quinoa

Posts Tagged ‘quinoa’

Body Nourishing Wraps

I was little when I heard my first poem, but it wasn’t until the third grade that I really remember learning about poetry. I was in a third/forth split class and our teacher made us memorize and present a poem to the class each week. Sometimes we could choose partners, which made memorizing and standing in front of a classroom a little easier. I would take my time going through my Shel Silverstein books to find the perfect one and practice during recess. I took note on how the words played together and seemed to dance on the page. The white space all around was inviting, nothing like the rectangular black and white columns I was use to in other books.

Fast forward to last Thursday when I went to an all poetry show and my mind was exploding! In a matter of several hours my heart was filled with laughter, sadness, and a profound outlook; sometimes all at once. The headliner was Anis Mojgani, who has won multiple National/International Poetry Slam Championships, been an HBO Def poet, and a TEDx speaker. Alongside him was Mike McGee, Jeremy Radin and Karen Finneyfrock. The night was amazing, to say the least. If you have never heard of these people, look them up now! No seriously, their work is online and you can view videos of them performing. I was filled with emotion and energy. The way they can shape their thoughts into words and speak them back to you is incredible and something I really just had to share.

If you think you’re not into poetry or spoken word, I challenge you to reconsider your outlook. The words they speak have so much truth, meaning and creativity; it’s the kind of thing I hope will someday sell out large arena’s vs. the mainstream pop music, who’s lyrics lack any sort of substance these days. Besides it’s National Poetry Month, so get into it. I’d also love to know if you have any favorite poets?

That night was quite nourishing for my mind, but these wraps were nourishing for my body. I made them for a friend who just had a baby and needed a dose of veggies and protein for the sleepless nights ahead, but ended up doubling the recipe for myself as well. They’re are adapted from the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook. I really can’t say enough about my love for the recipes in this book. I’ve made a few changes, including the name of the recipe here, but they really do feel like a whole body nourishing meal that suits the spring time transition nicely.

Body Nourishing Wraps / makes 4 wraps
Adapted from the Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook
The collards were from my garden, so they were on the smallish side, but I’d suggest using the biggest ones you can find. And make a double batch of the carrot spread for sure, it’s delicious.

miso-carrot spread
1 cup roughly chopped carrots
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon white miso
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

8 large collard green leaves
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon tahini
fresh squeezed lemon juice as needed
about 1/3 of a cucumber, peeled and julienned
about 1 cup daikon radish, peeled and julienned
1 avocado

Place the carrots, ginger, garlic clove, miso, honey, and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until fairly smooth, 1-2 minutes. With the motor running, drizzle in the sesame oil and salt and process until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Cut the stalk from the end of the collards and use a knife to shave down the rest of the stalk, making it level with the rest of the leaf. Bring a pot of water to a gently boil, turn off, and dip each leaf in the water for just a few seconds to lightly cook them and make them more pliable to roll, they’ll turn a darker, more vibrant shade of green.

In a bowl combine the quinoa and tahini, adding a bit of lemon juice to taste and stir to combine.

Set out a work space with all your wrap ingredients and arrange two of the collard leaves so they overlap each other with the tops facing opposite each other. Spread a generous amount of the miso-carrot spread down the middle, then layer a quarter each of the quinoa, cucumber, daikon radish, and avocado onto the leaves. Fold over each end, tuck one side under, and roll like a burrito. Serve or wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for several days.

Gluten-Free, Grains, Proteins, Sides, Spring, Vegan, Vegetables

Collards & Quinoa with Sorrel Sauce

Never heard of sorrel? Neither had I, until last May when we moved into our house. Our new neighbors were enthusiastic about our garden plans as much as their own. They quickly introduced us to a friend of theirs who lived just around the corner and who happens to work at this wonderful place. One afternoon Scott found himself going over to this friend of a friends house to help him pick up something.

