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Cooking with Quinoa

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There has been a lot of talk about Quinoa. It first appeared as a food that would put those who ate it in the “Health Nut” camp but has recently become more of a mainstream curiosity.

Quinoa (pronounced ‘Keen-wah’) is a funny little food – at first glance people are tempted to call it a “grain” when indeed it is a “seed”. A very small seed and prominent member of the Goosefoot species of plants. I’m sure most of you have fought valiant battles against quinoa relatives who love to pop up in the fertile soil of your garden year after year. Back home we called them ‘ironweeds’ or ‘pigweeds’ or even ‘lambs’ quarters’ and when young they actually make a tasty and nutritious substitute for spinach at the dinner table – but that’s beside the point.

Quinoa is an ancient food from Peru and surrounding areas. The Incas considered it to be a sacred crop which caused their new Spanish neighbors to hold quinoa in distain. It was even outlawed for a time and the natives were forced to grow the more European wheat. What the Spanish didn’t know and what we are now finding out is that the Incas had good reason to hold their quinoa dear. Though it be tiny and a relative of plaguing weeds, quinoa has an impressive resume. Full of fiber, magnesium, iron, calcium, as well as being a complete protein in its own right, quinoa is gluten free and easy to digest. It’s also a smart plant, having a built-in defense system which causes it to be distasteful and even gastrically upsetting when eaten before the outer coating has been removed. The crop is easier to protect from critters that would sneak in and steal it before harvest. Most quinoa sold in the grocery stores has already been processed to remove the coating so when you purchase it (which I sincerely hope you do!!) it’s ready to be cooked and enjoyed.

How do we enjoy it, you ask? I have read that it can be considered ‘an acceptable substitute for rice’, but other than giving you a good idea of the broad range uses, I don’t think it does quinoa justice. I have found it to be so much more than ‘acceptable’ and so much more than a ‘substitute’!

My mom taught me to cook quinoa with a basic ratio of two parts liquid to one part quinoa and I have never had that fail me. Adding one cup of quinoa to two cups of slightly salted boiling water or stock, letting it cook until the water has boiled down to the level of the quinoa (8-10 minutes) and then putting the heat to low and covering it to ‘steam’ for 10 or so minutes more will give you a delightful, 2 cups (roughly) of cooked quinoa to serve plain as a side dish or to use in another recipe. The portions I just described will serve about 4 people.

Cooked quinoa is tender but still has a nice texture to it. It isn’t lumpy or soupy or mushy but can be ‘fluffed’ with a fork and the seeds will be separate. Another way you can tell is that the slim white ‘tail’ on each seed becomes loose, giving them an artsy look, as if they are wearing hats adorned with long feathers.

Once you have the basic recipe down and are ready to have some fun with it, there is certainly fun to be had! My latest quinoa craving has been satisfied by adding sautéed onions and chopped raw kale to the quinoa as it is cooking. So easy, so healthy, so very delicious. Another favorite method in my house is to start out by sautéing fat slices of sweet leeks in a bit of olive oil before adding chicken stock and then the quinoa. Oh. My. Word.

Add quinoa to soups instead of noodles or rice, use plain cooked quinoa in casseroles and and quiches. You can even cool it and sprinkle the seeds on salads. Your possibilities boarder on being endless and you will certainly not be doing any harm to incorporate this amazing food into your diet!  So go forth and enjoy…

 

because it’s the right thing to do

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There is something so *Right* about family traditions.

Every family has its own web of traditions that is uniquely their own. No one really knows how they start but we all think that ours are the best and *most* unique and relish in the annual opportunity to drag them out, dust them off and use them as the foundation of our festivities.

Cranberry Molded Salad is such a tradition for my family. It seems a really common sort of tradition when you first look at it, but when you remember that no two families ever make their cranberry salads alike, it becomes something reminiscent of the ancient clans of Scotland with their intricate family tartans. You bind yourself to your family’s recipe with a fierce and nearly blind loyalty – nothing will EVER taste as good as what you had growing up. It’s a bit of an unspoken rule we whisper to our babies on their first Thanksgivings, cementing the truth that this is the Only Legitimate Cranberry Salad on Earth, accept no substitutes.

I’ve been at family gatherings where a tart jelly is served in a ridged roll, slid from out of a can. It’s tradition for them and their mouths water at the sight of it’s crimson self, quivering and glistening in the holiday lighting. I’ve seen it made with jello and chopped carrots and even marshmallows, I’ve seen it scoop-able and pour-able and even non-existent.

