Aunt Lauren's Vegetarian Crock Pot Mushroom & Kale Stew with Quinoa

Way back in Crocktober, my lovely aunt Lauren (also the creator of this yummy fruit and nut quinoa idea) sent me her recipe for a crock pot stew involving fresh sliced mushrooms, a variety of dried mushrooms, kale, parsnips and quinoa for serving. She even mailed me a big box of dried mushrooms to make it with - is that sweet, or what? And while Crocktober is over, my love for the crock pot is not, so I'm going to share her recipe with you anyway.

Because I'm using a teeny 2 qt machine and we are pretty sure that hers is a 5-quarter, I cut her recipe in half. 2 quarts is kind of absurdly small, I realize, so it might make more sense for you to use the original, so I'll give you her original measurements:

Ingredients:

5 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks

4 large leaves kale, cut lengthwise and chopped

2 cups veggie stock (or chicken)

2 tbsp cornstarch blended with hot water, as needed (about 2/3 cup)

1 1/2 large onions, chopped, or a bag of peeled "pear onions" from Trader Joe's

1 8 oz box sliced fresh mushrooms 

1 cup of mixed dried mushrooms 

1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup

1 smashed garlic clove

1 1/2 large onions, chopped, or a bag of peeled "pear onions" from Trader Joe's

Cooked quinoa, for serving

Fresh parsley, coarsely chopped, for serving

Directions:

1. Break your dried mushrooms up into smaller pieces (so you don't need to chop them later), and soak in 2 cups hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain, pouring carefully so as to remove grit while leaving mushroom liquor.

2. Combine all ingredients except kale, cornstarch and water in the crock pot. Cook on "low" for 8-10 hours. 

3. One and one half hours before serving, add kale. A half an hour later, stir in cornstarch and water mixture. Leave the lid cracked and continue to cook for about another hour to hour and a half to thicken.

Lauren is a very smart woman. The changes I made were more logistical than creative - So, just so you know, if you come home around 8:30 hungry and tired from work, you can turn the crock to "high" to hasten broth-thickening while you cook your kale with the quinoa on the stovetop instead of leaving that extra time for everything to cook together in the crock. It is probably better Lauren's way, but life happens. The only "creative" change I made to her recipe is adding a little fresh parsley for garnish, which I do recommend.

If you know where to find dairy-free cream of mushroom soup, you can easily make this vegan. And, if you're not the hugest fan of parsnips (like I know Brady isn't), you can use cubed potato instead. And I have to say, now that I know how easy and convenient is is to cook with dried mushrooms, and the rich flavor you get from the variety, I think I'll be working my way through this box in short order.

Quote of the Day: I travel the world, and I'm happy to say that America is still the great melting pot - maybe a chunky stew rather than a melting pot at this point, but you know what I mean. ~ Philip Glass

Quinoa & Bean Salad with Basil & Lemon

While she turned out to be a great big nothing in West Philadelphia (a little heavy rain and one windy day), Hurricane Irene was a weirdly grown-up experience for me. Getting ready for a potentially major weather event on my own between cautionary text messages from my Mom, I had many a flashback to my parents' old black GE radio, rummaging around for candles, and the excitement of when the power would go out. Though I know now that storms were surely less exciting for my parents, who were no doubt concerned with things like food spoilage and water supply, I have lots of fond memories of weathering storms with my family as a kid. On my own, though, the whole thing seemed a bit less fun.

Though quinoa is only non-perishable in its uncooked form, this seemed like a reasonable electric-free dinner recipe for pre-cooked quinoa. And even if you were to lose power, it would stay fresh for a while in your refrigerator for a while as long as you don't go around leaving the door open all willy-nilly.

