Quinoa, Leek, and Corn Chowder

Today was the first day that really felt like autumn was here. There seemed to be a lot more leaves on the ground than yesterday and a jacket was necessary. This put me in the mood for some thick and hearty soup. I found this recipe in my much loved Quinoa 365 cookbook:

Quinoa, Leek, and Corn Chowder

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced leek (white part only)
1/2 cup qunioa
3 cups frozen corn
2 cups vegetable broth
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
5 saffron threads

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion and leek until the onion is tender and opaque, about 7 minutes. Add the quinoa and 2 cups of the corn; set aside the remaining corn to thaw. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the corn partially thaws. Add a few drops of the broth to keep it from sticking to the saucepan, if necessary.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is completely cooked. Remove from the heat. Puree the cooked mixture with a hand blender or cool slightly and puree in 2 batches in a blender or food processor.

Return the mixture to low heat. Add the remaining 1 cup of corn and the red pepper, black pepper, cayenne, saffron and salt. Reheat and stir. Serve immediately. The soup can be stored in a seal container in the refrigerator for 2 days.

REVIEW: This was so filling! I followed the recipe exactly as shown, apart from the fresh chives sprinkled on top.  I would make this again and it's very simple to make. Nothing fancy but a really great flavor with a hint of spice.

Bean & Quinoa Chili with Corn Souffle

I have 2 brand new, vegetarian and gluten free recipes to share today! With Jason's help chopping tonight, we were able to whip this healthy meal up in about an hour. Here's me seriously whipping:

From the June/July edition of "Living Without", I made Bean and Quinoa Chili:

Bean & Quinoa Chili
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 stalks celery, washed and sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2tsp chili powder
1 can Italian tomatoes, crushed
1tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1cup quinoa, thoroughly tinsed
1 can navy beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Put onion, garlic and celery in a saucepan with the olive oil. Cook gently for 10 minutes or until vegetables soften. Stir in the chili powder and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, saly and pepper and bring to a coil. Cook sauce gently for 25 minutes or until pulpy.
2. Cook quinoa
3. Add drained beans to the tomato sauce and cook for a minute or two. Stir in parsley.
4. Divide quinoa into individual serving bowls and spoon chili on top of quinoa.

Our second dish of the night was from the same library book I've been using lately....

 Corn Souffle
1 17ounce can whole kernel corn
3/4cup (approx.) milk or non dairy liquid
1/4cup butter or margerine (I used just a teeny square)
1/3cup cornmeal
3 eggs, seperated
1/2tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 to 3 tablespoons bell pepper (I used orange)
3 to 4 sliced green onions

Preheat the oven to 375.
Drain the corn, saving the liqiod. Add the milk to the liquid to measure 1 1/2cups. In a saucepan combine the milk mixture and margerine and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the cornmeal. Bring back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
To the egg yolks, add the baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper, bell pepper, onions, and corn. Stir the corn mixture into the cooked meal. Fold in the egg whites (As I type this, I realize we reversed the egg whites and yolks in this step and it worked out just fine). Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 quart casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and set.

MY REVIEW: Both dishes were great. The corn souffle tasted more like a breakfast or brunch item than a replacement for corn bread, but still good! You may notice we used red quinoa today inside of the regular stuff.... you prepare it the same and I couldn't taste much of a difference

JASON'S REVIEW: Everything was delicious and I feel 5 years younger.

Chicken in White Wine Sauce with Herbed Corn on the Cob & Dill Potatoes

I made a kind of fancy dinner tonight just because I had the time (and I've been itching to cook something amazing/have leftover wine to drink ever since I saw Julie and Julia). The pictures are severely bland looking!
So I have never cooked corn on the cob before. Jason has made it on the BBQ but I have never made it myself. So I looked up "corn on the cob" just looking for the basics really - boiling time and whatnot. Nothing fancy! I came across this recipe for Herbed Corn on the Cob that I could just not pass up:

Ingredients:
* 4 ears corn, silked and husked (i made 3 because we had 3. Perhaps the typewriter we eat with every night will want one?)
* 1-2 tablespoon butter, melted (your preference to the amount used)
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon dried sage (thought we didn't have any of this so I left it out - moments after I wrapped the cobs up i found it in the pantry! boo)
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* aluminum foil

1. Preheat oven to 400F or 210°C.
2. In a small bowl, combine butter and dried ingredients.
3. Place corn in aluminium foil and brush corn with herbed butter.
4. Wrap up well and put in oven for about 20 mins or so.
5. Enjoy.

To go with this corn I wanted to find a chicken recipe that had WINE in it. I found this recipe for Chicken in White Wine Sauce:

Ingredients:
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 4 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts (i only made 2 but didn't change anything else in the recipe)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil (I used our great new olive oil spray bottle from Jason's sister! Didn't have to use this much olive oil at all)
* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 cup dry white wine (I don't know if it's "dry"... I just used our own home brew)
* 4 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a shallow dish.
3. Dredge chicken in flour mixture.
4. Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
5. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned.
6. Add broth and wine.
7. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.
8. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.
9. Sprinkle with cheese.

To go with all that, I just boiled some potatoes and mixed in margarine and fresh dill. Jason contributed a lovely garden salad as well.

JASON'S REVIEW: You can't go wrong with protein and carbs and delicious veggies. 10/10.

MY REVIEW: The corn was very good! I'd make it again. The chicken... I don't know. Maybe I didn't leave it in on the stove long enough with the flour mixture. I'd never done chicken like that before so it could have been my fault but once it was done, it seemed to have a kind of gooey coating on it which was the flour. Sadly, I don't think I would make it again.

Chicken in Wine

Tonight I tried something from the Jean Pare "Light Casseroles" cook book. It is chicken in white wine sauce with mushrooms. I don't really cook chicken all that often so it was a nice treat. Now that we make our own wine, we've always got bottles kicking around so I can finally make the recipes that call for wine! To go with the chicken, I just put some canned corn and chopped up green olives together with a lemon dill spice for a cold salad. As well, I put some pre-dipped veggies on the plate. I love those little stainless steel bowls! Here's the chicken recipe:

2lbs boneless chicken breasts, skin and fat removed (I only had chicken thighs and not 2lbs worth either)
1can cream of mushroom soup
2cups button mushrooms (I had brown mushrooms that I chopped up and definitely not 2 cups!)
1/2cup white wine
Pepper
Paprika

Arrange chicken in 3L casserole.

Stir remaining ingredients in a bowl. Spoon over top. Bake, covered, in 350F oven for about 1 hour until tender.

MY REVIEW: I liked this. You can see in the picture that the sauce was pretty runny but very flavorful. The only thing about cooking with wine is it never makes the house smell good like when I make other things in the oven. Maybe it's just me though. I liked it and would make it again with more mushrooms!

JASONS REVIEW: 4 out of 5. It was tasty however he would have preferred chicken breasts. (I'm creating a picky connoisseur!)