Every year I can remember, I have eaten my mother’s cranberry molded salad at Thanksgiving – not really a relish, definitely not a sauce but absolutely the perfect foil to the rich line up of foods that tradition orders on that holiday. We never vary, we never waver, we never subtract or substitute. There must be cranberry molded salad, we must all have a hand in making it and it must be eaten almost as an after thought. We eat it with seconds and for days thereafter in sandwiches and with leftovers. It is the last dish to be scraped clean, after we have been thoroughly saturated with Thanksgiving goodness.

Every year, without fail, my mother says something to the effect of, “Why don’t we ever make this any other time of the year, we like it so much…” and every year we all wonder for a minute about what would happen if one of our holiday foods were to escape and wander into July or March and we realize that it would be Wrong. We eat cranberry molded salad at Thanksgiving. It’s our tradition and it’s a good one. Let’s not tamper with it.

 

The Best Cranberry Molded Salad Ever

2 bags fresh cranberries, washed

2 whole oranges, washed

4 apples, cored

4 packages unflavored gelatin

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold water

1 cup boiled water

1/4 cup lime juice

 

This makes enough to feed a small army.

We like *our* recipe because it’s actually rather healthy for you. The fruits aren’t cooked and that means they are still in possession of their enzymes, making it the perfect thing to finish that incredibly filling meal with. That’s why we eat it last. Aha.

In a food processor, you are going to grind the cranberries, apples and oranges ( skin and all, folks!) together then dump the whole lot into a big mixing bowl. In a small bowl, add the cold water to your gelatin and let it soften. Stir the sugar into the ground fruit *well*  and add the lime juice. Once the gelatin is soft, add the boiled water and dissolve completely. Add this to the fruit blend and stir again. Cover and put in the fridge to ‘set’. This can be made a day or more in advance, it will keep quite nicely!

I’m not sharing this recipe with the suggestion that anyone should try it in lieu of their own, perhaps this could be your Fourth of July side dish and it will see other parts of the year, something it never would be able to do in our house.

At any rate, enjoy your festivities this week – eat heartily and be at peace!

 

flat bread veggie pizza

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It’s what’s for dinner.

Making flat bread involves a couple more steps than the ones used to make a plain old pizza – but boy is it worth it! I started with the Plain Old Pizza Dough recipe and after letting it rise, I simply rolled it out as flat as I could and placed it on a greased baking sheet. Then, I pricked the surface with a fork – all over – and brushed on some olive oil.  After a sprinkling of garlic powder and sea salt, the flat bread went into the oven (preheated to 375 degrees) for about 15 minutes, or until the crust was lightly browned.

While it was baking, I chopped up and sauteed some onions, sweet red peppers, yellow crooked neck squash, fresh tomatoes, garlic and spinach. When the crust came out of the oven, the veggies got spread around on top and then lightly blanketed with slices of fresh mozzarella. I turned the oven onto Broil and popped the whole thing back in the oven for another five minutes or so, just until the cheese had melted and begun to bubble.

It was incredible.

Incredible, I say. The crust was thin and firm and the veggies were tasty mellow and the whole thing was garlicky and cheesy and yet rather healthy and quick, especially if you make the dough ahead of time. This meal is definitely going to be repeated in the near future!

Tomato Pie

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Actually, it’s more of a *tart*, but I have a deep-seated fear of alliterations so Tomato Pie it is.

a tart by any other name would be delicious

Our tomato plants have showered us with a delightful crop of little baby tomatoes. They aren’t midget tomatoes of the cherry variety, they are just very small, terribly adorable, perfectly proportioned infantile tomatoes. I’m not sure if they are supposed to be this minute, or if it is a freak of nature (I’ve been watching a lot of Doctor Who lately and everything is subject to being eyed as the precursor to an alien invasion) but we’re happy to have them!

Time to make tomato pie. I know, I go from describing them in all their cuteness to, “let’s eat it!” in about five seconds flat. What can I say – you have to strike while the iron’s hot.

My family has been making this dish, or versions of this dish for years and it never ceases to charm and amaze. Halfway between a gourmet pizza and a tomato tart rustique – this pie is the farm wife’s gateway to simple elegance and hunger-defeating practicality.

