Quinoa Salad, Falafel & Aero Garden

Although I have been cooking lots of great things lately, this week has just been so busy! Classes for work, doctors appointments and a leaky roof are just some of the things that have been occupying my time. Extra effort was put into making sure we had a healthy dinner every night however and I've got some great new recipes to share.

First of all - check out the Aero Garden on day 14:

It's a kitchen jungle! I still have not sampled anything but I've got my eye on that basil...

Now onto the recipes. Last week we had a little family get together and I brought a salad to share. Surprise, surprise - it was from my Quinoa 365 book! It's good for vegetarians, celiacs and those with lactose intolerance (all of whom were at this particular family get together):

Quinoa Chickpea Salad

2cups vegetable stock

1cup quinoa

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 pepper)

1/3cup dried cranberries

1/3cup chopped walnuts

3tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Bring the stock and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for 4 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and mix in the chickpeas, red pepper, cranberries, walnuts and parsley. Chill before serving. Stays fresh in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

The next recipe I wanted to share came from a book a co-worker brought to my attention called "The Gluten Free Bible":

While I have enjoyed the odd falafel pita in the past, I had never attempted to make them. This particular recipe also included a recipe for a tomato sauce to be served on top but I chose to just make the falafel:

Falafel Nuggets

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2cup rice flour

1/2cup chopped parsley

1 egg

Juice of 1 lemon (or squirt of lemon juice)

1/4cup minced onion

2tbsp minced garlic

2tsp ground cumin

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp ground red pepper or red pepper flakes

1/2cup canola oil (*I did not use this as I used the "variation" method to reduce fat content. I will write both methods however)

Preheat oven to 400F. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or parchment paper).

Combine chickpeas, rice flour, parsley, egg, lemon juice, minced onion, garlic, cumin, salt and red pepper in food processor or blender; process until well blended. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls.

(This is not the method I used) Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry falafel in batches until browned. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet; bake 8-10 minutes. 

*Variation Cooking Method - Falafel can also be baked completely to reduce the fat content. Spray the falafel lightly with nonstick cooking spray and bake 15-20 minutes, turning once. 

Once I had made these, I wasn't too sure what to do with them. Apparently they're good in salads or even as a sandwich filler. I enjoyed just eating them as is for a quick snack. 

For one meal this week, I threw them in the wok for some protein with my veggies. Expecting them to just crumble, I was happily surprised when they held their shape and acted like a little meatball! There is such great flavor in these little things and they are a wonderful source of protein for those of us who don't get enough of it from meat. 

MY REVIEW: Two good recipes I know I will make again. 

JASON'S REVIEW: Jason is currently removing the iceberg featured in the major motion picture "Titanic" from our roof. Perhaps you've seen it? It's safe to say he liked both meals as they were both happily consumed. 

Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup with Quinoa

I promise to make something without quinoa tomorrow! I just can't get enough of this Quinoa 365 book. So many fantastic looking recipes in there. I just about made a quinoa chickpea salad to go with this soup but figured that would be overkill. Here is the soup I made this evening:

Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup with Quinoa
2 large sweet potatoes (I used 1 large and I can't imagine how thick this would be with 2!)
2tbsp water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup quinoa
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup coconut milk
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
1/4tsp chili powder
1/4cup plain yogurt (optional) (I didn't have any)

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes and cut in 2-3" chunchs. Boil for 5-6 minutes until just soft but not mushy.

Place the water and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until the onion softens, about 7 minutes. Stir in the quinoa and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked.

Add the sweet potato to the saucepan. Puree the mixture with a hand blender. Return to low heat and stir in the coconut milk. Reheat slowly on low, adding the cayenne and chili powder. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with a spoonful of yogurt (if using).

To go with this soup I made salad with a new salad dressing. I halved a recipe that came from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. I mostly was excited to use the newest ingredient in my pantry which is agave nectar! My salad consisted of lettuce and cucumbers but the dressing made it special ....

2tbsp agave nectar
2tbsp dijon mustard
1/3cup olive oil
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove minced
salt & pepper


MY REVIEW: The soup was damn thick! A bowl will fill you right up. If you're not the largest fan of coconut, fear not. It's not an overwhelming flavor. I really liked the little bit of spice the cayenne added and just the overall simplicity of the recipe. There was no sauteing the onions in butter so this recipe is 100% lactose free as well (assuming you skip the yogurt).  I didn't even have to add any salt or pepper - the natural flavors were enough. Great salad dressing too - even with half the recipe there's quite a bit left over. I just mixed it up in a mason jar and will keep it in the fridge.

