Kale and Quinoa Pilaf

Another lapse between posts! Things are good around here, my little herb garden has already started sprouting, our RocketPrincess is growing like a weed and we are heading to Seattle this weekend to see some friends!  In an effort to shed the pregnancy weight, I've been trying to eat a little better (certainly better than I did during pregnancy...a lot of cake was eaten) and with a little one and the expenses that came with a baby, buying a home and being on maternity leave, we've done almost all our cooking here - no more take out for us! 

This recipe, believe it or not, was picked out last week because we had all the ingredients in-house and we wanted to use up some kale.  Well WOW.  It was unbelievably good - so much better than I expected. My personal thought is that the ginger is the key, but the whole thing was delicious, and well-rounded, nutrition-wise.  In fact, it was SO good that I soaked some beans last night and we're having this for dinner again tonight!

Can take no credit for this one - this is from Cooking Light :)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/kale-quinoa-pilaf-10000000226297/

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon chili paste with garlic

1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger

6 cups torn kale

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add curry, chili paste, and ginger; sauté 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Serve at room temperature.

Tabouleh salad

Good morning, veggies!  Looks like as summer nears closing, we're FINALLY starting to get some hot weather here in Vancouver - this is by far the worst summer for weather I can remember, but I guess better late than never?  While it's still nice out, I wanted to blog my friend Sadie's recipe for tabouleh salad - perfect for summer: full of fresh flavour, nice and light and perfect for hot weather/picnics/barbecues, etc.

Tabouleh Salad

Soak 1 cup dry bulgur in 2 cups warm water for 30 mins. Drain.

Chop finely:

1 cucumber

1 red onion

4 large tomatoes (I like them seeded :))

1 handful fresh mint 

2 handfuls fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Add:

juice of 1 lemon

½ tsp Allspice

Salt and pepper to taste

We brought this on a weekend wine trip with us earlier in the year, and dare I say it was almost better the next day, after the flavours fully had a chance to mix together?? 

About a month ago, I had my friend J. over for dinner and she also brought a tabouleh salad, although instead of bulgur (and a few of the other ingredients listed above), she used quinoa and parsley (more traditional in tabouleh, I think). I really enjoyed the texture of quinoa in it, and it adds a little more protein than bulgur.  Choose whichever you like :)

1 cup uncooked Quinoa = 22 grams protein
1 cup uncooked Bulgur = 17.2 grams protein

Enjoy the rest of your summer, wherever you may be!

 (Pictured: Tabouleh salad, a crisp rosé, homemade hummus on fresh rosemary bread)

Eating Healthy(er) and Quinoa & Black Beans

Man, those two months of hockey, beer and potato chips really did a number on my figure. I actually struggled to get a skirt I've had for years over my hips today.  Note to the Canucks: if you're going to last that long in the playoffs, kindly win it next time?  Too many potato chips were eaten at my house.

Anyway, with summery fruit coming into season and hockey being over, I seem to be back on track.  For breakfast this morning, I had peanut butter and banana on a whole wheat bun - toasted a bit in the sandwich maker, then leftover onion/bell pepper/black bean fajitas with fresh avocado in two mini tortillas for lunch, and I have a big container of fresh strawberries for my afternoon snack. Dinner tonight will be a simple pasta primavera with cooked flat noodles, earth balance, tomatoes, zucchini, salt and pepper and fresh parsley. Perhaps a squeeze of lemon and fresh tarragon from my herb garden?

I might have some exciting news in a week or two that I must keep under wraps for the time being, but suffice it to say for the purposes of this post, I expect it to bring good things to this blog going forward. I am feeling reinvigorated, so stay tuned, veg-heads!

Here's a quick recipe I'll be making very very soon - it's quick and YUMMY:

Quinoa and Black Beans

1 tsp veg oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (or more), chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1.5 cups veg broth (or chicken flavoured veg broth)
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until lightly browned.  Add quinoa and cover with broth.  Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes.  Add corn and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through.  Add cilantro and serve.

This would probably be cooked with a few raw, chopped tomatoes thrown in, too....and I probably (read: definitely) amp up the spices in this.  Keep tasting until it's "yours".

Update July 27 - made this last night (hence the picture) and I actually mixed the cilantro right into the pot right before serving, as opposed to using as garnish.  However, we added chopped, seeded tomatoes to the top and one or more of us sprinkled parmesan on top - yummy!

Summertime Eats!