 

Tomato Pie

*makes 2 single crust pies

for the crust:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chilled butter, shortening or lard

7-8 Tablespoons ice water

 

for the filling:

4-5 medium sized tomatoes or 7-8 baby ones sliced

1 teaspoon olive oil

fresh basil, oregano, parsley chopped finely

cheese of your choice to top – I like mozzarella or cheddar

Oven preheated to 375 degrees

 

Firstly, let us make the crust. I am not a pastry expert, far from it in fact, but I can get by if need be. This is a very simple crust recipe, courtesy of my Joy of Cooking cookbook, and I find that as long as I don’t treat it like bread dough and knead the daylights out of it, it turns out just fine.

Sift together the salt and flour into a bowl then chop up whatever fat you are using and add it to the flour mix. If you have a pastry blender, now is the time to use it. Cut in the fat until the flour resembles damp sand. If you don’t have a pastry blender, or are one of these rustic people who like to do everything by hand, go ahead and use your fingers to do the job. I am one of those rustics and love to use my finger tips to spread the fat through the flour – makes me feel a little bit like Julia Child.

So – the fat is cut in, well done. Now, sprinkle the ice water over the flour and gently mix it in. If you need a little bit more water, that’s ok – but only add it by the teaspoon – you don’t want this dough to get soppy. Once the dough forms a ball that sticks together, Stop Mixing. Don’t over mix the crust, it gets tough at the drop of a hat. It’s not like a little chewiness is going to kill anybody, but we’re going for flaky. Split the dough in half and then roll each half out into a circular shape, about 9 inches in diameter. If you need to lightly flour the surface, that’s fine. Don’t over work it, try to roll it out as simply as you can. Mine stayed together pretty well without a lot of extra flour. Once the dough has been rolled out, lay it in a lightly greased pie plate. I’m not real picky about getting it up over the edges, since it’s really a tart and all, I just smoosh it into place to make a shell of sorts.


Now for the topping. This is the easy part! Brush the bottom of the crusts with some of the olive oil and then lay down your sliced tomatoes in one or two layers. Then sprinkle the herbs over the tomatoes, then sprinkle the cheese. How hard was that? Once the crust is done it’s just a lot of sprinkling. Drizzle any remaining oil over the top and then put those pies in the oven.

 

They should bake about 15-20 minutes, or until the crust has browned around the edges and the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and serve.

Delicious!

 

 

 

 

is it hot in here? i need cold noodles

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The sun has set and the sky looks as though it is wounded in the spot where it sank below the horizon. Crimson blends into the purple sky and the moon sits just above, a crooked sliver of silver smile.

We’ve had a string of hot days lately. Our apartment is just to the right of the heart of town, on the second floor. The sun beats down all day and bakes the old white house, the heat of the roads and the cars and trucks and tour busses rises and gets caught in our living room – our front room and the hottest spot in the house. Thankfully, the rooms to the back of the apartment stay relatively cool and dark during the day, so there is an escape available if needed.

I haven’t needed the escape yet, but this disturbingly bright, hot day chased me into the bedroom to do my ironing, hiding from the glare and noise of Saturday afternoon on Main Street.

But now it is nearly dark, and I am willing the startlingly cooler air in with fans and coaxing tones, but it’s still pretty stinking hot in here! The thought of turning on our electric hotbox and cooking something involved makes me want to… well, not.

Time for a cold meal, eh? I found this recipe on the internet the other day and have wanted to try it – or my personalized version of it, this seems like the perfect occasion.

Creamy Green Pasta

1/2 pound pasta, cooked and cooled

1/2 pound fresh spinach

1 tsp minced garlic

a teaspoon or so of olive oil

1 avocado, peeled and pitted

1 Tbsp basil pesto

1 tsp lemon juice

I (said in a disgustingly boastful sort of way) have a husband who will eat green things, and good deal because this may be the greenest food I have ever served. The spinach got sauteed with the garlic and olive oil until the spinach was completely cooked, then it was cooled. In my dear little food processor, I put the avocado, pesto, some salt and pepper and lemon juice – and then the spinach. It all got blended into a delightfully vibrant green ‘sauce’ and then stirred into the pasta.

Viola.

I will serve it to my green-loving Alex when he gets home, with fresh tomato slices and watermelon – the perfect culinary end to such a scorcher! I have tasted it (of course- the best home chefs taste, and taste often!!) and it is utterly creamy and rich, almost as if it had some sort of cheese in it – very good! It’s going to be a repeat meal at our table!

you say ‘addict’ like it’s a bad thing

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But I will have you know – who ever you are – that I have gotten some of the best food ideas I have ever SEEN on Pinterest.

