Quinoa and Vegetables

Well now, it's been a while!

I actually thought I might be done here and ready for the publishing phase of all this, in regard to the cookbook series I had envisioned. I've been dragging my feet though. I don't have any of the original photos, since this blog began in 2010. Nor did I have the foresight to designate, in some way, which recipes I'd want to memorialize in cookbook fashion. Hard to remember specific recipes, when some of them could have happened 14 years ago, especially when I've posted over 1,980 of them to date. . .

So. . .I'm thinking I might be turning the page, or fast-forwarding to the next chapter, and focusing on next level, healthier recipes. I know, you might be thinking, with a blog named Slow Food—Healthy Food, that would already be happening. Yes, for the most part, that's the case. However, I'm now feeling strongly that I need to narrow that focus on more plant-based, really healthy creations. I'm not vegan or vegetarian, yet, although that could happen. There will be some recipes with animal protein, but just weed through those if you've taken that plunge. So here's to a bit of A New Beginning! 😃 (as always. . .if you need a recipe to follow, type in a couple key words in the search bar at the top left)

1/4c quinoa - light brown or tri-colored

1/2c fresh cold water

3-5 BIG Brussels sprouts - sliced

1 med. organic carrot - rough-chopped

1/4 big onion - chopped

1 colorful mini pepper - sliced

Put all the ingredients in a 2qt., covered pot. Simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until the quinoa 'sprouts' and the water evaporates. Add a bit more water if needed. Season with your favorite seasoning and stir in 2T single-source EVOO, some apple cider or rice wine vinegar. Makes one big serving. . .Lin

Yet Another Red Bean-Quinoa Tabouli 😃

3/4c dry quinoa 

1c small dry red beans

Cook those according to directions then combine them in a big glass bowl with the following:

1/2 bunch - 1 bunch Italian flat leaf -or- curly parsley

1/2 - 1 med. rough peeled cucumber

2 grated carrots

3 big garlic cloves

4 green onions

2 ripe tomatoes

1/2 - 3/4c EVOO

1/4c white wine vinegar

zest and juice of 1 lemon

a little fresh snipped Genovese basil 

fresh ground black pepper

cayenne pepper

garlic salt

Chop, slice all of the above. Combine and let stand an hour or so to blend the flavors. Serve with chopped-sliced Kalamata olives, sliced avocado and crumbled feta cheese.

This is one of THE healthiest salads you can ever serve the people you love! Make it often! . .Lin

Quinoa and Vegetables

This made 2 servings, in the amount shown.  For me, one tonight and another tomorrow for lunch.  If you want this as a side dish, it would make 3-4 servings.

• 1/3-1/2c tri-colored quinoa
• 2 med. carrots
• 1c± water
• 1 big clove of garlic
• 1 5"-6" clump of broccoli
• 1/3c Italian, Greek or Moroccan EVOO
• a big shake of Lemon Pepper seasoning

Slice the carrots and put them and the quinoa in a 2 quart pot. Add water, cover, and simmer 10 minutes or until the quinoa sprout little tails. Turn down the heat and add sliced garlic and broccoli florets. Once everything begins to steam, cover and set the timer for 5 minutes.  Stir in EVOO, garnish  and serve. . .Lin

Beets Greens and Grains with Feta

a bunch of beets and their greens

¾ chopped walnuts

1-2T butter

1c of quinoa blend*

2c cold filtered water

2±T BTB soup base in cooking water

1 lg. leek - sliced

crumbled feta cheese

Pick a bunch of healthy looking beets with good tops.  Cut off the tops, at the base of the stems, set aside the stems and tops.  Scrub the beets, don't peel them, but cut off any bad areas.  Slice and wash the greens and stems in your salad spinner.  (You do have one right?  If not I recommend the Progressive brand spinner sold for under $10 at Walmart - excellent!)  