JASON'S REVIEW: It was fabulous. I couldn't guess the ingredients - the flavors stood on their own.

Quinoa Salad & Carrot Soup

Wow, it's been a while! I can't really come up with any clever excuses... I've been cooking a lot of the same recipes lately I guess. This whole gluten free thing is here to stay it seems. I found a new magazine at the library called "Living Without" and it's a gluten free magazine believe it or not! There are lots of dairy free recipes as well, in addition to articles on celiacs, allergies and food sensitivities. Not for everyone, but I found it damn interesting. It was in that very magazine that I found the recipe for this quinoa salad. It originally was called "Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas and Mint" but I made it without the chickpeas and mint due to lack of ingredients. Here it is, as written:

Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas & Mint
1 cup quinoa, thoroughly rinsed
4 small tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4cup kalamata olives
2 cans chickpeas or white beans, rinsed and drained (I wish I had some of these and I usually do! I will add them next time)
1/2cup fresh mint leaves (didn't have any mint leaves)
3 ounces goats feta cheese or dairy-free cheese replacement, optional (I had cow feta)

1. Cook quinoa in plently of gently boiling water for about 12 to 15 minutes or until it softens. Tip quinoa into fine sieve, make several steam holes through it with a skewer and let it drain.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half. Remove the cores and seeds. Chop flesh coarsley. Set aside.
3. Mix the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooked quinoa, black olives and chickpeas.
4. Just before serving, add the tomatoes and mint. Crumble the feta, if using, into the salad. Toss gently and serve.

Next... carrot soup!

I did a quick internet search and this was the first carrot soup recipe that popped up. Here's where I found the original recipe and here is the recipe:

Laura's Carrot Soup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups) (I only had half)
1 rib celery, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large potato, skin on, chopped
4 cups hot water
4 teaspoons instant bouillon (or 1 bouillon cube)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground dill
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 cups skim milk (I only had about 1 cup)

Sauté garlic, onion and celery in butter until tender in a Dutch oven (or a big old pot). Add remaining ingredients except milk. Bring to a boil and cook until carrots are tender, 30 – 40 minutes.

Purée in small batches in a blender or food processor (I used the immersion blender). Return mixture to the cooking pan. Add milk, heat through and serve immediately.

MY REVIEW: It feels good to try something new and share it with you guys! Both of these recipes were great. I would most definitely make the quinoa salad again but this time adding the chickpeas - I'm not sold on the mint though.  The soup was fantastic and easy to make. Give it a try.

JASON'S REVIEW: It tasted like a garlicy fairy was dancing and my tongue and it was very delicious.

A few things this weekend

I'm a little behind in my blog writing but lets start with Saturday morning. It's a rare occasion that we have a fancy breakfast. If it's during the week, it would only be for someones birthday. Sometimes on the weekends though I'll wake up in a cooking mood. Yesterday was one of those rare mornings!

No fancy recipes here. Scrambled eggs full of veggies - zucchini, orange pepper, mushroom & onion. I made some crispy dill potatoes too. After much trial and error I've found *what I think* is the best method for making crispy hash-brown-like potatoes. After boiling them until they're tender, I put the potatoes in the oven with some olive oil and dill and cook them for another 15 minutes or so at 400. The secret is to use the convect setting on the oven though! It leaves the inside soft while crisping up the outside.

I "toasted" some gluten-free bread in the oven as well. It's just easier if both Jason and I are eating the same bread and using the same knife so I treated him to some amazing Udi white bread. 

My mom purchased this bread for me first and it's honestly better than any gluten-filled bread I've ever had. I'm hooked on the plain white bread which is usually not what I go for - but damn. It tastes like it was just baked. I've also tried the blueberry muffins which were awesome.

We also had chai tea!

JASON'S REVIEW: That was the best start to the day I've had in a long time. The potatoes tasted like sweet tuber heaven.
MY REVIEW: I agree with Jason.. except for the tuber part?

Now moving right along to Saturday evening. I had wanted to make skewers but the skewer sticks are temporarily missing. Instead, we used our little grill bowl to make veggies on the BBQ.
A little olive oil with salt and pepper is all I added to these vegetables.
JASON'S REVIEW: They were tasty. 
MY REVIEW: The fresh pineapple was my favorite. The salt & pepper do not ruin the flavor.

Last, but not least, this evening we had a fantastic meal. I found some gluten free butter chicken sauce that comes in a jar. It's a lite sauce as well and for some reason can't find it on the Sharwood website - but you can find it at Safeway.