This makes about 3-4 side-dish servings, or about 2 vegan main dishes.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (a little over 1/3 cup raw)

1/2 cup chickpeas or other beans, thoroughly cooked

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 bunch basil, stems removed and leaves chopped

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together about 2 tbsp olive oil and the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

2. Add quinoa, chickpeas, onion and basil and mix well.

Feta optional

This salad is simple, fresh, delicious and nutritious, and a great make-ahead meal. For a little more color you might prefer to use kidney beans, navy beans, or something else that isn't coming to mind at the moment. And, while I love the simplicity of this salad, you could add just about any fresh veggies that you have on hand - cucumber, summer squash, or fresh corn, for example. Because I'm a slight carboholic, I had mine with a warmed, buttered naan-type bread and threw in a little stray Feta, but without these additions, this meal is vegan and gluten-free, and perfect for a summer lunch. Yum!


Quote of the Day: Red onions are especially divine. I hold a slice up to the singlight pouring in through the kitchen window, and it glows like a fine piece of antique glass. Cool watery-white with layers delicately edged with imperial purple...strong, humble, peaceful...with that fiery nub of spring green at the center. ~ Mary Hayes Grieco, The Kitchen Mystic

3-Step Baked Quinoa "Mac" & Cheese from Vegetarian Times

If there is a person alive who does not like macaroni and cheese, I hope never to meet them, because we would not be friends. I mean real rich-and-slightly-brown-on-top macaroni and cheese, not that weird gloopy chemical soup that tries to pass for macaroni and cheese. In my opinion, this quinoa mac and cheese is much closer to the "real" thing in its relative deliciousness than that runny, goopy, neon-orange tragedy. This baked cheesy quinoa is seriously nutritious besides being delicious, hearty and easy. Obviously cheese is not without it's nutritional downside (fat, duh) but the fiber and protein of the quinoa combined with the fiber and other good stuff in the veggies make up for that. In my imagination. Either way, it is a delicious and fairly balanced meal, and a great gluten-free alternative to mac and cheese. This recipe has the makings of serious comfort food.

The basis for this recipe came from VegetarianTimes.com, and I haven't changed it much, except to pare it down from a 9"x13" dish because 1) I love leftovers, but not that much and 2) My baking dish is 8"x8". If you're cooking for a crowd or only have a 9"x13" on hand, I'd just use the original. This will make about 4 meal-sized servings. If you're in my solo-dwelling position, you might want to cut it down further, but since I am a fan of the leftovers, I didn't.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed thoroughly

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (or a blend) plus more for sprinkling

1/4 large onion, chopped, or 1 medium leek, white and pale green parts halved and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Spices for sprinkling - I used about 1/4 tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp cumin

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion (or leek) and bell pepper, and saute for about 5 minutes, until tender. Stir in garlic and quinoa and cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until quinoa turns opaque.

2. Add 1 1/2 cups water, and add salt and pepper. Cover, turn heat down to medium-low, and simmer for another 3-4 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the inside of an 8"x8" baking dish with cooking spray.Whisk together eggs and milk in a large bowl. Add in quinoa mixture and cheese. Transfer to baking dish, sprinkle with spices and cheese and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until edges and top are browned.

It will seem impossibly soupy going into the oven, but it will not come out that way! Mine wasn't getting quite browned enough for my taste so I ran it under the broiler for a couple of minutes at the end. Just be sure to let it sit for a reasonable amount of time before cutting into it. I have a tendency to skip this step and burn my face in my impatience. Don't be like me.

I used a mild white cheddar, but I see no reason why you couldn't use Swiss, or a blend of your favorites, if that's what's hanging around in your refrigerator. I also used soy milk instead of the regular type. I doubt this had much impact on the flavor, but you'll definitely want to check out the ingredients on your soy milk to make sure it's not sweetened, if you decide to go this route. If you are inclined to use an egg substitute and dairy-free cheese, this can definitely be made vegan-friendly.* Vegan or not, I expect that you could add almost any fresh veggies that you wanted. Peas and broccoli would probably be good choices. I had mine with ketchup and hot sauce.

This held together much better than I was expecting, but was also plenty moist.