An hour or so later Scott comes home arms full of what looked like some spent grassy weeds and a few cuttings of mint. Scott had the biggest smile on his face because he knew how excited I’d be about these new plants, but then he couldn’t remember the name of the said plant and we played a quick round of me asking “what did it start with?” or “what did it sound like?”. Somehow we finally came up with sorrel. I had nowhere to put it at that moment so I threw the whole plant into a large bucket filled with dirt and called it good.

The plant looked totally dead and I may have neglected it a little, but it still managed to grow last year and the next thing I knew the whole plant was going to seed before I had a chance to use it. Luckily it’s a perennial and a hearty one around here at that; the light green, sour lemony leaves came back this month so I could finally give them a try. They look a bit like spinach, but a little lighter and yellower in color. They’re great tossed into salads or soups to add a fresh brightness.

I pureed the sorrel leaves with yogurt for a tasty cooling sauce to top off the slightly spicy collard and quinoa mixture. It’s not totally necessary and if you can’t find sorrel leaves you could possibly use fresh lemon juice instead. However, I made extra to so I could spread it on top of sandwiches and tuck it inside some scrambled eggs.

Collards & Quinoa with Sorrel Sauce / serves 4

1 bunch collard greens
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cut into half circles
pinch red pepper flakes
3 cups cooked quinoa (about 1 cup dry)
1/3 cup Asiago cheese
salt and pepper
1/3 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
sorrel sauce to serve, recipe below

De-stem the collards and thinly slice the leaves into 1/4-inch wide strips. Then finely chop up the stems, this is optional, but I try to avoid wasting perfectly edible food when I can.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the leeks, garlic, collard stems (if using), red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt, and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the finely sliced leaves and cook down until they turn dark green and soften up.

Place the cooked quinoa in a large serving bowl and toss with the collard mixture. Stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving top with the toasted almonds and serve with the sorrel sauce on the side.

Sorrel Sauce
Adapted from Plenty
3 cups sorrel leaves, washed
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt or Greek yogurt
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt to taste

Place everything into a food processor or blender with a pinch of salt and blitz into a light green sauce. Taste then add more salt if desired. Keeps, covered, in the fridge for a couple days.

Gluten-Free, Proteins, Salads, Sides, Spring, Vegetables

Tomato Cucumber & Quinoa Salad

You people always amaze me. I was hesitant about sending my last post out into the internet world. I kept asking myself, “is this too much information?” or ”how much do I really want to open up here?” In the end, I did a lot of editing and re-editing, deleting entire paragraphs I didn’t feel were necessary. But it didn’t feel right for me not to share anything and it ended up being an incredible way to look deeper into how I was feeling, even if I didn’t share it all here. All of you confirmed for me just how much people care, how much I know others can learn or at least remember to think about messages learned and passed along. I feel we could move mountains with the support this community gives, so thank you.

This blog has become more than just a place to share recipes. I’ve never been much of a journal writer. I probably started and stopped a dozen or so journals or diaries in my youth, each written with scribbled handwriting about how I thought recess should last longer, who my latest crush was, and all the other incredibly mundane day-to-day thoughts of a relatively happy pre-teenage life. I was thinking how this blog has really become an online journal of sorts. More than a collection of recipes. I enjoy that I can look back on and recall memories or what I was feeling or doing during a certain point in time. I’m not totally sure what makes this place so different from pen to paper, but I’m glad I’m here.

I realize many of you may be very over tomatoes, but I surely am not. In fact, I feel like tomato season only just got started at the beginning of September around here. My plans for 4 tomato plants in the garden, turned into 6. Then when a friend of a friend decided to drop off 8 more plants, I had to think quick about where to put them all. I envisioned all of summer with bright red, juicy tomatoes off the vine and me canning all of September to store for the winter. Fast forward to several weeks ago and I still had a ton of green tomatoes and only the little cherry ones had been turning red.

Now I have tomatoes daily. This salad is the perfect example of a meal inspired by the mass variety and sheer amount of tomatoes I have on hand. So if you live up in the NW like me or also are not quite ready to be roasting vegetables in the oven just yet, throw this salad together and eat it outside one more time.

