Quinoa salad with apricot and pistachios

I was lucky to have my friend, Michelle whip up a delicious and healthy dinner for me and another friend tonight. Since I normally do all of my own cooking, it was really nice to have someone else cook for me :) I have such lovely friends!

Mich made quinoa salad with apricot, kale and pistachio nuts. She made some changes to the original recipe, adding kale and capsicum instead of the romaine lettuce and raisins. The original recipe can be found here.

I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. It was light, flavoursome and very filling. You might not think that salads are a substantial dinner, but this one left us all feeling very satisfied. Although, we still had room for dessert of course :P

Homemade guacamole & corn chips for starters :)

Vegan quinoa patties and lemon-Sriracha rémoulade

My lovely sister was in town tonight and she invited me over for a sleep over :)

I brought over some ingredients to make a recipe for quinoa cakes and sweet chia cornbread from The Simple Veganista (one of my new favourite sources for great vegan recipes). I loved cooking in her kitchen! It was all new, clean and very modern. Her oven is massive and there is so much bench space! It was so nice to have a change of scenery from my own kitchen. 

My sister also gave me ideas for plating up and helped me take the photos. I loved that she got just as excited about plating up as I did. 

I really enjoyed the dinner we cooked up tonight. This recipe for cornbread was by far the best I have made since coming home from America where the cornbread is to die for. I love cornbread with a passion. Actually, Southern food in general is some serious in-my-belly-goodness. It really lives up to the name 'soul food'. 

Vegan Quinoa Patties with Lemon-Sriracha Rémoulade

Serves 2

Ingredients

Quinoa Patties

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup flour of choice + more as needed
• 1/2 medium zucchini,grated
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• himalayan salt & freshly ground pepper
• olive oil for the skillet

Lemon-Dill-Sriracha Rémoulade

• 2/3 cups cashews* (preferably soaked for 2 -3 hours)
• 1/3 cup water + more as needed
• 1 tablespoon sriracha, + more to taste
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 lemon, zest and juice
• dash or two onion powder
• salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions

In small pot over medium high heat broth/water and quinoa to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Once done, remove cover, fluff with fork and let set for another 15 minutes to cool and absorb remaining water.
 
While the quinoa is cooling, start your flax egg by mixing the ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl and put in fridge to thicken.
 
Prepare the rémoulade by placing all the ingredients in a blender/food processor, and blend until smooth (the magic bullet is a perfect tool for this job). If you mixture is too wet add a few cashews and blend again...if too thick add 1 tablespoon water at time until desired consistency. Taste for seasoning adding more of whatever you like while blending by hand. 
Cover and keep at room temp or place in the refrigerator until ready to use (I serve mine at room temp). This can also be made a couple days in advance and kept in the refrigerator (will stay fresh for up to a five or six days).
 
On to the quinoa patties, in a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, flax gel, flour, onion, celery, zucchini and garlic. The mixture should be moist enough to stick together, remaining slightly tacky. Add additional flour or water, 1 -2 tablespoons at time if needed to adjust consistency. Season liberally with salt and cracked pepper. Form into approx. 8 to 12 patties about 1/2 inch thick. (Patties can be made a day in advance and kept in the refrigerator.)
 
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan/griddle over medium heat. Add the patties and cook, undisturbed, until nicely browned on one side, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook other side for an additional 4-5 minutes.
 
Keep finished quinoa cakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet (or on a foil-lined baking sheet) in the preheated oven until all cakes have been cooked. Plate the hot quinoa cakes with a generous dollop of rémoulade and pair with a steamed vegetable of choice. Serve immediately.

 

Vegan Sweet Chia Cornbread

 Ingredients

• 1 cup organic corn meal (I used a course grind)
• 1 cup spelt flour, whole wheat pastry flour or flour of choice
• 5 tablespoons pure cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup almond milk 
• juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted) or extra light flavored olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a vegan buttermilk by mixing the almond milk with the lemon or vinegar and set aside. Mix the chia seeds with the 1/2 cup water, set aside. Let these set for 10 minutes. Combine all dry ingredients in medium size bowl. Add buttermilk, oil, chia seed mixture and combine making sure to break up any lumps of chia seeds. Pour batter into an 8x8 greased baking pan or dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick, if it comes out clean it's ready. Serve.

Notes: You could also add in 1 cup corn to the mix.

Vegan blackened tofu, kale, silver beet (chard) and quinoa

I had a busy day today but I wanted to cook up a recipe I found on The Simple Veganista. The recipe was blackedned tofu, stir fried kale and quinoa. I had an hour to cook and eat my lunch before having to rush off and pick up my brother to go to the dentist. This dish was so quick and easy to make that I got it all done, plus I managed to get changed and brush my teeth! Awww yeah. 

Mind you, it was quick to make because I already had the ingredients. This dish is simple, but jam packed with flavour. I really loved it.