I can no longer find the recipe that inspired this salad so don't give me FULL credit for it! Here's what's in it:

mixed greens
2 sliced pears
crumbled gorgonzola cheese
dried cranberries
walnut pieces

Dressing
rice vinegar
olive oil
lemon juice
salt
pepper

Again, no measurements. I hope nobody just skims over my vague recipes and refuses to try them because I never write measurements. Tell me if you do! Please? I'll try harder.

MY REVIEW: I am on such a moldy cheese kick! This was great. Rice vinegar worked very will on this salad too.

JASON'S REVIEW: He's doing laundry so I don't want to bother him anymore. He liked it! He probably thought it was tasty!

Quinoa Salad

This evening I had my mom and dad over for supper. We made some turkey burgers... basically the same ingredients as my Feta Stuffed Meatloaf but I just mixed the feta right in with everything. I was a little concerned that they wouldn't stay together on the grill but the cornmeal did bind it together very well.

To go with our burgers I made the same Caesar Salad Dressing from last night - this time Jason BBQ'd some bacon to sprinkle on top for those of us who could indulge.

Although it's nice to stick with recipes you know when someone is coming over for dinner, I really wanted to try making a quinoa salad. It seems to be the ultimate food for a celiac/vegetarian and I happened to have a bag of it in the pantry. As I'm finding with most recipes lately, there's always something I can't have so I just end up making my own creation. Here's my quinoa salad creation:

Quinoa Salad
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
3 cups water
chopped english cucumber
2 chopped roma tomatoes
1/4 of an avocado (you can use more assuming you'll actually have a ripe one! I cut up a bit of mine but it sadly, it was pretty hard still so I put the rest in the fridge)

half a can of chickpeas, rinsed 

chopped dill

chopped parsley

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

splash of olive oil

a couple squirts of lime juice 

To cook the quinoa, put it in a pot with the water and bring to a boil on the stove. Once it reaches a boil turn the heat to low, cover and let rest for about 20 minutes. When you take the lid off you will be SHOCKED to find it has doubled in size and it will need to be fluffed with a fork. Let it cool before adding all of your chopped veggies, chickpeas, spices and oil. I do apologize for the lack of measurements. I just kept adding things and tasting until it was good so you will have to do the same!

This made a whole lot of quinoa.... like we're talking it could have fed probably 8 people. So cut it down if you're not feeding that many people but I do think the leftovers are going to make a fabulous lunch. I also left some of the quinoa aside so I could make another cold salad this week. In case you're wondering what that dark pupley blue thing is in the corner - we roasted some blue bird peppers and had a piece left over so I threw it in the mix for our lunches.

MY REVIEW: This was delicious! Things have been turning out lately when I just trust my instinct and go with the flow.  Eating gluten free forces you to create your own recipes and improvise and it's been kind of fun. I was happy to share a new seed with my family tonight!

JASON'S REVIEW: A tasty melange. 

Warm Beet Salad, Ceasar Salad & Sangrias

I have made sangrias before but can't seem to find my own post on it so I'll share it again! You can adapt this recipe to use any fruits you have in the fridge but here's what I used:

Sangria
1 bottle red wine
splash of cointreau
approx. 1tbsp sugar
lime slices
lemon juice
blueberries
strawberries
raspberries
1 bottle tonic water

Combine everything except the tonic water and let sit in the fridge as long as you can. Mine was only in there for a few hours but I know some recipes recommend overnight. When you're ready to serve, fill your glass half full of the sangria mixture and top off with tonic water.

 I know last time I made this I used gingerale instead of tonic but I preferred the tonic as it wasn't so sweet. The good thing about this recipe is you can use the cheapest red wine you can find and it will still taste fabulous. All the colors and fruits just remind me of summer. I have also made a white wine sangria before, in just the same way, but prefer the taste of red better.

We BBQ'd some Freybe Sausages for dinner last night - turkey chicken with tequila and habanero peppers! They had a nice heat to them and the best part was the reading this off their website:

"Prepared in our spotless, state-of-the-art facility, our expert meisters draw on six generations of knowledge, craftsmanship and care; using only the finest ingredients to create award-winning deli meats of the highest quality for your family. Gluten and lactose free (except for British Bangers, Cheese Smokies, and Parmesano Salami), Freybe products are healthy choices with no artificial flavors."

