started making 3 inch diameter pizza crusts on a oiled cookie sheet. The recipe said to let it sit on the stove for 20 minutes. I think it would burn and dry out. Then bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Pizza Toppings
Sauce (I had premade from the store)
Cheese (Mozzarella?)
Veggies (Onions, Green Pepper, Tomatoes)
Pineapple (no pizza is complete without)
Meat or protein topping (black beans*)

After crusts have baked for 20 minutes add the toppings and then put back in the oven for 25 minutes. Enjoy!

*I also made sorta of a mexican style pizza (as you can see in my photo). Didn't use any sauce but put black beans, veggies on. It was good of course. Can't go wrong with mexican. So this polenta is very versatile!