Uncooked Quinoa

I’ve been experimenting a lot with quinoa. I grew to love it very quickly. It’s easy to cook and extremely versatile. It’s the only grain that’s a complete protein all on its own, so it’s a great addition to vegetarian dishes. And it adds a loving, feminine fluffiness to this otherwise manly bowl that I’m going to tell you about. Sorry I don’t have a photo for you this time. I’ll get one next time for sure. It’s a beautiful dish and it was so good that we gobbled it up before photos could be taken.

Beth and Weldon’s Bowl of Vegetarian Superpowers

Layer in your favorite shallow bowl:
About a third cup of Fritos, crushed. Not to dust, but you want the pieces smaller than regular Fritos.
About half a cup of cooked quinoa.
About half a cup of black beans. I used canned. You can get fancier if you want, but there’s really no need.
Half an avocado, diced.
Salt to taste.
Top with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a couple of spoonfuls of your favorite salsa. For us, it was Mrs. Renfro’s Roasted Salsa.

It’s really as simple as that. If you’re a die-hard carnivore, or even a flexitarian, you can sub diced chicken for the black beans. Weldon thinks you could have both, but I think that might be too much. It’s already a very filling dish. I’d choose one or the other.

Try it and you’ll join me in my new motto, Quinoa gives me superpowers!

Last week, we got an eggplant from our co-op and we weren’t entirely sure what to do with it. Thursday night as I was going to bed, Weldon suggested that we substitute Eggplant Night for Pizza Night. I suggested Eggplant Pizza. He’s up for anything, so he agreed that was a good solution. Friday, I found a great recipe for Eggplant Garden Pizza.

In addition to eggplant, it has zucchini, tomato, onion, and red bell pepper. These ingredients are diced coarsely and sauteed until tender. Then the vegetable ingredients are spread lovingly atop a pre-baked crust of your choice (for us, two small Udi’s Gluten Free frozen pizza crusts; more on why GF in a later post) with a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. That’s right, this is a sauceless pizza and you won’t miss it a bit!

Finally,  sprinkle with dried thyme, oregano, and basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and slide into a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The result is fine, fine pizza.

One of my favorite dinners is pizza and wine. My choice for this meal was a $6.95 bottle of Delicato Chardonnay. Vanilla-y and buttery and good. Not a traditional choice for pizza, chardonnay, but since it wasn’t competing with a spicy tomato sauce, it was just perfect.

See photos of the process on Laughing Ladybug’s Facebook fanpage.

Reata's Trio Platter

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a business lunch today at Reata Restaurant in Fort Worth. They are famous for their Texas cuisine, which includes things like Jalapeno Cilantro Soup, Smoked Quail with Jalapeno Cheese Grits with Molasses BBQ Glaze, and Chicken Chile Rellenos with Roasted Corn Chowder. So what did I choose to eat, a person who gains weight easily and prefers to eat somewhat lightly? The Trio Platter! It includes chicken breast, a choice of salad, and fruit!

It was perfect! Two small chicken breasts that were grilled and smoky and flavorful, a huge wedge salad with a vinaigrette dressing of pico de gallo, lime, and blue cheese crumbles, and TONS of beautiful, fresh cut fruit, including raspberries! I was so excited, I wanted to hug my plate!

I remembered to take a photo to share with you, my friends, I expressed my gratitude for the countless being that gave their lives and labors so I could eat, and I ate joyfully and was nourished much.

1. Poach one or two eggs per person, using your favorite, most reliable poaching method. Poaching is a new thing for me. I’ve been doing it the old-fashioned way of slipping the whole eggs gently into salted just-below-boiling water. This is still in the experimental stages. It sometimes does weird stuff. If you have a favorite way, whether it’s stovetop or microwave, do what works best for you.

2. Place gently over a few spears of steamed or boiled asaparagus. The point here is to have it be tender, yet crisp. Season it to taste. I used salt and pepper and a sprinkle of herbal salt.

3. Serve alongside a small mix of your favorite mild greens. I like spinach mixed with a little romaine lettuce. Dress lightly, with maybe a little olive oil, black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice. While you’re at it, squeeze some of that lemon over the asparagus for grins.

4. Have a piece of garlic-rubbed toast on the side. Toast your favorite whole grain gread, then rub it with a clove of raw garlic until you just can’t see straight. Add a smudge of butter if you like.

5. Enjoy with an affordable glass of buttery chardonnay. Or your favorite wine, or iced tea or whatever. Just be sure to raise that glass of whatever and clink it with the glass of your dining partner and declare, “I had a wonderful life today.” Do this part as many times as you’re inspired to.

Ingredients:
A few sweet potatoes
A few red potatoes
A few carrots
Large onion
About 10 whole garlic cloves
Any other root vegetables that you like
Fresh rosemary sprigs, or your favorite herbs
Handful of toasted pine nuts

Wash vegetables well and cut into bite-size chunks.
Peel onion and cut into chunks.
Toss vegetables and onion in large roasting pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper (you can use a spoon, but using your hands is best).
Toss peeled garlic cloves on top.
Place rosemary springs on top.
Roast at 400 degrees about 50 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Discard rosemary sprigs and replace with fresh ones as garnish.
Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts as garnish.

I’ve really been struggling to find a way to make our evenings together low-key and enjoyable, especially since they’re only a couple of hours long. So I’ve been gathering up slow-cooker recipes. My theory is that I can spend a few extra minutes in the morning preparing the ingredients and tossing them in the slow-cooker. By the time Weldon and I can have dinner together, it’s ready and waiting. This week, we tested my theory and it worked pretty well! We’ve been able to enjoy healthy, inespensive dinners together with minimal clean up. Here’s one of the recipes I tried this week:

Greek Stew

2 C cubed butternut squash or potatoes, depending on your family’s tastes
2 C chopped carrotes
2 onions, chopped
1 C chopped zucchini
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
14 oz. vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/2 t allspice
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t ground coriander

Combine all ingredients in a 3-4 quart slow-cooker and mix well to combine. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, or until all vegetables are tender. Service over couscous or rice and sprinkle with feta cheese if desired. Serves about 6.