3 posts tagged “quinoa”
you know, i was wondering why my email box lately was so quiet -- my pop setting for gmail were wacky, thus i though no one loved me or was reading this. d'oh!
besides, i'm still way behind in posting the latest in food adventures. at the moment, i am fighting the creeping crud that has been ravaging the office. silly me thought going gluten free and feelnig better meanty i could instantly stop taking my super-duper auto-immune support vitamins. uh uh. not with this crud! i trippled up last night, and am feeling much more human today than i was yesterday.
so a briff look at what last weeks culinary adventures for al-desko dining.
sometimes the amount of cooking that needs to be done for this whole gluten free thing is just daunting. and then sometimes you don't care about the volume or mess because damn, it's tasty!
this is what the lunches will look like this week. on the left: lemon and mustard marinated chicken, and lemon scented quinoa salad with garbanzo beans. on the right: balsamic-honey roasted root veggies.
i spotted the root veggie recipe first this week. seeing as i have a couple (yes a couple) bottles of aged balsamic vinegar in the cupboard i am never remembering to use, it was a go. no rutabaga in my version, as the three turnips i had were huge (Baldrick would have been jealous), but i even used beets. something new for me (my mom hates beets, so never experienced them other than those day-glow things from a can they served as hot-lunch in junior high). of course, my delight at scoring all the veggies at WF at bargain prices meant i forgot to pick up the rosemary. and i had not dried in the cabinet. so, i just started puling out jars and sniffing and tossing them in. ended up with cardamon, marjoram and a little bit of thyme. it works.
the lemon scented quinoa salad had my mouth watering as well. i already figured i would make up some quinoa this week (two weeks is far too long for me to go without quinoa). but this was perfect to go with the veggies. and even though it already had garbanzo beans in it, i knew i would need a little more of a protein kick to pass the combo off as lunch.
so i marinated up a chicken breast to go with the salad. toss some extra virgin olive oil in a zipper bag (about 2 to 3 Tbs i think), then pour in some lemon juice (1/4 c?). add a healthy couple squirts of mustard (i chose a german mustard), and a more than generous sprinkle of lemon-pepper. add a dash of salt, and give it a quick fondle from the outside to get it mixed, drop in the chicken, massage it around a bit more and pop in the fridge for few hours.
being lazy, i didn't break out the grill. i decided i'd just cook it up in a fry pan on the stove. but decided to add a healthy bit, probably a 1/2 c. of the marinade to the pan, so i could pop a lid on and let it steam in as well. most flavorful, juicy chicken ever.
ah, i meant to do this last week. last week's cooking adventures including the zucchini bread recipes i posted, and grilled chicken breast, quinoa pasta and a ginger-tamari sauce.
the zucchini bread is not quite enough for a loaf pan, and doesn't rise too high. but despite the short stature of the slices, they were incredibly filling. the change of flour is nice - it doesn't have a raw taste to it, which i have always noticed with wheat flour cooking. and there was this hint of a crispiness to each bite, that i can always assume is the rice flour. it was as if there were crushed rice krispies in there somewhere, giving a very subtle hint to taste and texture.
this week, lunch will be homemade baked beans*, and a quinoa salad:
1 c. quinoa
2 c. chicken stock
rinse and cook per directions.
i then chunked and sauted the remaining zuchini i had in some olive oil. in a large bowl i mixed up oile oil and red vinegar, adding 2 cloves of garlic, minced, and salt, papper, cumin, and herbs de provence. to this i added chopped up green onions, a green pepper, and two tomatoes. added the now colled zuchini, tossed, and added the cooled quinoa. i dressed it with a bit more olive oil, salt, pepper and the juice of whole lemon. toss well and chill
it. is. scrumtous!
i have my next bring-to-a-party dish.
~~~~~~~~~~~
* and upon meeting up with Bob again friday night at Whole Foods, i decided to do them with a mix of navy beans and adzuki beans, which he suggested as they are known as a "healing food" for those with celiac. he also assured me that my local WF bulk food area was safe for me to peruse for beans and rice.
(found in an old [i.e. 1994!] message index while searching for quinoa recipes)
1 c quinoa
1 tsp butter
8 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed),diced
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic,minced
2c water
pinch of cayenne pepper ,
2Tbsp chopped fresh parsley ,
salt & freshly ground black pepper
Place quinoa in a fine-meshed sieve and rinse under warm running water for
1 min. Set aside.
Heat butter in a heavy, med. saucepan over med. heat. Add tomatoes,
shallots and garlic and saute for 3-5 mins, or till shallots are softened.
Add stock or water and bring to a boil. Stir quinoa and cayenne, return
to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30 mins,
or until liquid is absorbed. Let sit for 5 mins, and fluff grains with a
fork to separate. Stir in fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Serves : 4
