Quinoa Going Greek

Once again, as with my Italian and Asian versions, shared in the 2 previous weeks, I claim no expertise in ethnic cuisines of any sort.  --So this is my own take on "Greek" Quinoa Salad, based mostly on Greek gyro sandwiches we've had.  Princess Artiste couldn't stop snacking on it before heading out to the gym, and said it's her new favorite dinner.  Hubby said it was definitely worth remembering for another time, and sharing on the blog, so here you go...

Greek Quinoa Salad

2 cups Quinoa, cooked as directed, using chicken stock as the liquid 

1 1/2 lbs beef steak --marinated for an hour or more in Greek Marinade found on the  Greek recipes section of Food.com.

While the quinoa cooks, then cools slightly, and the steak marinates, prepare the following:

1 1/2 slicing cucumbers, peeled, sliced, then salted, set to rest for 20 minutes, and drained 

1/2 large, sweet onion, finely sliced, then cut in 1/2" pieces 

4 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped 

1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

*If I'd had them, I would've also added olives, and pepperoncini or sliced Anaheim peppers. 


Drain, and broil or grill the steak until it reaches the desired doneness.  Allow it to rest a few minutes, and slice thin, across the grain.


Toss all the above together with a dressing of

1/2 cup plain yogurt  

Lime juice, squeezed from one lime 

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 

1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil 

1 tsp dried oregano  

3 tsp minced parsley 

My poor attempt at staging... Should've put more salad in the bowl!  ;-)

1/4 tsp garlic powder 

1/4 tsp black pepper 

dash cayenne pepper

Serve warm or cold.

Quinoa Salad, Take 2

This weekend I tried my own Asian version of salad, using quinoa.  My apologies to anyone truly Asian or knowledgeable about true Asian cuisine... because I am neither.  But this salad was good, and the family liked it, too.  Another dish full of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, good fat, and protein, so like my previous Quinoa Pasta Salad, it's another "meal in a bowl."

Asian Quinoa Salad

Begin with

2 cups Quinoa, rinsed and cooked according to directions, using 4 cups chicken stock for the liquid

Cool, and add 

5 stalks Celery, chopped 

1 - 2 cups Red Cabbage, thinly sliced 

Several Cherry Tomatoes, quartered 

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped 

1 bunch Green Onion, sliced 

3 Chicken Breasts, cooked, cooled, sliced, and cut into bite-sized pieces

Dress with

1/2 cup Olive oil 

2 Tbsp Sesame Chili Oil 

3 Tbsp Rice vinegar  

1 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

        Adjust those approximations to taste, and season with the following, also to taste 

Dried Mustard Powder 

Garlic, pressed, or Garlic Powder 

Ground Ginger 

Sugar or Blue Agave Nectar

Serve, topped with

Sliced Almonds

Summer Sustenance

I have been reading a lot lately.  Kind of hit and miss through lots of books, many on healthy eating and lifestyle.  The one I just devoured, reading almost the whole thing straight through, was Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!

Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets
 to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones
for a Hot and Healthy Body!

--If her experience, thoughtful know-how, reasonable approach-- and very fit body-- don't speak to her credibility, I don't know what does.  :-)


Anyway, it was a very informative book, full of charts to help show what foods help and hurt what physical conditions and processes, plus plenty of good instruction and guidance.  This includes meal ideas and recipes.  A lot of it I already knew, but I can always hear it again until it finally sinks in!


We already eat fairly healthily in terms of whole, made-from-scratch, rather than processed foods.  But it's still a challenge for me to get all kinds of veggies in, and enough protein, especially for lunch or snacks.

For the workday feast on Saturday, I knew I wanted (the girls) to make pasta salad.  I also knew I didn't want to use white-flour pasta, but whole grain.  However, I was only going to Costco, and the only whole grain pasta they offer is spaghetti, which didn't seem a good choice for the salad.  I decided it was a good time to try quinoa in a cold recipe, which we'd never done. (Previous discussions on quinoa here)


Princess Artiste cooked up 2 cups of quinoa with 4 cups of water, and when it was cool, mixed it with 
 - small strips of Pepper Jack cheese
 - chopped yellow, orange, and red bell peppers
 - coarsely diced tomato
 - sliced black olives
 - diced celery
 - sliced pepperoncini
 - diced onion.  


I made a dressing of 
 - olive oil
 - pomegranate red wine vinegar (approx 2:1 ratio, oil:vinegar)
 - juice of 1/2 a lime
 - black pepper
 - pressed garlic clove
 - oregano
 - parsley
 - a squirt of blue agave nectar
 - a dash of cayenne pepper
 - a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese.


I was wondering if we'd like the texture, but it was a great success with the pasta salad fans.  


With the possible exception of the cheeses, the ingredients are all unquestionably healthy.  The veggies of all sorts and colors offer a variety of vitamins and antioxidants. There is healthy fat from the olive oil, and fiber, more healthy fat, and protein from the quinoa, so an all-around good option... A meal in a bowl.  