To go with the sausages, I wanted to use some of the veggies from our garden. We have some beautiful heads of romaine so I started searching for a gluten free Caesar salad recipe. I ended up using one from a Jean Pare book and simply left out the Worcestershire sauce. I halved the recipe for the 2 of us:

Ceasar Salad Dressing
1/2cup grated Parmesan cheese
1.5tbsp oil oil
1.5tbsp sour cream
0.5tbsp white (or red) wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
0.5tsp lemon juice
0.5tsp Worcestershire sauce (omit if you're eating gluten free)
garlic salt
pepper

Combine all ingredients and let chill for 10 minutes to blend flavors. At this point, if it wasn't approx 30 degrees Celsius in your kitchen, I'm sure you could fry up some bacon or make some croutons for a real Caesar salad. If you find yourself melting from the heat however, just serve it as is and it will still taste great!

Our beets are  doing better this year than ever before! I made another original recipe after reading a bunch online and never having ALL the right ingredients. Here's what I came up with:

Beet & Beet Green Salad with a Walnut Vinegrette and Feta
4 medium sized beets & greens
walnut oil (this was purchased at the Italian Market for $7.99 and is 100% walnuts!)
balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

walnut pieces
feta cheese

Make a dressing using equal parts walnut oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and put to the side.

Cut the greens off your beets and set aside. Cut each beet in half lengthwise and set in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Fill the dish with water so it's just covering the beets and cover with aluminum foil (or a lid). Cook in the oven for about 30-40 minutes at 400F, convection. Once you can easily poke with a knife, they're done. Splash them with cold water and now you can EASILY remove the skin! *Using this method of cooking and peeling produced the best cooked beets I've ever made*

At this point, mix your beet greens with about half the dressing and wilt in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes. Chop into smaller pieces and spread out on a plate. Top with chunks of the beet and drizzle the remaining dressing over top of this. Sprinkle feta cheese and walnut pieces to finish.

MY REVIEW: This was a hugely filling dinner. The beets weren't as bursting with flavor as I expected but still very good. I will forever cook my beets in that way as they were done to perfection. The Caesar salad dressing was very good as one would expect with so much cheese! Sangria has become a summer staple and it was just perfect on such a hot day.

JASON'S REVIEW: It was fabulous. The salad was crunchy and delicious. The ceasar was also fabulous. I'd eat the weiners again. The sangria was delicious.

Colorful Salad and Gluten Free Pasta

We started off dinner with another salad today. This one had tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, feta & basil. The last tomato salad I made had a lot of liquid pooled in the bottom when I took it in my lunch the next day. This time, I scraped out the seeds and the insides before chopping it up. Is this common knowledge?? It seemed to work better... we'll see how lunch goes tomorrow.

On to the main attraction! G-free pasta with zucchini, mushroom and shrimp. I found this pasta at 'Nutters' in Canmore this past weekend. It's pretty damn special:

That's right - pumpkin, ginger & rice noodles. These noodles were much better than the g-free pasta I tried last week for spaghetti. They were so delicate and the flavor was not overwhelming. I sauteed mushrooms, zucchini, olive oil, lemon juice and some ground ginger together to add to the pasta. I also threw in some shrimp for myself and cooked a chicken breast to add to Jason's pasta:

MY REVIEW: I'm so glad I found this pasta and I will definitely stock up next time I have the chance. It was around $3 per package which is cheap for gluten free stuff. There was nothing missing from this meal - nothing I would have added had I been able to add anything under the sun. I think that's a gluten-free success

JASON'S REVIEW: Jason is currently washing his bike and has not even TRIED this fabulous meal. If he reads my blog tonight, he'll leave a comment about how good it was.

Watermelon Salad with your choice of Pork or Fish

Tonight I made a really strange salad. It had watermelon cubes, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. I've seen it around on the internet and it usually includes mint as well. I opted out of the mint because sometimes I feel like mint tasting things = toothpaste tasting things.

MY REVIEW: This didn't exactly blow my mind but it was ok. The watermelon was juicy and sweet  and you really can't go wrong with feta. The pieces that were soaked in balsamic vinegar at the bottom were a little... interesting. You really need to try it for yourself I guess!

JASON'S REVIEW: This was unlike anything I've ever tasted before... ever..

Accompanying this strange salad was some plain rice, steamed brocoli, fish for me and pork with sweet potatoes and mushroom gravy for Jason.  I'm stuffed.

Visit to the Farmers Market & Kale Chips!

We took a trip to the City Center Farmers Market today. Before we even got home we ate an entire container of HUGE raspberries in addition to a bag of blueberries. I always have a hard time purchasing raspberries because I know in a few weeks my Grandmas garden will be absolutely overflowing with sweet red berries that she gives away to anyone willing to pick them (in bucketfuls). These raspberries, however, were freakishly huge, bright red and perhaps perfect. I managed to take a picture with my phone of one of them before the whole container was gone:

 Here's the rest of our market purchases:

A bag of radishes.. these must be in season right now as they were at all the veggie booths we passed. I'm not a fan of the super tangy radishes but these were very mild. Yum

One long sweet red pepper. It was a toss up between this one and a purple pepper, which I've never tried. This one won the competition due to aroma. 