Tomato Cucumber & Quinoa Salad / serves 4
Don’t feel you need to have all the exact tomatoes I’ve used. If you can, great, otherwise try to have at least 2-3 different varieties and sizes for all their different flavor profiles and estimate the approximate amount based on what I’ve given. Leftover quinoa is a great thing to have around for impromptu salads like this one, but making if from about 1/2 cup dried quinoa will give you about the right amount for this salad. I’ve also added avocado to this salad in a version I didn’t photograph and it was a delicious addition.

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
1 herloom tomato, sliced into wedges
2 green tomatoes, sliced into wedges
1 cup yellow pear tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cucumber, skin peeled and cut into slices
1/3 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
1/4 cup packed basil, roughly chopped

dressing
juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Quickly sauté the sliced red onion in a bit of oil until just softened, this step is not necessary and you can leave it raw, but I personally wanted to tame its flavor a bit.

Place the quinoa, red onion, all tomatoes, and cucumber into a large bowl.

Combine all the dressing ingredients and pour over the quinoa mixture. Season with salt to taste and sprinkle the almonds and basil over the top. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Gluten-Free, Grains, Salads, Vegan, Vegetables

Green Quinoa

One evening, a couple weeks ago, Scott and I were lounging in the living room and I turned to Scott and said, “I really can’t believe this house is ours.” He responded, “I was just thinking the same thing.” I’ve been reflecting about my life and how incredibly fortunate I feel for everyone and everything in it. We’ve been in our house for about 7 weeks now and I have to pinch myself every time I’m reminded of this fact. This whole time I’ve been wondering when I would have a chance to sit back and just enjoy it because the unpacking, painting, and building that we embarked upon when we first moved in was taking up so much of our time, all while still working on our businesses needs too.

Then I realized there have been friends and family coming over or stopping by 2 or 3 times a week. Sometimes for dinner or an afternoon snack, other times for just hanging out or a round of ping pong or badminton. It has felt so effortless and normal that I haven’t thought twice about it. You see, our previous rental house was only 650 sq. ft. being used as not only a home, but an entire work studio for two fully self-employed, married adults. To say the least, it was a bit cramped all the time, even with our best efforts to maintain organization.

We have a giant dining table made from a reclaimed bowling ally that we’ve been hauling around with us for the past 5 years, but it’s never been put to use for it’s intended purpose; dining. The few times we did have people over, we had to corral ourselves around a small coffee table in the living room and stoop down or hold our plates in our laps to enjoy a meal. We often ate meals at our computer or on a small rolling cart we used in the kitchen. Since moving here I have eaten every single meal at our dining table and it has felt so great. I now cherish this moment when I get to close my computer 3 times a day to just sit and enjoy my food.

It feels a little weird to say that I’ve probably dreamed of having my own house since I was little, but I have. I’ve always been incredibly domestic and a nester by nature. I used to arrange and re-arrange my room, organizing and putting things in their place. I enjoyed cooking and cleaning and the prep work that came with holidays around the house when my mom would prepare big family meals for our guests. I seriously can’t wait for that in our new house. I can’t wait for trick-or-treaters this October or setting up holiday decor. I can’t wait for our garden to be fully exploding (fingers crossed) with more vegetables than I know what to do with, so I have to force them onto neighbors and friends (more zucchini anyone?).

I’ve been picking herbs and greens and uprooting radishes for a little over a week now and my cooking has definitely been lead by it too. All those herbs and baby arugula you see up there, are from our garden and were put into this green quinoa. Having so much fresh produce right in our back yard makes cooking even easier. Everyone who has seen or heard about our garden, is always so impressed that we even put one in this year. It was the first thing on my to-do list and this green bowl is the first proof that it was definitely worth our efforts.

Green Quinoa / serves 4-6
Adapted from Plenty

I’ve made several changes to Ottolenghi’s original recipe, using what I had. I used some leftover quinoa I had, but have given instructions for starting with dry quinoa.

1 cup quinoa
2 cup water or vegetable stock
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

herb paste
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
6 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
big pinch red pepper flakes
1 1/4 cup baby arugula leaves or larger ones chopped

Rinse and drain the quinoa. Place in a saucepan with the water or stock, adding a pinch of salt if you like, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium heat and fry the onions in the oil until golden and completely soft. Add the salt and cumin and mix well. Leave to cool slightly.

