Real Good Food Swap: Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Almonds

I've recently joined an Ann Arbor-based online food sharing network, called Real Good Food. What is Real Good Food? I'll let the website explain it:

"Real Good Food is a community to share or trade your high-quality homemade food and/or homegrown produce.

We’re all self-selected members who like to eat and cook. As a collective, can we create more than the sum of our efforts and reap the benefits by cooking larger quantities less often and dramatically expanding our opportunity to enjoy unique food such as heirloom recipes, homemade specialties and authentic ethnic food.

First, we take advantage of the fact that most cooking can be easily increased for far less effort than actually making the same food another time. Second, by sharing our delicious efforts we remove the problem of perpetual leftovers and/or unfortunate waste.

For example: 

I can make a cheesecake as the urge strikes, or I can make 4 cheesecakes for a little extra time and cost.

Problem is, as much as I’d like to, I can’t eat a whole cheesecake, let alone four.

So, I tell the group about my four cheesecakes, when they’re available, how long they will keep and other details I consider relevant. If I get lucky, I’ll end up with only half a cheesecake, and several other passion-crafted foods in exchange."

Cool beans, right? I get emails every so often (multiple times a day to every few days) from people announcing some delicious something or another that they want to share and trade. I have definitely been enjoying observing from a far but someone offered up something I just could not pass up: a kombucha scoby! A scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is also known as a kombucha culture, a mother, or a mushroom. I will talk about this more extensively in a later post, I'm sure.

Anyways, I immediately emailed back this woman and in return I have made her a "grain and vegetable" dish. I hope she enjoys it! (This one's for you, Emily!)

Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Almonds
Adapted from Whole Foods Market.

Ingredients:
1/2 c sundried tomatoes (1)
1.5 c vegetable broth water and 1.5 T soy sauce, divided
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (2)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 c uncooked quinoa (1)
2 c small broccoli florets (3)
1/2 c almonds, toasted and chopped (1)

Directions:

Soak sundried tomatoes in hot water for 15 minutes, drain and chop.

Bring 1/2 c water and 1/2 T soy sauce to a simmer in a medium pot.

Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Add sundried tomatoes, 1 c water and 1 T soy sauce, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil.

Stir in quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. 

Place broccoli florets on top of quinoa, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.*

Remove from heat and gently toss with almonds to combine.

*I used broccoli that I froze in September so instead of this step, I steamed my frozen block of broccoli until thawed and cooked through. Then I just mixed the broccoli in along with the almonds.

(1) Bulk section of the People's Food Co-op

(2) Grown in Michigan but bought through the People's Food Co-op

(3) Bought this summer at the Ann Arbor farmers' market and frozen! I don't remember the exact farm though...

Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Kale Patties

Pre-bake but still pretty!

Based off a recipe from YumUniverse. Serious yum is happening. No, seriously.


Ingredients:
1 T ground flax seeds, 3 T water (optional)
3 c cooked red and gold quinoa
3 small sweet potatoes
1/2 c pumpkin puree
1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
2 t sea salt
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
2 LARGE cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 t cinnamon


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F
Roast sweet potatoes for 25-35 minutes, until soft.
Remove skin from potatoes.
Whisk flax seeds into water.
Finely chop kale by hand or pulse in a food processor.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

For baking
Form into patties and put on cookie sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.


For frying
Coat patties in flour, cornmeal or bread crumbs.
Heat 1 T oil in a saute pan.
Fry coated patties until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side.


This recipe makes quiiiite a few patties, especially for one person... I ended up freezing uncooked patty balls on a baking sheet and then transferring them to a tupperware!

California Christmas: Chopped

I am not sure if anyone else watches Chopped but it's a show on the Food Network where people have to make an appetizer, main course, and dessert using specific ingredients. The challenge is that the ingredients are not always "normal". I have to use candy canes in my appetizer? Or bacon in my dessert?

Needless to say, watching it is a guilty pleasure of mine. And my aunt and uncle are fans of the show as well. As entertainment on a blustery evening in Northern California, we created a chopped challenge of our own!

The Rules:

My aunt and I had to make appetizers using cucumbers, my foraged chanterelles, and persimmons; a entree using salmon, asparagus, and (I can't remember what else); a dessert using pomegranates, quinoa, and chocolate.

Appetizer: Cucumber Disks with a Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Spread, Wild Chanterelle Crostinis, Spicy Lime Tortilla Chips with Persimmon Chips and an Orange-Persimmon

Roasted Red Pepper-Walnut Spread

Also known as muhammara (I LOVE this word). Recipe from the NY Times.

Ingredients:
3/4 c walnuts, toasted and chopped

3 red bell peppers, roasted
3/4 c fresh bread crumbs*

1 jalapeño or other small hot chili pepper, stemmed and seeded
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T pomegranate molasses
1 T lemon juice
1 t ground cumin
salt and pepper
2 T olive oil.

