Edamame Quinoa Salad

September 12, 2013 by Mackenzie

I love this salad because of the flavors, the textures and the colors! It’s easy to throw together and is a perfect side-dish for just about anything.

Recipe Type: Salad, Side Dish, Lunch

Author: Mackenzie

Serves: 5 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup cooked, cooled quinoa
16 oz frozen, shelled, edamame
1 1/4 cup frozen corn
2 green onions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
Several tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of cayene

Instructions

Prepare quinoa if you haven’t already. Let cool.
In a medium saucepan, bring about three cups of water to a boil. Add the edamame and corn and boil for about 3-4 minutes – just until tender. Drain and cool completely.
In a large bowl, combine the cooled edamame, corn and quinoa and the green onion, red pepper and cilantro.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, salt and spices until well combined. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat.
Best when served chilled.

Recipe adapted from RealHouseMoms

Quinoa Salad with Apples, Walnuts, Dates, and Gouda

August 21, 2013 by Mackenzie

This is another easy to-go meal that I brought along on our drive to St. Louis. I love this salad because it has so many of my favorite things in it – apples, walnuts, celery, gouda, dates, grapes… Yum! This salad keeps well for a couple of days – so put it in some single-serving tupperware and you’ll have lunch for the week!

Quinoa Salad with Apples, Walnuts, Dates and Gouda
Serves 5
Recipe adapted from Cookfresh Magazine 2011

Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup water
Sea salt
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups arugula
4 oz. aged Gouda, diced
1 1/2 medium celery rips, thinly sliced
1/2 large, crisp apple, Fuji or Pink Lady, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dates, pitted and diced
3/4 cup grapes, halved
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa: place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. When done, fluff with a fork and allow to cool.

2. While the quinoa cooks, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and brown around the edges, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and toss with the onions until the vinegar cooks away, about one minute. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, onion, arugula, cheese, celery, apple, walnuts, dates and grapes.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil with the apple cider vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and a few grinds of pepper. Gently mix the dressing into the salad. Enjoy!

Roasted Beet and Root Vegetable Salad with Quinoa

May 26, 2013 by Mackenzie

We made this salad to accompany the Gnocchi in Tomato Vegetable Sauce from the other night. This recipe was also from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and again, she gave us another great recipe!

The highlight of this salad are the beets – as you can see, their brilliant color makes this dish both eye-catching and mouth-watering! The one significant change we made was doubling the quinoa so there was a more even ratio of vegetables to quinoa, which made it more of a salad than purely a vegetable side dish. In the end, that was a great choice and we loved every bit of it!

Beet and Root Vegetable Salad with Quinoa
Serves 4-5
Recipe from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Ingredients:

Salad:
1 cup uncooked plain quinoa, rinsed
Coarse salt
3 small shallots
Olive oil
1 1/2 lbs mixed root vegetables (radishes, turnips, parsnips, mixed beets, carrots…), as small as you can find them, scrubbed, trimmed and halved to be one to one and a half-inch cubes or so
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 big pinches of coarse salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Prepare quinoa: bring the quinoa and 2 cups salted water to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until quinoa has absorbed water – may be longer with more quinoa. Set aside.

3. Roast vegetables: while quinoa cooks, prepare the vegetables. Peel shallots and separate cloves. Make a small foil packet and place the shallots inside, drizzling them with olive oil. Place on a rack in the oven to begin roasting them.

Meanwhile, coat a baking sheet with olive oil and place the root vegetables in a single layer on the sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, squeeze the lemon juice all over and sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper. Roast for 20 minutes in oven, then flip the vegetables and roast for an additionally 10 minutes.

4. Prepare vinaigrette: when vegetables are done, remove them from the oven and set aside. Remove the shallots from the foil packet and place in a blender with the sherry and balsamic vinegars and two pinches of salt and some pepper. Drizzle in some olive oil and blend.

5. To assemble: spoon the quinoa onto a platter and arrange the beets on top. Drizzle entire dish with vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Quinoa Peanut Soup

March 9, 2013 by Mackenzie

I made this soup for dinner last night because we had most of the ingredients already and we needed to use up the produce before we all left for break! The recipe comes from the most recent Eating Well magazine and it just sounded so good that I had to make it!

The proportions we used are quite different than the original recipe because we wanted to use everything in the fridge – almost all the veggies are doubled from what it calls for. But I think that made it better because we ate this as our main dish instead of as a first course or a side and so all the veggies made it more substantive and filling. The peanut butter gives it a really distinct flavor – transforming it from a traditional vegetable soup to one with some South American flare.

After every drop was cleaned from our bowls, I thought of one addition we should have made – peanuts. I think they would have complemented the existing flavor really well and been a perfect texture addition. Alas, I will have to try that next time!

Quinoa Peanut Soup
Recipe adapted Eating Well Magazine, April 2013
Serves 2, easily doubled

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 large red potato, fist sized, cubed, skin on
1/4 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup peanut butter (more to taste – we added one more spoonful)
1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley (optional)
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce, tobacco (optional)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the carrots, potato, quinoa, broth and water. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover and cook for 18 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked and the vegetables are tender. Stir in red pepper and cook for another 3 minutes. Microwave the peanuts butter for 39 seconds or so to thin it out. Then stir it into the soup, mixing well. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley, hot sauce and pepper and serve!

Tomato and Quinoa Bisque

February 14, 2013 by Mackenzie

Here’s a great soup recipe for a cold winter day! It’s easy to prepare, healthy and delicious!

I especially liked this soup because the quinoa gave it texture. I like my soups to be full of veggies or to be a little more exciting then pureed “something”. This was a great soup because it gave the classic tomato soup a little boost! Plus, it was a protein-packing boost!

Tomato and Quinoa Bisque
Recipe Adapted from Good Life Eats
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 15oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 can of water
1/2 cup quinoa, dry but rinsed
1/2 cup almond milk
Grated cheese to garnish

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for five minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning and saute for 3-5 more minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce, mixing well. Fill one of the empty cans with water and add to thin it out a bit (you may not need the whole can, or you may need more – I would have done less if I could do it again). Add the quinoa, bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked.

3. Remove the soup from the heat and cool slightly. Transfer half of the soup to a blender (all of the tomato chunks) and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, remixing with the non-blended half. Stir in the almond milk and additional spices if necessary (chili flakes!).

4. Serve warm, garnished with freshly grated cheese and with a toasted english muffin!
<br

Cinnamon Quinoa Bake

November 30, 2012 by Mackenzie

This is perfect for breakfast or a midmorning snack. It’s even better with jam spread over the top and a cup of coffee!

Photo from Gabby’s Gluten-Free blog

Cinnamon Quinoa Bake

Recipe from

Gabby’s Gluten-Free

Makes 9-12 bars

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled (1 cup dry)
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vanilla soy milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and place the cooked quinoa in a large mixing bowl. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with lightly greased parchment.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, soy milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Add maple syrup and whisk.

3. Add egg mixture to cooked and cooled quinoa. Stir with a large spoon to combine. Pour into the parchment-lined baking dish and spread it around to ensure that it’s even.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until set and golden.

5. Using parchment, remove bake from pan as soon as possible so that it doesn’t steam.

6. Cool completely and cut into squares. Delicious when warmed in the microwave and jam spread on top.