Quick Cooking with Quinoa

It's amazing how fast the natural foods industry moves to get popular items on the shelf for the masses. There's the soy milk craze, acai craze, and now I'm starting to get the sense of a quinoa craze. It's everywhere! Its even showing up at local restaurants as side dishes, who would have thought? Check out this recent article Link

So, I've been cooking with quinoa for a couple years now. At first it tasted funny, there was no satisfaction from eating it, and I always ate it plain. . . a huge mistake! After lots of experimenting in the kitchen, I now love how versatile the seed is - I eat mine for breakfast with almond milk, coconut flakes and a banana, for lunch in my salad or for dinner with some veggies & protein! The best part is, it only takes about 20 minutes to cook. The second best part is, you can really make quinoa suit your personal tastes.

For savory, I'm posting one of my favorites. . .

Quinoa with Leeks & Asparagus

3 leeks chopped up (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 bunch of asparagus (I pick the skinny stalks)

Pepper

Pinch of Salt

Maybe a tablespoon or two of white wine

2 cups cooked quinoa

Olive oil

Cooking the quinoa

The proportions are simple: 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water. Place everything into a sauce pan, turn the burner on high and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to simmer, cover and let it sit until water is fully absorbed. This may take around 20 minutes... not that long.

The good stuff

Dice leeks into small slices. Be sure to clean them really well before chopping. Wash and dice asparagus. In a large sauce pan, add some olive oil over medium heat and stir in the leaks. Once leeks become transparent, add the asparagus. Add salt & pepper to taste... I even threw in a couple tablespoons of white wine (psst secret ingredient). Let everything marinate. The asparagus will turn a vibrant green and the leeks will start caramelizing. After about 8-10 minutes, add 2 cups of cook quinoa. Toss around to soak up the flavors. You could even let the quinoa crisp up a bit on the bottom of the pan.

This makes about 4 ample servings. I topped mine off with a fried egg and some avocado.

Comfort Food from the Garden

I've had the unfortunate luck of getting sick my second week at the new job. Not just any cold, but one that seems to linger around - changing up the symptoms whenever it wants. Not to mention, my iphone is broken. Ya, I know, what's next? At least we've been blessed with the bounty and beauty of Spring (corny?). Spring peas, asparagus and oranges will give me the vitamins I need to beat this beast of a cold.

In the meantime, I'll let my mom take care of me. Thus, I can't take credit for this next recipe. It came from the Engel kitchen; some comfort food in the form of risotto. Using your freshest Spring veggies, you can make a knock-out risotto in no time at all. It's healthy, satisfying and goes down well with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (if you aren't under the weather, then again...).

Garden Risotto
adapted from Elie Kruger The Food You Crave
1/2 pound asparagus
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 fennel bulb, chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces baby spinach leaves (about 3 cups lightly packed)
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Microwave the asparagus in a tightly covered microwave-safe bowl with 1 teaspoon water for 90 seconds and cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a simmer. In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil on medium-low heat and cook the onion and fennel until softened and translucent. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Next add the wine and let simmer, still stirring, until wine is absorbed. Using a ladle, add 3/4 cup of the hot broth, salt and pepper and simmer, still stirring! Stir until broth is dissolved and repeat with the 3/4 cup broth until the rice is almost tender and creamy. This should take about 15 minutes.

Here comes the garden! Stir in the peas and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted. Add the asparagus last and cook until everything is hot and well combined. Take off the burner and stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!