This type of salad lends itself to variety to keep it from getting boring... I could serve it over spinach to add more healthy components available in 'leafy greens.'  I could vary the types of veggies, adding things like asparagus and summer squash.  I could stray from the slightly Italian flavors, and lean toward Asian or Greek, with different vinaigrette dressing and an appropriate adjustment in vegetables.


I could really live on this salad, and may for most of the summer!  Actually, since a lot of the ingredients we used Saturday are available through the winter, it could be a decent, year-around choice.

Winging It

As I mentioned, and as you can probably imagine from all the posts about the upcoming 2 summer weddings,  I have spent a lot of time away from home lately.  For days, meals have consisted of leftovers, some sort of frozen, almost-fast-food, sandwiches, or even just store-bought hummus and whole-grain crackers.  I was home most of yesterday, so last night I wanted to do better.                                                                                                                                                             
I wanted to cook.  I wanted to make a whole meal.  I wanted it to be healthy, but fun or interesting...To have some zing to it.                                                                                                                                     
Princess Bossy once told me how Chili Rellenos were her favorite vegetarian dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  I'd never had them before, so after that, a frozen version caught my eye at Costco.  They were like a large and deluxe version of Jalapeno Poppers, which I love.  I'd looked up recipes soon after that, and have been craving more ever since.  Last night, I 
remembered I'd bought several Anaheim peppers, which were probably about to go bad from being around so long, and we actually had cream cheese on hand.  So it was time to try them out.                                       
I really didn't care about getting a recipe exactly right, with sauce and all.  I was also planning to serve chicken breasts and quinoa, cooked in enchilada sauce, so only wanted the pepper to be big Jalapeno Poppers... I was only after the approximate flavor.  Mostly, I was too tired (lazy) to re-research recipes and follow any details.  So I contrived my own plan, and hoped for the best.                                                                                                                
I think the photos are self-explanatory, but just to be clear,  I started with the peppers, and fresh bread ends crumbled and toasted to make the crumb coating.  I dipped the seeded peppers in flour, then egg, then the crumbs, and fried in a little oil.                                                                                                      
The crumbs didn't want to stick.  When I fried them a little too fast and the skin blackened and bubbled so easily, I realized I probably should have charred, then peeled them.  This would have eliminated the blackening and bubbling problem, and maybe helped things stick better.  I peeled off the black skin and the bit of overdone crumb coating, added a little more coating, and cooked them at a lower heat.  I put a lid on the pan to bake them through a bit more.                                                                                                                                                                                  
To serve, I cut each pepper in half and served it with the quinoa, shredded chicken, and enchilada sauce, with a dab of sour cream.   The only bad part, other than mediocre appearance, again, was the skin.  A little bitter and hard to cut, but not too terrible.  Next time, though, it's out of there.                                                            

Next, I'd like to try Easy Jalapeno Bacon Appetizer, a recipe shared by Carolyn at Adrift on the Lake.

Making Do...and Using Quinoa Again

I have challenged myself not to set foot in the grocery store or Costco until this weekend, and just live on what's here.  I found many years ago, when we had home milk delivery, that the longer I could put off store visits, the less I spent, overall.  
             
Last night I noted that we had several tomatoes that definitely needed to be used.   - We had plenty of lettuce.   - We had ground chicken, but only 1 1/2 pounds, which is a bit skimpy for dinner for 7, plus tomorrow's lunches for Hubby and Prince Inventive.  
              
Being Thursday, so "Mexican Food Night," 3 things/people motivated my specific choice in what to make for dinner: 
1) Gena of Bluebonnet in Beantown's request for a tasty way to serve quinoa
2) Breezy's suggestion in a blog comment to use quinoa in salad
3) Cotehele's post called "Grrrrrr!!!" on her blog, The Old Kitchen, which had instructions for a marvelous looking Frito Salad.  Hope I'm not coming off as a copy cat!  Check out her recipe, because it's different than mine, and vegetarian.

Taco Salad 

with ground chicken & quinoa

1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
1 c quinoa
2 c chicken broth
spices
Brown and crumble the ground chicken in a skillet, generously seasoning with pepper, garlic and cumin or chili powder, according to your spiciness preference.  
                 

A close-up of the quinoa as prepared for this recipe...
It is done when transparent and you can see its white germ

Rinse and drain the quinoa in strainer.  Add to a saucepan with chicken broth, 2 Tbsp dehydrated onion (or 1/2 onion, minced), 2 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, and 1 tsp garlic powder.  Put on lid and bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.  Mix in meat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
        
While the quinoa cooks, prepare the following and place in separate serving dishes:
              
6 tomatoes, diced
2 heads shredded Romaine lettuce
1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips
              
If we had them, we might also add diced onion, sliced olives, and sliced jalapeno, and offer salsa on the side.  But no one complained about having them, so there's a lesson there in saving money.
            