Directions:

Put all ingredients (except oil) in food processor and pulse until smooth.

Slowly pour in olive oil into running food processor.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Eat with anything and everything: cucumbers, pita bread, your hands...

Entree: Asparagus and Red Onion Salad, Miso-glazed Wild Alaskan Salmon, Sweet Potato Latkes with Cranberry Relish, garnished with mixed salad greens.

Sweet Potato Latkes

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/4 c whole wheat flour

1 T ground flax seeds, whisked into 3 T water

salt, pepper, smoked paprika

oil

Directions:

Grate the sweet potatoes (my aunt had a fancy grater feature on her food processor which made this process VERY easy)

Mix together all the ingredients, except the oil.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Take a handful of sweet potato mixture and form a patty.

Fry in oil until dark brown, about 5 minutes.

Flip to fry the other side.

Allow to cool on a rag (to wick away excess oil)

Serve with cranberry chutney!

Dessert: Spicy Chocolate-Dipped Date-Walnut Truffles, Pomegranate Quinoa Patties

My first pomegranate! Too pretty.

Red Quinoa Ginger Snaps and Homemade Almond Milk

Also known as Christmas Cookies Attempt #1. I am pretty specific when it comes to baking. The whole vegan thing is a zero-percent issue since there is a substitute for everything. There's dairy-free milk/butter/cream cheese, egg replacers, vegan binders. You name it, some laboratory created a vegan substitute for it.

The problem I have is that chemicals/processed things scare me. Yeah, they make things super easy and convenient but do you really know what partially hydrogenated soybean oil or carrageenan gum does to a human body? Neither do I...

Well I found a pretty amazing recipe on a blog called (never)homecooking. Whole wheat flour, healthy oils, and a taste that is wonderfully reminiscent of winter. I have a few kinks to work out (notice my cookie lattice above due to major spread-age) but they sure are tasty.

Red Quinoa Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour (1)
2 t baking powder
1 T ground ginger
1/2 t coriander
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 c maple syrup (2)
1/8 c almond milk (recipe below)
1/2 c sucanat (or dark brown sugar)
2 handfuls of uncooked red quinoa, rinsed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Mix together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl.
Mix together liquids and sugar in a small bowl.
Pour wet into dry and mix until homogeneous.
Stir in uncooked quinoa.
Spoon tablespoon-sized dollops of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
These will spread so allow them room to grow!
Flatten the dollops a little and press in a little more quinoa.
Bake for 10-13 minutes (13 for my oven), or until starting to brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, transferring to cooling rack after 5 minutes.

My plans for attempt #2:

• Replace baking powder with 1/2 t baking soda and a pinch of salt.
• Roll dollops into smooth balls before pressing them down.

Almond milk

This is super easy to do and it contains none of the preservatives and other unnecessary add-ins that store bought almond milk contains.

Ingredients:

1/4 c raw almonds

1 c water

2 T maple syrup or agave nectar (optional)

Directions:

If blanching

Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan.

Dump in almonds and allow to boil for about 30 seconds.

Strain from heat and allow to cool enough to handle.

Pop off the skins.

If soaking

Put almonds in a bowl with enough water to cover by a few inches.

Allow to soak overnight.

Dump soaking water.

Pour almonds, 1 c water and sweetener into a blender or food processor.

Blend for 1-3 minutes, until milky.

Pour mixture through a cheese cloth or nut bag (something that will strain out the almond pulp) into a container.

Drink or store in the fridge in an air-tight container, or use in any recipe calling for milk or a milk-substitute (like the one above!)

(1) Earnst Farm

(2) That stand that sells MI maple syrup at the Ann Arbor farmer's market

Autumn Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Autumn Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash, cut in half
1 c cooked quinoa
3 T oil
2 T maple syrup
1/4 c dried cranberries
1/4 c pistachios
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t cinnamon
salt and pepper
fresh thyme or rosemary

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F.
Coat inside of both acorn squash halves with 1 T of oil.
Bake in oven, flesh side down for 40 minutes with about 1/2 inch of water, until fork tender.
Heat cooked quinoa in a sauce pan over medium heat with 1 T oil, maple syrup, cranberries, pistachios, and spices.
Fill each roasted acorn squash half with 1/2 c of quinoa mixture.
Wrap stuffed squash halves with aluminum foil and bake in oven for another 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme or rosemary.


Sweet and Spicy Acorn Squash Seeds

Ingredients:
seeds of 1 acorn squash
2 T maple syrup
2 T oil
1 t cayenne pepper
salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F.
Mix together all ingredients except salt and pepper.
Spread onto baking pan and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and season with salt.