And, since I can't seem to make a post without sheepishly admitting something weird that I did in the cooking process, this evening my admission is this: I forgot to get myself a cheese grater after the move, so instead of grating the cheese I slivered it into skinny little pieces as best I could. This doesn't much matter except for the fact that if you are measuring your cheese in volume, slivered cheese will take up a lot less space than grated, which is why I included the measurement in ounces for anyone else in my position of graterlessness.

Quote of the Day: How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese? ~ Charles de Gaulle

*Of course, what and how you eat is totally an individual decision, but many vegan cheeses (not so unlike many of the cheapest "regular" cheeses) are made mostly of soybean oil and palm oil combined with thickeners. I'm not hating, just recommending as always that everybody read their labels. Do yourself a favor on all fronts and use all-natural cheese!

Aunt Lauren's Fruit & Nut Quinoa

The basis for this recipe came from my Aunt Lauren, an inspiring, hilarious woman and fabulous cook, whom I very much admire. Her "non-recipe," as she called it, requires cooked quinoa, celery, dried apricots, a bit of sliced green onion all dressed with a vinaigrette of fresh lemon juice, a touch of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, topped with a sprinkling of slivered almonds. Sounds good, right? I thought so too, especially after reading the final step: "Fight off the interlopers who want to eat your share!"

I've never tasted Lauren's original version, so this all a bit fly-by-night, but that's kind of my MO. So here it is:

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa 

2 ribs celery, finely chopped to minced

about 10 dried apricots, finely chopped

2 tsp green onion, thinly sliced

slivered almonds, about 1/2 cup

about 2 tbsp olive oil

the juice of 1 lemon, about 3 tbsp

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, 1 tbsp of the olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. Gradually add more olive oil, to taste, to mitigate tartness.

2. In a large bowl, stir together quinoa, celery, apricots and green onion.

3. Add about half of the dressing, and toss. Gradually add dressing until it is dressed to your liking. (I had just a little left over, which would have been too much).

This was definitely tasty, and an incredibly easy, light summer dinner. It would be very easy to throw together if you had some cooked quinoa in the fridge, but I did not and it still took less than 30 minutes. The fresh, slightly tart dressing is just the thing to brighten up the quinoa and bring out the sweetness of the apricots. I think this would also be delicious with one of my personal faves, dried apples.

You should probably prepare for some interlopers.

Quote of the Day: Eating is really one of your indoor sports. You play three times a day, and it's well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible. ~ Dorothy Draper

Quinoa Garden Burgers

Despite our omnivorousness, Brady and I are always interested in vegetarian (and sometimes even vegan) food options. Even if you love chicken and beef, a little variety is nice, right? For us, eating meat only 3-4 days per week is part of our small-time effort to be more Earthdwellers. So when we started trying meat-free burgers made with veggie protein and the like, I started to think, why can't I make these? I can make these, right? I'm making these.

Well, I was half right. I made them. They were tasty, but they were not what I would call a "burger." More like quinoa falafel. They were fragile, and too soft to be eaten in a bun. I think I had all the right ingredients happening, but perhaps in the wrong ratios. Also, the addition of black or pinto beans would do a great deal to improve their solidity. I was going for the "vegan" thing with these, so I used ground flax instead of egg as a binding ingredient. With about 1/2 cup of beans and an egg or two, these would be a much more solid patty. Hindsight is 20-20.

I used quinoa as a base because of its protein, fiber, and  hearty texture. I happened to have a little pearled barley hanging around from some more wintry recipes, which I decided to add, but I think you could use all quinoa, increase the barley ratio, or use a mixture of quinoa and brown rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa 

3 1/2 tablespoons ground flax

1/2 onion 

2 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 - 1 chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce (optional)

4 oz fresh, clean mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup - 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

small handful cilantro, torn

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic, salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, the onion, cayenne, ground flax, cilantro, and chipotle chili if you're using one. Combine well.