In a 2-3 quart pot, dry toast the walnuts.  When their nutty scent is released and they're lightly browned, remove from the heat.  After this cools just a bit, add the grains and butter.  *I decided against the sorghum in the original picture and used the quinoa, millet and buckwheat shown here.  Stir this together, turn on the heat and add water, a little at a time for a few minutes.  Add the remaining water and soup base.  Cook this about 8 minutes before adding the leek slices.  Simmer over low heat until all the water is absorbed.

Okay, back to the beets!  While the grains are simmering, cut the beets into ½" cubes and simmer, in a little water, in a covered pan, until they start to soften.  Add the chopped-sliced stems and greens and simmer, covered.  When the beets and stems are tender, drain the liquid.  (Use this later for a dark soup base, or give it to your dogs with their dry food!)

Combine the beets, greens and the grain mixture in a casserole dish.  Top with crumbled feta cheese.  Cover until the cheese melts a bit.  This is a great vegetarian main dish, or as a side to meat, chicken or fish.  

Remember, food that goes down red, often comes out red!

This is caused by betanin, in purple-red beets  which is similar to the beta carotene, responsible for the orange color in carrots.  If this happens. . .don't be alarmed. 😉 Lin

Vegetable Quinoa and White Rice + Butter Poached Lobster

1c quinoa and white rice mix

1T tuscan flavored olive oil

1T butter

½t finely ground black pepper

1T fresh ground garlic sea salt

1c chopped celery

1c chopped purple onion

1⅓c julienned-chopped carrots

3 lg. cloved garlic - finely minced

2-2½c water or low sodium broth

several celery heart tops - snipped

Saute' and stir the first group of ingredients together until everything's snapping and the grains are smelling nutty 😊  Stay with it so it doesn't burn.  Add the next group of ingredients, stir and when they sizzle and continue to snap, after a few minutes add about half a cup of the liquid.  When that's cooking well, stir in the remaining liquid and simmer 15-20 minutes on medium-low heat, or until it's all absorbed.  Keep covered and remove from heat.  Let stand another 10 to finish hydrating the grains.

Butter Poached Lobster

I got a great deal on a lobster tail recently.  It's one of my guilty-pleasure-weaknesses!  I've never like the conventional way of cooking it, and found this works well for me.  If frozen, thaw the lobster completely.  Cut away the shell with kitchen shears, then cut the meat into a few smaller pieces.  Clean and put on paper towel to absorb the water.

Put these ingredients in a small frying pan:

2T± butter
2T± water
2lg garlic cloves - sliced
⅓ frozen - grated lemon *
1t garlic sea salt
½t black pepper
¾t dry dill

8-12oz. cleaned lobster meat

Combine and simmer the first group of ingredients while stirring occasionally.  Bring to a good steady simmer and after 4-5 minutes, add the chunks of lobster.  Cover and continue to simmer 8-10 minutes, turning the lobster at least once.  Cut into a thicker piece and make sure it's white all the way through and not translucent in the center.  Plate the lobster and cover to keep warm.  Increase heat and boil away the moisture.  



Toward the end, you could add a dollop of sour cream or a splash of half and half it you'd like.  Pour the lemon butter sauce over the lobster.  Once in a while, it's really nice to make a special dinner like this for someone you love, or even. . .Just For You 😀 . . . Lin

Quinoa, Beans and Vegetables

½c quinoa - red, white or multi-colored

½ med.-lg. onion - chopped

3 celery stalks - chopped

2 lg. carrots - julienned then chopped

2T butter

salt and pepper or seasoned salt

Sauté all the above in a medium pan or pot.  When everything's browning a little and becoming translucent, add 1-2c water, white wine, chicken or vegetable broth.  Simmer half an hour or more.  Add 1 can drained and rinsed beans.  Black beans, cannelloni, or garbanzos.  This makes a great high protein accompaniment to a steak, sautéed shrimp, chicken or lamb chop, or as a vegetarian entree.  