Layer as you please, but we do it in this order:
Crushed chips
Meat mixture
Cheese
Lettuce
Tomatoes
            
Top with sour cream or your choice of salad dressing.
             
Prince Inventive didn't realize the meat mixture wasn't all meat.  Prince Go-For-It had spied the quinoa, so assumed there was no meat.  The whole family liked it, and that's what counts.

2010: New Foods/Ingredients I Tried this Year

I think I've grown more in the kitchen this year than any other.  That growth included trying new foods I've never had or used before:
             

Image from www.sustainablesushi.net

Portobello/Portabella Mushrooms:  These large mushrooms have intrigued me for awhile, but the price ($6 or $7 per pound) always dissuaded me.  I'd heard they made for a meaty-tasting substitute instead of a hamburger patty to make a burger, which I thought might be healthy for Hubby, and yummy for me, a mushroom fan. When finding them on sale, I decided to try a grilling portobellos on the outdoor gas barbecue grill.  However, at that first attempt, I blackened them and the family wasn't impressed.  Princess Bossy recommended an oven recipe she'd used several times from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, so I tried again with a much better and more popular result.  After that I added them to stir-fries, pizzas, and pumpkin soup.  Baby portobellos (also called or related to the Crimini mushrooms) worked as well for those dishes that called for sliced or chopped mushrooms.  They seem more tasty than the white mushrooms I was used to using.
              
Balsamic Vinegar:  I first bought Balsamic to make the marinade for the portobellos.  I liked the new flavor so much that I'm inclined to grab it first for other marinades, salad dressings, and as dip with olive oil for a crispy sourdough bread.  My vinegar selection before this included only white, cider, and red wine vinegars, but now I am interested in trying others.
          

Quinoa with chicken, spinach, corn, onions

Quinoa: The first time we tried this grain in a mixture with sauteed veggies, I was underwhelmed.  The texture was something to get used to and it seemed a bit bland.  But in trying to find a healthy alternative to white rice with it's lack of nutritional value and high glycemic rating, I was convinced to try again.  I am glad I did.  It is actually a seed, and a good source of protein.  In fact, Quinoa provides the range of amino acids to be considered a complete protein, which is unusual for a plant source.  It also is a good provider of magnesium, phosphorous, iron, and fiber.  It's quick to cook, and with better seasoning and a more exciting selection of food to surround it, as rice would require also, it has become a favorite with the family.  I usually cook it in chicken broth, and we often eat it with stir-fried veggies of all types and with our "Mexican Chicken Slop" dinners on Thursday nights...when it's seasoned much like Mexican or Spanish rice, and served with my homemade version of refried beans and chicken in enchilada sauce.  (I'll try to remember to share recipes and explain the meal name at a later date!)
            
Goat cheese (and Feta):  I bought some goat cheese at Costco, and really had no idea what to do with it.  Shortly after, I was participating in a discussion about pizza on the Gardenweb Kitchen forum and member, Jsweenc, posted a photo of pizza she'd made using goat cheese as a topping.  I asked a couple of questions, and the next time we made pizza, I crumbled goat cheese across the veggie pizza, and also on one with pesto as the sauce.  Everyone loved it.  Prince Stoic declared Pesto and Goat Cheese his new favorite pizza.  We also love it in salads, particularly a Greek-inspired salad with Romaine lettuce, sweet onions, cucumber, tomatoes, and olives.  When I couldn't get the goat cheese I'd purchased previously, we tried a mild Feta, which worked as well for both the salads and the pizza.
             
Duck:  Actually it was only a couple bites of duck breast that I tried.  Hubby went duck hunting, for the first time in his life, with a dear friend of his.  He didn't get anything himself, but tried for a couple, and the friend sent him home with the breast from one of his catches.  (Would you call a duck a catch?) He told him to marinate it in Italian dressing for 24 hours, then grill it slowly.  We were surprised at the meaty taste...something between steak and chicken, with a slight liver flavor to it.
          

Blue Agave Nectar:  This sweetener is about one and half times sweeter than sugar, so you need less to accomplish the same sweetness, and it is comparable to fructose in the glycemic index, which is much lower than white sugar.  So less of it, and a lower glycemic load are each good things, and together are really great for keeping blood sugar levels steadier.  We have used this in coffee drinks, iced and hot teas, and any recipes that call for honey or syrup, like in our granola.  I sometimes feel a sugar crash after a sweetened soy milk and coffee drink, but don't when I use only a little squirt of the agave nectar, which is all that's necessary. (I admit to adding an occasional splash of flavored syrup, but I need less of it if I use a tiny bit of agave, too.)



Previous posts you may enjoy:

Granola Recipe
(using the rolled oats)

Pizza sauces...
better late than never?

Pizza Crust Recipe