As The Simple Veganista goes on to explain on their site, this is a very nutritious meal. Kale is just a wonder vegetable, and quinoa is a wonder grain. Put them together and you get something even better than when the Power Rangers combine into a Megazord. 

Blackened Tofu, Stir Fried Kale (and silver beet /chard) and Quinoa

From The Simple Veganista

Kale and silver beet (chard):

Ingredients

kale and silver beet, roughly chopped

2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, fine ground

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons sesame oil

salt to taste

sesame seeds to garnish

Directions

In large wok or saute pan heat oil on medium high. Add kale and stir fry for about a minute. Sprinkle nutritional yeast and garlic powder over top, turning and moving the kale around to get all the spices mixed well throughout the kale. Continue stir frying for another four to five minutes. You may leave a cover on for a minute here and there in between stir frying to help soften the kale. When kale turns bright green it's about ready to be removed from heat. Test a piece and see if it's too your liking, if not stir fry a little longer. Some may like it crisp and some may like it softer. Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top.

Blackened tofu:

Ingredients

one block firm or extra firm organic tofu

2 tablespoons tamari

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Spice Blend

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon black or white pepper

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Open and drain tofu. Slice tofu into slabs, whatever size you prefer. Press tofu between paper towels or cloth to remove excess moisture. In a shallow dish place tofu and tamari and let set a few minutes, turn after a few minutes to let the other side soak.

In medium size bowl, combine all spice blend ingredients and mix until blended. This is fairly spicy so you may consider using less black pepper and/or cayenne.

In saute pan, heat oil on medium high heat. Place tofu pieces in spice blend, press gently to get a good coating, turn and repeat on the other side. Place coated tofu onto saute pan and cook a few minutes on each side. They will  blacken nicely as they should and be so tasty! Serve with quinoa, rice, kale or anything that calls to you. Serves four.

Quinoa:

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

Directions

Rinse your quinoa under cool running water for about a minute or two to remove any dust. If you forego this step your quinoa will have a bitter taste. Well worth the step. In medium to large pot add quinoa and water, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15-20 min. Once done stir and let set for 10 minutes uncovered to rest and soak up any excess water. Stir once again before serving. It will be a perfect quinoa, fluffy and sprouted.

  

Vegan Quinoa Pilaf with Kale and Corn

The lovely family I work for are often giving me a bunch of fresh kale from their garden. I always love when this happens because it feels so wonderful to be on the receiving end of such a kind gesture. I count myself very lucky to be working in such a warm environment. 

What I love about kale is that there are thousands of great vegan kale recipes out there. All of them 100% delicious. You can't go wrong with kale, and it's so good for you too.

Today's kale recipe is from my cookbook Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas. I made the Red Quinoa Pilaf with Kale and Corn, but I used normal white quinoa instead. I'm fairly certain all quinoa tastes the same regardless of colour, but I don't know that for sure so maybe I'll conduct some of my own taste test experiments. 

This meal was so wonderfully light. It is perfect for winter or summer, and it makes for a great lunch. If you're anything like me, dinner has to be more substantial :P



Vegan Quinoa Pilaf with Kale and Corn
From the Vegan Holiday Kitchen cookbook by Nava Atlas

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups quinoa (any colour), rinsed in a fine sieve
• 3 cups prepared vegetable broth or 3 cups water with 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces)
• 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 to 4 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• 2 cups cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels (I used mixed corn and peas)
• 2 jarred roasted red peppers, cut into strips, or 1/3 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine the quinoa with 2 cups broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to rapid simmer, then cover and continue to simmer gently until the broth is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. If the quinoa isn't quite done, add additional ½ cup broth (or water) and continue to cook until absorbed.
2. strip the kale leaves away from the stems. Discard the stems, or slice them very thinly. Cut the kale leaves into narrow strips. Rinse well and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet or stir-fry pan. Add the garlic and saute over love heat until golden.
4. Add the kale, stir together, and cover, raise the heat to medium and cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring frequently for 4 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer to serving bowl or casserole dish and serve at once, or cover until needed.

Mung bean and quinoa crepes

As you may have read in previous posts, I have not yet come across a vegetable that I have not liked. I've been reading a lot of recipes lately which use the root vegetable swede. I decided to buy some on my last trip to the grocers. 

I decided to use the swede in a recipe I found for mung bean and quinoa crepes. My crepes didn't turn out looking as lovely as the one in the picture from the website, but it still tasted very good. I'm fairly sure this is traditional Indian dish because the spices used are very similar to what you'd find in a lot of Indian recipes. 

The only change I made to the recipe was that I used roasted carrot, pumpkin and swede instead of potato. 

What I loved most about these crepes where that they were very crisp. I've never thought to use mung beans and quinoa to make a crepe batter, but whoever invented that was a genius. It was harder to flip than normal crepes made with flour, but I'm hoping to perfect my technique one day.