2. Add bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Process until veggies are chopped - not liquefied.

3. Dump the contents of the food processor out into a large bowl, and mix in the quinoa. Sprinkle in breadcrumbs until the mixture is just solid enough to form into patties. Mix well, and form into patties.

4. Cook garden burger patties in a grill pan for 8-10 minutes each side over medium heat, or cook them in a George Foreman Grill for about 8-10 minutes total. Serve on a bun or in a pita with veggies or a yogurt sauce.

I served these on burger buns with a super simple tzatziki sauce and steamed green beans on the side. Besides eggs lurking in the buns, and the tzatziki (which is easily swapped out for lettuce and tomato, or an animal-free topping like salsa) this is a vegan meal.

In the end, these weren't what I was going for, but if you made them as mini-patties and served them in a pita, they would be just as delightfully delicious as the dish I had imagined.

Quote of the Day: CBS has no problem with airing commercial after commercial advocating the consumption of fried chicken, pork sausage and fast-food burgers, even though eating these products are making Americans fat, sick and boring in bed. ~ Lisa Lange

NOTE: I have to say, since Lisa Lange is a well-known figure and the VP of PETA, I do not support or advocate for PETA in any way. I believe there is a relatively humane and compassionate way to enjoy reasonable amounts of meat in our diets, and I am a really big fan of animals in general. This quote is funny and poignant, but I do not support the guilt, exaggeration, and fear-mongering perpetrated by PETA. Of course, we all have our own feelings on the topic and must do our own research and make the decisions that are best for us and our families.

Quinoa with Sauteed Spinach & A Fried Egg on Top

Tomorrow is a 5:00 alarm day, so tonight's post is kind of a short one, but that's fitting for this recipe. It's simple, easy, and one of the quickest dinners I've come up with so far.

I'm not really sure where the idea for this dish came from, which might be obvious by the seemingly random nature of it. But I promise - it's tasty! And as a bonus, it's vegetarian and super nutritious, with lots of iron, protein, and fiber.

...But photogenic, it is not.

 This recipe serves two:

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed in a mesh strainer

1/2 onion, chopped

1 bunch spinach, washed

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

Grated Parmesan cheese

Pat of butter

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small pan, boil about 2 cups of water, and add quinoa. Bring back to a boil, then simmer until water is gone.

2. In a large skillet, saute onions in olive oil (about 1 1/2 turns of the pan) until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic and saute another two or three minutes.

3. Start heating up a frying pan, melting a small pat of butter.

4. Add spinach to the garlic and onion, add about a tablespoon of water, and cover. Cook until spinach is fully wilted. Add cooked quinoa and salt and pepper, and saute with spinach for one or two minutes, or until combined.

5. In the frying pan, crack and fry an egg - one per serving, up to 3 - and cook them according to your preference. To serve, just plate the quinoa, place an egg on top, and sprinkle it with a little Parmesan.

Since I have half of a bunch of asparagus left from last night's dinner, I was tempted to add that. I didn't but you definitely could add some, chopped up, with your spinach. Sliced yellow squash would also be good, and would add another pop of color to the plate. This dish is tasty with hot sauce on the egg, if you're into that.

Curried Quinoa

I know, me and my grain-centric recipes.
But in my defense, quinoa is not properly a grain at all.

And also I love curry. And after great success with The Crockpot Lady's curried chickpeas, I feel I can do no wrong in the curry department. She is quite right: It will make you want to run around the house yelling "Who's the crock potting queen?!" which will quickly become annoying to the people around you.

This is not a crock pot recipe, but I am sure it has the potential.

Fair warning: This will seem like a lot of ingredients. It kind of is. But keep in mind that the spices in this dish can be altered to fit your preferences. Don't care for coriander? No problemo! It adds a lot to this recipe, but if you hate it, just use more curry powder, garlic, and cilantro to keep the flavors strong. I also suspect that there is a lot of flexibility for what veggies you can use. You could skip the chile altogether and just use bell peppers and spices, if you wanted to.