To make the herb paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Add the herb paste to the quinoa and mix everything together well with a fork to fluff it up. Add the cooked onion, the pistachios, garlic, red pepper flakes, and arugula and gently mix. Serve at room temperature.

Gluten-Free, Grains, Salads, Sides, Spring, Vegan, Vegetables

Cumin-Scented Black Rice & Quinoa

I found myself with a lot of welcome down time this weekend. Scott and some friends decided going surfing up in the Straits was a good idea even though there were predictions of snow. So Saturday afternoon he headed North to meet up with them and Sunday morning they caught an early ferry across to the peninsula. I don’t blame him for his itch to get in the water, even when there is snow on the beach. It’s been at least since early fall that we’ve gone and surfing has this hold on you that’s hard to let pass by. The only reason I opted to stay home was the fear I’d loose all my fingers and toes to frost bite.

Instead I cozied up at home enjoying my own company alongside our cat Sofia. I put together a large batch of yeasty dough to make bread, caught up on some reading, started knitting a hat for Scott (á la Jacques Cousteau- as per his request), and went through a very large box of photo’s from my childhood that my mom had given me for Christmas. The photo’s all came from my grandmother’s albums (over 20 of them!) and when she passed away over a year ago, my mom scooped them up, took them home and went through every single one dividing every picture for my sister, cousins, and I to have and cherish ourselves, as much as she did. It was my favorite gift by far.

As I was going through the pictures, there were lots of smiles, big hugs, celebrations, and summer’s spent at our family cabin. Then I found a picture of my great grandfather holding me when I was about 2 years old. I stopped at this one for awhile. I didn’t really know my great grandfather or my great grandmother, both passed a way before I was 6 or 7, but they lived on the eastern side of Washington state, in a little town called Wenatchee. I used to call them great grandma and grandpa ‘natchee because that was my best pronunciation and it seemed to stick even after I could say it right.

I love the story this picture seems to tell and instantly fell in love with it and with the lifestyle I know he and my great grandmother lived. It took me back to a simpler time, before internet and before the constant go-go-go world we live in today. The expression on his face and mine is priceless, almost like he was just in the middle of telling me a tale, when someone decided they couldn’t pass up this kodak moment. I love that my great grandfather and I are the main focal point, but whoever took it definitely wanted to make sure and get those big, ripe tomatoes in the frame. They’re the kind of imperfectly perfect juicy tomatoes that only come from ones home garden and displayed out at the end of the harvest season; so it’s no wonder you’d want to show them off. I wish I could know them today, I know I could learn a lot from them and it would be lovely to eat a meal cooked from their kitchen.

Cumin-Scented Black Rice & Quinoa / serves 4
Adapted from Bon Appétit

This side dish would make a fantastic addition to any Spanish style meal, maybe something like this. I’ve kept it simple, but it also seems perfect to add too, I’m thinking fresh tomatoes and avocado in the summer and possibly even roasted root vegetables in the winter, maybe throw in some pinto or black beans too, make it yours. If you can’t find black rice you can swap it out for brown, but I really suggest you try it, it’s a delicious little grain. Although beware, it will stain everything it comes in contact with a purplish hue if you’re not careful.

1/2 cup black rice
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup salt plus more to taste
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
fresh ground black pepper

Bring rice and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and water has been absorbed, about 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the quinoa, bay leaf, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup water in another small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. If you have any remaining water, drain, return to the saucepan and keep covered for roughly 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf, fluff with a fork and transfer quinoa to a large bowl.

Heat tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add the onion mixture to the quinoa. Add the cooked rice and mix everything well. Stir in the remaining 1-2 tablespoons oil (depending on preference), fresh lemon juice, cilantro, parsley, and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature and garnish with avocado slices and lemon wedges if desired.

Fall, Gluten-Free, Grains, Sides, Spring, Vegan, Winter

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