Showing posts with label Quinoa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quinoa. Show all posts

Monday, November 22, 2010

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed vegetables are hearty, delicious and filling. I've stuffed peppers before but never squash.


I can't find where I saved this recipe originally, if this is your recipe, thank you for such a delicious dish.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Stuffed Acorn Squash
1 acorn squash
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 cup cooked grains (rice, quinoa, millet, or even just breadcrumbs)
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning or a combination of sage, marjoram, oregano, thyme and rosemary
salt and pepper

Directions:
While the squash is roasting in the oven, sauté the onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms until soft. Add grains, broth and herbs and mix well. Spoon into the squash and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 4-6.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Cucumber Salad

Don't forget to join Gnee of Singing With Birds and me for our So Long Summer BlogBBQ!!

Can you believe it’s September? For many people September means summer is coming to an end and the kids are back in school. I can’t help but be reminded that the Farmer’s Market ends in a few weeks. We’ve so enjoyed the fresh fruits and vegetables from our garden and the Farmer’s Market.

I’ve never done much with cucumbers except slice them or use them in a green salad. When I saw this recipe on Always Order Dessert, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. The only changes I made were to use basil instead of cilantro and to add some leftover quinoa. This is a delicious fresh summer salad. The colors are beautiful and the flavors are so clean, a pefect salad for an end of summer BBQ!




Cucumber Chickpea Salad

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed
2 large cucumbers, diced into 1/2" cubes
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed, leaves chopped finely
1/2 small red onion, diced
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon Apple Cider or Red Wine Vinegar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (more to taste)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine the rinsed chickpeas, diced cucumber, cilantro, and red onion. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add the dressing to the chickpea mixture and toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (depending on how much juice your lemon had, you may need a bit more vinegar or oil. This can be eaten right away or made up to 24 hours ahead.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Pink Saturday - Quinoa, Beet and Walnut Salad

Happy Pink Saturday!!! We're on an extended Fourth of July weekend trip. I will visit everyone's blogs when I return.

One of my favorite veggies from the Farmer's Market is beets. I never used to like beets but I think that's because I'd only eaten them pickled. A couple of summer's ago, I discovered roasted beets. They are so sweet and so easy to prepare. Just cut off the tops, rub in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, wrap in aluminum foil and roast in a 400 degree oven for an hour. Test for doneness, they should be fork tender. Once they have cooled, rub off skin. I use rubber gloves so I don't end up with beet colored hands. Slice and enjoy.

Most days, I come home for lunch. I am always looking for something different for lunch. I found this recipe. How perfect, I had leftover quinoa in the frig. I added black beans for protein. Not only is this a beautiful pink salad, it is delicious!!!

Quinoa, Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad

3-4 medium beets, washed and trimmed (do not peel)
1 c. (240 ml.) dry quinoa
2 cups (480 ml.) water
1/2 c. (120 ml.) walnuts, lightly roasted and cooled
2 cloves of garlic, minced
grated rind of one lemon
juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)
2 T. (30 ml.) balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. (60 ml.) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. (10 ml.) dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1 can black beans
1/3 cup (80 ml.) fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F. Wrap beets in foil and bake until extremely tender, about 45 minutes-1 hour. Let cool, then peel off the skins and dice into 3/4 inch (2-cm.) cubes. Set aside.

Bring water to boil in a small heavy saucepan. Rinse quinoa well and add to water. Return to boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Allow to simmer, untouched, for 25 minutes, then check to see if water has been absorbed. If not, continue simmering until all water is absorbed, then uncover and allow to cool. (If you are in a hurry, you can turn the hot quinoa into a glass bowl at this point and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes).

In a nonstick frypan, heat oil and add garlic and lemon rind. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then add balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and stevia. Remove from heat.

Add beets to cooled quinoa. Break walnuts into pieces and add to the bowl. Pour dressing over and toss well until quinoa is tinted pink. Add cilantro and combine well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This salad is even better the second day, after flavours meld. Makes 4 servings.




I am linking this to Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Quinoa Salad With Sugar Snap Peas


When you search for recipes for quinoa, you'll find a lot of salad recipes available. I found this recipe for Quinoa Salad With Sugar Snap Peas in my endless stack of recipes torn from magazines.

I come home for lunch almost every day and am always looking for something new to eat. This is a great salad for a summer picnic or family reuinion. It's easy to put together and won't spoil in the heat. The sugar snap peas and the chives add a nice color and crunch to the quinoa. I substituted sunflower seeds for the pumpkin seeds. This salad has lots of possiblities, different nuts or veggies. I think I will try it with asaparagus next time.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Tabasco Quinoa with Asparagus

I am trying to incorporate quinoa into our diet whenever possible. I am thrilled when I see a quinoa recipe. Although, you're starting to see more and more quinoa recipes, there's still not nearly as many as other side dishes like rice or potatoes. I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks. Thanks Heidi, I love your blog!!

I read some staggering statistics the other day about how much food we throw away. While I've never felt like I am a wasteful person, I am trying harder to not throw away food. Asparagus is a great example. When I make roasted asparagus, I use only the top 1/2 or so of the aspargus. Except for the very end of the asapargus, the rest of it can be used in recipes such as this one. It works great if you chop it in 1/4" pieces.