Okay, so it's not quite summer yet, but the food I ate this weekend is really getting me in the mood :)

After that fabulous dinner at my friend's on Friday (post below), I had my regular tofu scramble breakfast the next morning, then hit up the pitch & putt golf course in Stanley Park with my boyfriend.  After playing 9 holes, we felt snacky and hit up one of the hot dog carts in English Bay.  We grabbed two spicy veggie dogs (Mr. Tubesteak has two different kinds: regular and spicy veggie) and enjoyed.  All carts have veggie dogs these days, and these hit the spot!

I volunteered for VOKRA the next day (http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/) selling cupcakes and hot dogs to raise money for the organization, and had yet ANOTHER veggie dog. This time an Yves veggie dog. Meh.  Yves fake meats are not my favourite.  But hey, they're full of protein and with enough sauerkraut and mustard = good.  Yves' stuff seems to be fairly popular, though, so I guess people like them.  It's a matter of trial and error to see what suits you.

After golfing, I had some eggplant I wanted to use, so decided to try a recipe for eggplant croquettes I had seen.  My boyfriend whipped up an AMAZING quinoa salad with cooked quinoa, two small bell peppers (one red, one yellow), one seeded tomato, a handful of chopped parsley, 3 green onions, 1/4 of a red onion, some lemon juice and salt. The croquettes were quite good and would make excellent burger patties for a bbq.  Super easy to make.  I used three japanese eggplants and one egg, and would probably use less bread crumbs next time. My boyfriend loved them. I, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of his salad!  It is, in fact, my lunch today :)

Recipe for the croquettes here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eggplant-Croquettes/Detail.aspx

**Update May 5 - I fried up the leftover eggplant croquette "patties" last night and we ate them as burgers: on a bun with lettuce, cheddar cheese and red onion. I liked them better this way and will probably only make them as burgers from now on.

After a long day of volunteering yesterday, I came home to an amazing dinner of risotto cakes and salad, made by my man!  These cakes are SO good and we've had them several times, recipe here: http://www.barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=109&S=0  Although you can't see it in this picture, he added about half a can of black beans to the salad (which included avocado, red onion, parmesan, salt, pepper and an oregano dressing) for a little extra protein. The beans probably weren't needed considering I'd had my regular tofu breakfast, a blueberry smoothie and a veggie dog already that day, but it sure tasted good!

Ah, the things I will eat this summer! The options are truly endless :)

Clean Out The Fridge Pasta Salad

Argh! I keep forgetting to post my meals and take pictures! Sorry for falling behind, but will definitely endeavour to improve my posting regularity.   Anyway, we didn't have much in the way of ingredients last night and we were too lazy to go shopping, so we decided to finally cook up that bulk quinoa pasta we found in Save-On-Foods and throw in the rest of the veggies we had in the fridge to make a simple pasta salad.  I think I had two stalks of celery, two handfuls of parsley, one tomato (seeded of course, yuck!), one orange pepper and one zucchini.  I also threw in a half can of chick peas and tossed with our favourite oil and vinegar-based salad dressing.  This would be really good with a feta and oregano dressing, for the cheese eaters!

Verdict? Quinoa pasta is great! It has a higher protein content than regular pasta, and for those avoiding gluten, it is gluten-free!  The flavour and texture is absolutely identical to regular pasta. I brought leftovers for lunch to work today and ended up eating it for breakfast. I must say the texture seemed to change a wee bit overnight - it "breaks apart" in the mouth as opposed to sticking together, but still good and after marinating overnight, the flavour is even better.

So, nothing earth-shattering here, just a quick note to say a healthy, veggie meal can be super easy to make!  I promise to make something a little more hearty soon :)  And will remember to take pictures!

Quinoa Croquetas

1 cup raw quinoa (wash and cook per basic instructions, we cook this amount in in 2 cups veg broth (bring to boil, reduce to low and cover/cook for 15 minutes)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion (white mostly)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg and one egg yolk (or egg replacer)
oil for sauteing

Mix all ingredients together using hand or spoon. Mix until it has the consistency of soft dough. Heat oil in skillet until medium hot. With the help of a spoon, drop egg sized balls gently into hot oil. Let cook until golden on both sides, drain on a paper towel before serving.  We sometimes use different dips, sauces, but they taste pretty good on their own.

We usually eat these with greens (beans or broccoli) and dill potatoes, but last night we weren't as hungry, so just whipped up a spinach salad with red onion and feta :)

I should also add that last night, my bf let the "dough" sit in the refrigerator for an hour or two before he made the patties and fried them - he said they stuck together much better, and I think they were his best yet!