Since I have had a few run-ins with hotter-than-expected hot peppers, I thought I was being fairly conservative by using half the pepper, finely chopped, with literally THREE SEEDS added to the pot, also chopped. It was pleasantly hot, and perfect for our tastes, but definitely judge this for yourself.

This recipe (the first on the page) turned out to be a pretty good "starter" recipe for me. Because I made a lot of changes - mostly additions - here is my version:

Ingredients:
1 c. quinoa
1.5 tbsp. vegetable oil
.5 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, smashed
.75 of a red bell pepper, small chopped
1-2 tsp. fresh grated ginger root
2-3 tsp. dried cilantro (if using fresh, add desired amount before serving)
.5 fresh green chile, finely chopped
1 heaping tsp. coriander
.5 tsp. curry powder
.25 tsp. ground cinnamon
.25 tsp cayenne pepper
1.75 cups water
.5 c. fresh or frozen peas

Directions:
1. Rinse quinoa with cold water. Use a fine mesh filter or coffee filter.

Quinoa is coated with a natural substance called saponin that protects the grain by repelling insects and birds. Rinsing the quinoa is important to avoid a raw or bitter taste.

2. Place oil, diced onions and garlic in a heavy saucepan. Saute the onions on medium high heat for four to five minutes.

3. Add the ginger root, chile, quinoa, and red pepper. Cook for one minute stirring constantly.

4. Stir in the coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, cilantro and seasoned salt. Cook for one minute stirring constantly.

5. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Stir in peas. Cover and cook for four or five minutes or until peas are tender and all the water is absorbed.

7. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Even in person, this dish is much more than meets the eye.

We really enjoyed this dish, and considering that it was easy enough for me to put it together at 9 pm after class, I consider it nearly foolproof.

Quote of the Day: "We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine-gun."  ~ George Orwell

Peach & Mango Salsa with Quinoa and Swiss Chard

I'm back! My mom, sister and I had a fabulous weekend with lots of laughs, relaxation, and yes, delicious food. More on this very soon.

Re-entry into real life after a vacation can be totally disorienting. Which explains why I am totally disoriented. And with another short getaway coming up for Easter, my schoolwork, regular-work and personal time are all quite compacted this week. But a girl (and her boyfriend) still gotta eat.

I have been meaning to try quinoa for some time, and since it seemed to be a quick and healthy route, I thought I would make some with dinner tonight. And, since its a good source of protein, I was free to pair it with just about anything. I think I am at the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship with the odd little things.

I decided to make a fruit salsa with mango (the smaller and more tart, yellow-fleshed variety, sometimes called "Champagne" mango), peaches, and just a sprinkle of chopped green onion, about one small one. Since my grocery store didn't have fresh peaches today, I picked up a cup of chopped peaches packed in 100% juice. I've used these little fruit cups before, and I find them really convenient. This particular cup was packed in a mix of pomegranate, peach, and white grape juice. I drained the fruit almost completely, but saved about two teaspoons to mix with the mango. In a perfect world I would still make this with fresh peaches, but I was a bit too committed to this salsa, and a bit too tired to think creatively while physically in the store, so I went with it.

I know, the mood lighting in this photo is a little bit out of control. 

The Swiss Chard I chose mostly for the sake of variety, because I wanted to cook a leafy vegetable, but have plans for a dish involving spinach later in the week. Besides being absurdly nutritious, I thought the Chard would add a more earthy - that is, less fruity - flavor to the meal. I just trimmed it, washed and dried it, and sauteed it with some olive oil over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes. Just a little salt and pepper is all we added.

I won't pretend: This is sort of an odd combination. But, we both thought that it "worked." The fruit salsa is definitely a winner, and with the quinoa I think it would make a great summer lunch or snack. The fruit with the Chard was certainly a contrast, but the slightly bitter greens with the tart mango and sweet peaches was pleasant. Tasty!