Quinoa 2 Ways

I LOVE quinoa. I had the most amazing quinoa salad when I was in Israel last summer, and have been quite obsessed ever since.

If I remember correctly, it was: carrots, celery, parsley, walnuts, dried cranberries, and lemon. The lemon and fresh parsley made it soo fresh tasting, and in combination with the crunchy celery and walnuts, chewy, tangy, and sweet cranberries, ugh, it was to die for. 

I made 2 quinoa salads today, one of which was similar to this, but frutier, and summery-er. 

Fruity Summer Quinoa Salad

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon lemon juice- maybe more to taste

2 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cucumber, diced

handful of dried cranberries

handful of dried apricots, chopped

handful of walnuts, chopped

1 avocado, diced 

salt & pepper to taste 

Cook quinoa according to directions on the package. Usually 1 cup of quinoa calls for 2 cups of water, so in this case I used one cup. Once it's finished cooking- you'll know because the grains turn kind of translucent and they begin to split apart- let it sit to cool. Once cooled, transfer to a mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour. Then add the rest of the ingredients and viola! A summery and healthy treat :) 

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Cherry and Sundried Tomatoes, Sauteed Mushrooms, and Garlic 

*Disclaimer: there are no cherries in this dish, just roasted cherry tomatoes

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained 

handful of cherry tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon olive oil 

handful of mushrooms, sliced

1/3 of a square of tofu

1 tablespoon minced garlic 

pinch of minced onion 

handful of sun dried tomatoes

salt, pepper, and red pepper flake to taste

(don't you just loove the Manishewitz in the background? It's soo Jewey of me) 

As described above, cook quinoa according to the directions on the package and let sit out. I think this salad could be served hot or cold, so if you prefer cold, chill it in the fridge. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take a handful of cherry tomatoes and place them on a tin foil lined cookie sheet. Toss with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Roast for approximately 15-20 minutes. This is what they'll look like when they're done. 

While the tomatoes are cooking, spray a small skillet with cooking spray. Once hot, add the slice of tofu and sear. I usually cube the tofu before cooking it, but this time I cooked the whole piece like a steak. 

It was SO much easier, although it didn't slice as nicely once cooked. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove from pan and set aside. 

Once the pan has cooled a bit, add a tablespoon of olive oil, minced garlic, onion, and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft.

At the very end, add a handful of sundried tomatoes and toss. 

If serving the quinoa hot, add to the quinoa now. Otherwise, set aside to cool. Same with the tomatoes once they are finished cooking. I ate mine hot, so once everything was done I added it to the quinoa, tossed with some salt, pepper, red pepper flake, and a bit more garlic. 

For those of you tofu-haters, this would still be delicious leaving it out. 

PS. Aren't I getting better at remembering to take pictures as I go along? I'll get a hang of this blogging thing eventually... 

Beginnings

I’ve been thinking about starting a food blog for a while, not that I necessarily have the free time for such an undertaking, but nonetheless, here we are. I’ve decided to do this primarily because I am incredibly obsessed with food. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, snacks, I love it all. My favorite things consist of bacon, cheese (even though I’m slightly lactose intolerant), avocado, chocolate, and vegetables of all kind (excluding brussel sprouts). I love to create healthy dishes, but have a soft spot for dessert (and bacon), so this is probably what you will see most of. I usually cook just for myself—especially when it comes to dinners—so much of what I will post on here will be individual serving sized. 

Here are some other things that can be expected from this blog:

1) inconsistent posts

2) inaccurate measurements

3) random life insights

4) my current obsessions in music, fashion, etc.

I also like to eat out, and will probably also post photos of tasty things from neat places around NYC. 

I get a lot of inspiration from the following bloggers, and will probably share some of their recipes as well:

How Sweet It Is

Cookie and Kate

Smitten Kitchen

Salad In a Jar

Turntable Kitchen

I also enjoy:

The Glamourai

The Chloe Conspiracy

A Cup of Jo

Wit and Delight

I have found that I sometimes make delicious things out of the blue and then devour them before I have the chance to even recall what I did, let alone recreate it in the future.

This happened the other night, when I returned home after a super long day, and proceeded to make dinner. I had some tofu I wanted to use (been into working with tofu lately.. chicken gets boring). I was starving and didn’t want to wait for rice to cook, but this would have been even better (and more filling) over jasmine rice. Or rice noodles. Yay carbs. 

I used this premade sauce that my dad got for me for Christmas. It's soo good! I would have loved to make one from scratch, but c’est la vie.

Even if you don't think you like tofu, I encourage you to try it out!

Here’s the recipe:

Tofu & Peppers in Crunchy Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

2/3 of a square of tofu, cut into ½-inch pieces

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of chopped onion

½ bell pepper, cut into bit sized slices

1 tablespoon of canola oil (peanut or sesame would have been better)

small handful of peanuts, coarsely chopped

¼ cup Peanut Satay Noodle and Simmer Sauce

red pepper flake to taste

Spray large pan with cooking spray.

While it’s heating, cut tofu into approx ½-inch to 1-inch cubes. Once the pan is hot, place the tofu pieces in it.

Cook until the bottoms are seared and then flip. I have found that this is the key when cooking with tofu; otherwise it’s too mushy. When finished, remove from pan and set aside.

Let the pan cool for a minute, and then spray again with cooking spray.

Add salt, garlic, onion and bell pepper slices. Toss until peppers are soft and onions clear. Add some oil- peanut or sesame would be ideal, but I used canola. While cooking, coarsely chop peanuts and then toss with the pepper/onion mixture.

Add peanut sauce.

Put tofu in a bowl, and then pour pepper onion and peanut sauce mixture over tofu. Sprinkle with red pepper flake to taste.

(I didn't decide to write up the recipe until after I ate most of it, but that's what was left by the time I got my camera out...)