Tabasco & Asparagus Quinoa
Recipe courtesy of 101 Cookboks

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
25 drops Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 pound asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch segments
4 cups cooked quinoa*
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
more Tabasco sauce to taste

Start by making the Tabasco butter. In a food processor, or with a hand blender, whip the butter until it is light and airy. Add the mustard, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and salt. As I mention above, you can make it stronger if you like, adding more hot sauce to taste.
Boil the asparagus in a large pot of well salted water, for just for a minute or so -depending on the thickness of your asparagus. Drain. If you are serving this immediately you can leave the asparagus hot, but if you are going to wait to serve this, or think you'll have leftovers I recommend you stop the cooking with cold water or a dunk in an ice bath, then drain well before using.
Take the 4 cups of hot cooked quinoa and toss with 3 tablespoons of the tabasco butter. You'll have leftover butter - you can serve that on the side or use it for other purposes. Stir in the asparagus, pine nuts, and dollop with creme fraiche. Serve with more Tabasco sauce on the side.
Serves 4 - 6.
*To cook quinoa: Combine 2 cups of well-rinsed dried quinoa with 3 cups water and 1/2teaspoon fine grain sea salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 25 - 30 minutes or until quinoa is tender and you can see the little quinoa curliques.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday's at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tuesday's at the Table at All the Small Stuff , Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace .

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Foodie Friday - Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers are such a beautiful dish. I love the vibrant red and yellow of these peppers. Traditionally stuffed peppers use meat and rice. I am trying to make more meatless dishes. Did you know a cup of quinoa has 9 grams of protein?

A few weeks ago, I purchased a rice cooker. I don't know about you but I can never cook rice quite right. It's either raw or overdone. I love this rice cooker. The rice comes out perfectly every time. Although quinoa is easy to cook on the stovetop, I decided to give it a try in the rice cooker. The quinoa came out perfectly.

I liked these stuffed peppers but thought they needed a little something. Maybe some cheese? Cheese makes everything taste better.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Recipe from Taste of Home
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
1/4 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 each medium sweet red, yellow and orange peppers
4 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons sunflower kernels
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Dash cayenne pepper
Directions
In a small saucepan, bring the broth, water and bay leaf to a boil. Add quinoa. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Discard bay leaf.
Cut peppers in half lengthwise and discard seeds. In a large kettle, cook peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse in cold water; invert onto paper towels.
In a large nonstick skillet, saute the carrots and onions in oil until tender. Add the quinoa, sunflower kernels and seasonings; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through. Spoon into pepper halves. Place in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until peppers are tender. Yield: 6 servings.



I am linking this Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Scallops with Citrus and Quinoa

At least every couple of weeks, I try to spend an hour or two sufing the blogsphere. A few weeks ago, I came across Tomatoes on the Vine. Velva's recipes and photographs are lovely and definitely worth a look. I know I've added her blog to my daily reading list.

Earlier this week, I was thrilled to find her recipe for Scallops with Citrus and Quinoa. We had Citrus Glazed Scallops on the cruise. They were delicious and I wanted to find a recipe to try at home.

I've been trying to use Quinoa more often as a side dish. It's a nice change from rice or pasta. Plus it's so good for you. My husband came home tonight and said, "Oh we're having King Wah?". I guess to him it's named after some famous king.

I didn't have the oranges, tangerines or the coriander. I used clementines and omitted the coriander. I don't think it was as citrusy as it might have been but they were still delicious.



Scallops With Citrus And Quinoa
Serves 4
Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients:
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed well
Kosher salt
3 oranges
4 tangerines
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1- 1/4 pounds sea scallops, tough foot muscles removed
Freshly ground pepper
1 teasppon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Combine the quinoa, 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, ntil the water is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, grate 1 teaspoon orange zest, then juice all 3 oranges and the tangerines into a bowl. Sprinkle the sugar in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until dark amber, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the vinegar, citrus juices, zest, and the coriander. Return to medium heat and boil until thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter; keep warm.

3. Season the scallops on one side with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the scallops seasoned-side down and sear until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more minutes.

4. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and divide among plates. Top with the scallops, drizzle with the citrus sauce and sprinkle with parsley.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Quinoa Stuffed Banana Peppers

I first tried quinoa over the Fourth of July holiday. My son, Justin, was here for a visit. Not even sure how to pronounce quinoa (keen-wah), I asked Justin if he'd had it and how to pronounce it. We found both red and white quinoa in bulk at Whole Foods. We decided to purchase some of both colors.

Since first trying quinoa last month, I've been reading and hearing about quinoa and it's health benefits. It is so much more nutritious than rice or pasta and is gluten free.

We have a great crop of banana peppers from our garden. We've been grilling them and using them in salads. I wanted to try and find another way to use them. In doing some searching yesterday, I found lots of recipes for stuffing them. We love stuffed peppers but always stuff the larger peppers. Most of the recipes I found used meat in the stuffing. I often make the green ones vegetarian and use rice for the stuffing. I decided to create my own recipe using quinoa for the stuffing.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

8 banana peppers
2 tablespoons butter
2 whole tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
1 egg
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS
Cut off tops of peppers, and remove ribs and seeds. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add peppers, reduce heat, and simmer until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Slit peppers for stuffing.

Cook 1 cup quinoa in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Heat butter in a medium skillet. Saute onion until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce and garlic. Season with basil, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and Parmesan. Mix in quinoa, bread crumbs and 1 cup of the tomato sauce mixture.

Fill each pepper with the meat mixture. Place in a 3 quart casserole dish, and pour remaining tomato sauce mixture over peppers.

Bake uncovered for 30 - 45 minutes.




My notes on this recipe: We loved the flavor and texture. This makes a great vegetarian stuffing. I would like to try this recipe with a mozarella cheese topping. This recipe made more than enough stuffing for 8 banana peppers. A half recipe would be just about the right amount for 8 peppers or a whole recipe would be ample for 16 peppers. I froze my leftover stuffing.