Like this one:

I mean, really – who ever truly knows what to do with a cauliflower. You buy them on sale, they sit in your crisper looking a white, frozen brain – it’s creepy. The only decent way to end the thing is by boiling it to death in salty water, cutting it into little pieces and dipping it in ranch dressing at parties or- if thee be ambitious – baking it in a cheesy casserole. Cheesy Brain Casserole. I’m lovin’ it!

I was standing in my kitchen, feeling rather claustrophobic about the lack of options for my own personal cauliflower and then it hit me -

Pinterest.

Just like that -like some Good Kitchen Fairy suddenly appeared and smacked me with the computer mouse. Search for cauliflower ideas on Pinterest.

Make that addiction work.

So I did. And I made baked cauliflower with herb seasoning and pine nuts.

Sounds infinitely more interesting than cheesy brains.



Baked Cauliflower


1 head of cauliflower cut into florets


enough olive oil to toss the cauliflower in – I probably used 4 or 5 good Tablespoons.


Seasonings of your choice.


Not only did I use my addiction to Pinterest to find the inspiration for this meal, but I cheated and used an all natural spice packet that came in a box of couscous mix that we ate the couscous from – *without* the mix at a previous meal.


Wow.


But you don’t have to depend on your mental weaknesses, you can spice up your cauliflower with curry powder and turmeric or basil and garlic or ginger and sesame seeds. The sky’s the limit people… the sky is the limit.


Toss the cauliflower with the oil and then the seasonings, making sure they’re all covered pretty well. Toss onto a baking sheet – or if your baking sheet is irreparably damaged by past abuse (as is mine), feel free to use a glass casserole dish. Be my guest. Now, it goes into the oven at about 350 degrees, until the cauliflower is well browned. Mine was cooking for about 30 minutes until I panicked and remembered that it was baking. Turns out that was the perfect amount of time.


viola


Let that be a lesson to you.

			

	
	



				
					


	


		
		
edible, inedible leeks

				

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Alex and I went to our first ‘couple’s thing’ last week. It was a little surreal, all day I kept having flashes of, “Wow- I am really married!” Seems strange that after almost three months I would be saying that, that it would be hitting me just as hard as when I woke up that third morning in my new home, next to a new husband, thinking – “Oh my word- we really did it. We got married. We’re married. I’m married.” While the realization has often come with gravity and sobriety, it has never come with pain or angst or upset, I always feel it when I simply can’t believe I am really *this* blessed, really *this* happy, really *this* married to *that* man. It’s amazing. Are you tired of hearing about it? I hope not, because it really is a most wonderful thing.


Anyway- couples’ dinner. I needed to bring either a soup, salad, bread or dessert, and I chose soup- Potato Leek soup to be exact, and then rushed off to the kitchen to concoct something.


Boy Howdy I’m Married Potato Leek Soup


2 leeks, the edible part sliced into coins about a 1/4 inch thick


2 shallots, sliced


1 clove of garlic, minced


5 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced


1 Tbsp parsley


pepper


2 Tbsp chicken bullion


1/8 cup white wine


2-3 potatoes, cubed


olive oil


a little bit of butter (sneak it in there, folks, you’ll thank me later)


There is a foggy part in my brain which doesn’t quite know *where* the edible part of leeks starts and stops. Is there a definitive *place* where edible meets the green part you feel guilty about throwing away? I don’t want to stop too soon and waste valuable leek, but I don’t want to plague the consumer of the soup with tough, inedible slices of leek that should have been discarded. I want to be seen as ‘thrifty’, not ‘cheap’. Oh my. You must decide on your own where you draw the edible line on your leeks.


The leeks, shallots and garlic get sauteed in a large frying pan in olive oil until they are soft, then they are put into a big soup pot (with a four or more quart capacity, if you please). Next, the mushrooms are going to go into the frying pan with a little more olive oil and that little bit of butter you haven’t told Alex you are using. I have fallen in love with baby bella mushrooms, a very infantile version of portabella mushrooms. They are lovely, sparrow-colored things that hold their shape well even after being stewed and unlike regular button mushrooms, they actually impart a flavor which is earthy and subtle and perfect. Once the mushrooms have been weakened by the cooking, give them the wine to regain themselves. This should sizzle and wake them up nicely, then they too go into the waiting soup pot. Next comes the bullion, parsley, pepper, 2 quarts of water, and the cubed potatoes. Everything gets boiled until the potatoes are soft and edible (this should be an easier job to do than discerning the edible parts of a leek).


Viola. Serve to the one you love and rejoice- it’s for real.