Quinoa-Rice Avocado Tabouli

Pilaf:

1c of a quinoa-rice blend

2T Italian Herb olive oil

1/2 finely chopped onion

1 very large garlic clove - minced

2T dried parsley

2c water

Dressing:

2 very ripe avocados

1/2c Italian Herb olive oil

2 lg cloves of garlic - minced

2 limes - zest and juice

2T coriander (cilantro) chutney

2T basil pesto

a little water if needed

4 med. tomatoes cubed

2 mini English cucumbers

1/2 lg. Vidalia onion - chopped

2 cans black beans - drain and rinse

2 cans corn - drained

2-4T dried parsley

1/2c fresh snipped parsley

In a 2qt. pot, combine quinoa-rice, olive oil, onion and garlic over med-high heat, stirring often.  When this mixture is browning and aromatic, add water, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until water is absorbed.  Transfer to a large glass bowl.  Mash the avocados in a medium bowl or flat-bottomed pot.  Add all the remaining ingredients and let the flavors blend while chopping the vegetables.  Put all the vegetable ingredients in with the pilaf.  Mix carefully, with a wooden spoon, so as not to mash the rice.

When the rice and vegetables are combined, pour the dressing over all and again, mix carefully.  This makes a very big bowl.  This would be good for a picnic, barbecue, or just to make ahead for the next week of lunches.  To prevent it from becoming soggy, you could store the pilaf and vegetables separate from the dressing until just before serving.  The quinoa and beans elevate the protein content of this vegan dish. . .Lin

Quinoa And Vegetables

1c quinoa

2c vegetable broth

3-4c kale

1/2 sweet potato

4 green onions

1 lg. clove elephant garlic

1 med. tomato

1/3 lg. green pepper - optional

1 piece of turmeric root - grated

fresh ground black pepper

Quinoa is thought to be one of the healthiest grains.  It's actually a seed, but very healthy nonetheless.  People who are sensitive to gluten can eat this with no problem.  It's an excellent source of protein.  Cook the quinoa according to package directions.  Chop and add all the vegetables while quinoa is simmering.

Cover and continue to simmer on low until all the broth is absorbed.  Serve with chopped fresh vegetables or some whole grain WASA crackers.  Or both.  :-) . . . Lin   

Quinoa - Not Just A Side Dish Anymore - It's What's For Breakfast!

For each serving:  Actually, after making this I realized, it's a lot!  More like 2 small servings.

1/4c slivered almonds

1/4c quinoa

2/3c water

a handful of craisins or raisins

So simple yet such a great breakfast!  Put the almonds in a pan over medium heat to toast.  When their color changes to a light brown, add the quinoa and shake.  Watch closely so the almonds don't burn.

Shake occasionally and listen for the quinoa to snap.  After several minutes, remove from heat and cool just a minute.  Add water and crasins, cover and simmer on low for several minutes until water evaporates.  Turn off heat and just let all the ingredients hang out together until the quinoa sprouts little tails.  It's ready!  Add a sprinkle of raw sugar, or a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and a pat of butter if you like.  Such a great way to start your day and it takes almost no time. . .Lin

Beany Quinoa Salad

1-1/2c quinoa
3c water
3 carrots - scrubbed and chopped
8 green onions - scallions - sliced
1/2 med. onion
4oz. capers
1c sliced kalamata olives
2-4oz. pimentos
zest of 2 lemons
1 can garbanzo
1 can black beans
4-8oz. spinach - chopped

Dressing:

juice of 2 lemons

honey

extra virgin olive oil

3 lg. cloves garlic - finely minced

1t Himalayan pink salt

1/4t cayenne pepper

1/4t finely ground black pepper

Combine quinoa and water in 2qt. pot and simmer until water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Cover and remove from heat.  In a medium-large bowl, combine all remaining salad ingredients.  When quinoa is just warm, mix with vegetables in the bowl.  In a Good Seasons salad dressing cruet pour in lemon juice to the V mark.  Add honey to the W mark then fill to the O mark with the olive oil.  Add garlic and seasonings and shake well.  Pour about half of the dressing over the salad, toss, then add more if needed.  Chill for an hour before serving. . .Lin