A little container of mixed tomatoes. There was one super funky one in the package:

Flavor-wise, it was not that funky. Pretty much your average tomato but perhaps a little more firm than the others. In case you're curious, here's what the inside looked like:

In addition to what's pictured, and the eaten berries, we also got some mini cucumbers. We had plans of a major salad for dinner.

From our very own garden we picked lettuce, spinach, kale & some tiny beets with the greens:

Chef Jason was set up at the vegetable chopping station:

While he was busy chopping I steamed the beets, made salad dressing and began my experiment for the night. I've read so much about kale chips and how easy & additive they are. For quite some time now I've been wanting to try them. I didn't exactly follow a recipe but here's what you need to make them how I did:

kale leaves, washed and ripped into bite size pieces
olive oil
kosher salt
parmasean cheese

So what I did was toss my kale leaves in a bit of olive oil, kosher salt and some parmesan cheese. I spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cooked them for ABOUT 12 minutes at 375F... just until they were crispy when I moved them around the pan. Here they are:

And the ever so colorful salad once it was finished:

MY REVIEW: The kale chips were bizzare but good. They kind of turned to dust in your mouth but had an interesting flavor and texture that I would make again. Definitely a good snacking substitute for chips! Very easy to make. I loved the salad and was once again reminded that veggies from your own garden taste so much better than any other veggie.

JASON'S REVIEW: The kale chips were melt in my mouth magic. The salad was an epic win for vegetables everywhere.

Garden Salad

First salad of the season with lettuce fresh from the garden. It was dee-lish-ous. It had tomatoes, red onion, orange pepper, cucumber and fresh chives. I layed it all out inside a little cold asparagus "log cabin". Lately I've been experimenting with making salad dressings consisting of olive oil and a mixture of herbs and sprices. Today I used kosher salt, fresh ground pepper & minced oregano. It was decent. To go with it, tuna with fresh dill, a little mayo and cut up cucumber.

This meal has gotten me excited for more meals fresh from the garden. Early next week the kale should be ready and the spinach is popping up fast. Yum!

Creamy Dijon-Dill Potato Salad

This weekend consisted of back-to-back BBQ's - one attended and one hosted. For both, I made this potato salad. It had such great reviews on the Food Network site and now has great reviews from Jason and I as well! Although I'm not a fan of straight up dijon mustard, I am finding that I really love it in sauces and salads. The recipe also includes some good tips you can use for any potato salad. Here it is:

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup tightly packed chopped fresh dill
• 1 to 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (I just used a squirt of lemon juice)
• 1 tablespoon grainy or regular Dijon mustard

Directions

Put the potatoes in a big pot with enough water to cover by 1-inch. Season with salt and bring the water to a boil. Cook just until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the uncovered pot off the heat. Let them sit until almost room temperature. (Cooling them in the warm pot will get rid of any excess water in the potatoes, and that's good.)


Meanwhile, cut the white parts off the ends of the celery stalks. Cut the stalks in half lengthwise, then across into 1/4-inch slices. Stir the celery, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and the remaining ingredients together in a serving bowl large enough to hold all the potatoes.


When they're cool, cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces, add them to the bowl as you go. Stir gently until all the potatoes are coated with dressing. You can make the salad up to a couple of hours in advance. Keep covered at room temperature. Don't refrigerate or the potatoes will lose their rich, smooth texture.

JASON'S REVIEW: It was delicious and nutritious.

Pesto Pasta Salad

I found this great recipe on another blog and made it to bring to a BBQ this evening. Very quick to make and I think it would even taste good warmed up (which we might try with the leftovers tomorrow). I doubled it for a large group but here's the recipe as written:

Ingredients:

8 oz box of penne pasta
1 cup of homemade pesto or store bought.
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
1.5 cups of frozen sweet peas
1 cup of artichoke hearts, quartered
*Optional: 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a small bowl mix pesto sauce and mayonnaise together and set aside.
Prepare penne pasta according to package instructions to al dente.  Drain pasta well and toss  in a large bowl.  Add frozen peas to pasta and toss with pesto dressing until everything is well mixed and coated.
Gently fold in artichoke hearts and allow the salad to cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before serving.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese prior to serving. Enjoy!

I will leave you with some photos taken in my own backyard.  A sure sign summer is right around the corner....