Quinoa With Dried Fruit And Seeds

1/3c quinoa - any color

½c water

2 cubes of candied ginger - sliced thin

¼c roasted pumpkin seeds

¼c craisins

1t butter or coconut oil

a sprinkle of sea salt

Combine all the above and bring to a quiet simmer. Cook this way, covered, for 15 minutes or until water absorbs and quinoa sprouts little tails. Take off heat, keep covered, another 5 minutes. Makes 1 big serving. . .Lin

Quinoa-Cilantro Tabouli

1c any color quinoa

2c water

1-2t pink Himalayan salt

black and red ground pepper

3 lg. cloves minced garlic

½c caper berries

1 lg. leek – sliced very thin

2 chopped tomatoes

2 chopped pickling cucumbers

1 bunch cilantro – slice-chopped

1 can black beans – rinse and drain

1 lemons for juice and zest

½c± extra virgin olive oil

Combine quinoa and water, bring to a boil and simmer, about 20 minutes, until the water is absorbed. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients, add warm quinoa, toss, chill for several hours and serve. Tabouli is a favorite of mine. A cold, middle eastern salad that is so fresh and good, as a side or all by itself. There are a lot of variations that can be made with a recipe like this, so be creative. At the end, I swapped out the canellinni beans (shown) for black beans, since their texture goes better with the other ingredients. . .Lin

Quinoa-Garbanzo Tabouli

1c quinoa – rinsed well

1½c water

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1-2 lemons

1 clove of elephant garlic – minced

½c extra virgin olive oil

½t sea salt
fresh ground pepper

3 pickling cucumbers – rough peel and chop

1 bunch curly parsley – chopped fine

1 bunch green onions – sliced

1 can garbanzos – drained and rinsed

1 pint grape tomatoes – cut in quarters

Cook the quinoa in the water, simmering gently for 10-15 minutes. Take off heat and let stand while chopping and assembling remaining ingredients. Combine everything in a medium-large bowl. Chill several hours before serving. . .Lin

Spicy Quinoa Salad

½c quinoa, red, white or multi-colored

1c water

4 mini peppers, slice-chopped

½ lg. onion, slice-chopped

salt and pepper

Cook quinoa in water until absorbed. Cover and let stand 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium glass bowl combine vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing.

Season with salt and lots of red and black pepper for a spicy flavor. Add quinoa and toss. Let chill an hour or so to blend flavors and marinate vegetables well. Serve over chopped lettuce with crumbled feta cheese on top. . .Lin

Quinoa, Red Beans and Sausage

12oz. venison sausage, kielbasa, etc.

1 sm. onion

½c tri-colored quinoa

1 can red kidney beans

In a 2 quart pan combine cut up sausage, chopped onion and a little butter. Saute' and stir for a few minutes then add the quinoa and 1 – 1½c water. Bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 45 minutes. Add drained-rinsed beans just before water evaporates. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes until the quinoa has sprouted little tails indicating it's cooked. Makes about 3 servings. . .Lin

Talipia, Quinoa and Peas

1c quinoa red or white

2c water, chicken, or vegetable broth

2c frozen peas

Talipia filets

Today I initiated the little rice cooker my daughter bought for me. It's a smart little thing. It took longer than I thought it would, but as soon as it was cooked properly it just shut itself off! All together about 40 minutes, start to finish. If you don't have a rice cooker, just put the water quinoa and peas into a pan. Bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the water has asorbed.

Sprinkle the fish with your favorite seasonings while the quinoa and peas cook. Add the filets to a non-stick pan with a little water or butter. Cook just a few minutes on each side, plate and serve. Makes a nice dinner for 2. . .Lin

Curried Quinoa, Beans and Vegetables

1/3c slivered almonds

1/3c quinoa

Toast the almonds in a dry pan for about 5 minutes. Add Quinoa and continue to toast, shaking pan until the quinoa begins to snap and pop for another 5 minutes. Pour in 1¼c water, cover and simmer 10 minutes, then add:

3 chopped carrots

1 crown of *broccoli separated into florets

1 lg. chopped clove of elephant garlic

1t curry powder

1-2T almond or peanut butter

1T tamari – soy sauce

1 can drained-rinsed beans
*peas, green beans or zucchini would also work well

Combine and simmer, covered, another 10 minutes, adding more water if needed. Continue to simmer until the quinoa is softened. This can be served as a side or main dish. . .Lin

Quinoa Tabouli

Quinoa is a wonderful grain.  It's tolerated well by those who have gluten intolerance and is full of protein.  Combined with beans, this dish provides the correct amino acids for 'complete protein' as found in fish, chicken and red meat.  Tabouli is a Lebanese cold salad typically made with bulhgar wheat.  Quinoa is a very good substitute for people who are sensitive to wheat, rye or barley.  For those who are not, barley also makes very good Tabouli.

2/3c  quinoa (pronounced: KEEN'-wah) red, white or a mix

1 1/3 - 1 1/2c  water

Combine these two in a 2 quart pot.  Bring to a boil then simmer, covered like rice.  When liquid is absorbed, 15-20 minutes, cover and turn off heat.  Let stand until the quinoa is all puffed up and has sprouted curly little tails.  Then put in a big glass bowl with:

1  can drained-rinsed black beans

1  med. onion slice-chopped

2  shredded carrots
2  med. tomatoes slice-chopped

1  lemon - juice and zest

1/4c  extra virgin olive oil

1t  fresh ground black pepper

1/2t - 1t  Rosemary Seasoning

1  bunch of curly parsley

Fold all ingredients together, then chill a couple hours.  Serve as a main dish or a side.  Shown here with tallapia cooked in little Balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil mix that I also sprinkled with my Rosemary Seasoning and drizzled with my Peppercorn-Dill Ranch Dressing. . .Lin

Chicken-Quinoa Soup

Quinoa is a grain - very high in protein and gluten-free. It's an interesting change from pasta or rice. It can be made as a side dish like a rice pilaf, a breakfast grain cereal to eat hot with nuts and dried fruits, or as here, added to soup for an interesting texture and protein boost.

Day 1:

Remains of a rotisserie chicken

skin, bones and chicken

1 lg clove elephant garlic

2-3 dark green stalks of celery

1 carrot

Take chicken off the bones and chill for later. Saute' rough chopped garlic, onion, celery and carrot in a little butter. Add celery tops, skin, bones and 4-6 cups of water. Simmer bones, skin and vegetables an hour or two. Chill overnight.

Day 2: Skim fat off the top, heat a little then remove vegetables, chopping up for you to eat or put aside to mix with dry food and warm water for your dog(s). :o) Discard bones and skin then strain remaining broth several times. Next, chop and saute':

1 lg clove elephant garlic - 1 lg onion

3 carrots

4 celery stalks + tops for later - or a sliced-chopped fennel bulb

2T butter - 2T balsamic vinegar - 2T or so – water
1/2c quinoa – red or white

Cook and stir vegetables in 2T each: butter, vinegar and water until onion is translucent. Add strained soup stock, sliced celery tops, chicken pieces and simmer about an hour – adding quinoa the last 20-30 minutes. Taste, then add soup base / Rosemary Seasoning as needed to get the flavor where you want it. Serve with hot biscuits, dill beer bread, crusty Italian bread. . .Lin

Quinoa Tabouli

2/3 c quinoa
Simmer, covered, in 1 1/3 c water
for 10 minutes - remove from heat
and let stand 20 minutes

~Chop or slice:
1/2 lg onion
3 sm mini English cucumbers
1/2 bu parsley - curly works best for this
1 lg clove garlic - FINELY minced
~optional-- a little fresh snipped basil or mint
~Grate:
2 med carrots
~Zest and Juice:
1 lemon

Combine all the above and at the end - add:
2 c rinsed, drained canned beans - black, red, white, etc.
2-3 med chopped tomatoes - Romas are good for this



Drizzle on a few tablespoons of good quality extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper then toss. This fills a big mixing bowl. Chill an hour or so before serving. . .Lin