Quinoa the wonder seed?

Quinoa: the first time I saw this word I thought, "Huh?" Despite the fact that I had been a devoted vegetarian for over a decade, I was unsure of this new so-called "super food."  I wasn't even sure how to pronounce the name! However, in recent years this wee seed has become a popular "fad" food item among natural foodies and has thus been imported to many grocery store chains.  It is possible now to walk into your local grocery store and buy this seed in the bulk goods section. I have also been seeing it as a menu item in some more mainstream restaurants and shoppes!  So what is quinoa?  Why is it popular among health foodies and vegetarians/vegans?  Well lets take a closer look at this previously little known seed...

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a seed that hails from South America.  The seed is often referred to as a "grain" however this is incorrect as the part of the plant that one actually consumes is technically the seeds.  Quinoa is related to crops such as spinach and beetroot. The seed comes in white, red and black varieties. Pictured above you can see two of the varieties: red and white. Quinoa is a very high protein seed, a.k.a. it contains all essential amino acids.  The human body requires certain amino acids to function at peak efficiency, 9 of these cannot be synthesized by our bodies and are considered "essential" so they must be consumed through our diet.  Usually we get the complete 9 amino acids from meat and dairy products, however for vegans and vegetarians this is not always possible without mixing and matching various foods.  This is where a super seed like quinoa comes in, it can supply the needed amino acids for our bodies to use and thus is a healthy vegan method for obtaining these essential amino acids.* 

Quinoa is especially rare in that is contains all 9 essential amino acids, most other plant sources of protein do not contain our required amino acids for the day and thus it makes getting the essential protein for our bodies that much harder for a vegan/vegetarian.  Meat has always been known as a great source of protein because it has ample supplies of the 9 essential amino acids.* Yet the more we learn about plant based protein, the more we realize that meat is not the necessary menu item that we once thought it was!

Cook quinoa just as you would rice (1 cup of dried, washed quinoa to 1-1/2 cups of water. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.) Before it is cooked quinoa looks just like a seed, however when it has finished cooking it resembles a sprouted seed. You can actually see the little sprout innards curling out of the seed, creating a fluffy pile of delicious quinoa:

 Quinoa is a very versatile ingredient.  I have used it in many recipes, recently I made some absolutely smashing black bean and quinoa burgers.  I have also used white quinoa to replace rice in many dishes, the white variety is much milder in flavor so it does not overpower the dish you are using it in.  It reminds me of a slightly nutty flavored couscous.  The red variety is much earthier in flavor and is my particular favorite.  I like to use it in my quinoa salad: red quinoa, black beans, avocado, peppers, tomatoes, onion and lime mixed together. As pictured below:

 Now that I have discovered this wondrous little seed I rarely go without it in my pantry.  It keeps for a good long while in an airtight container.  It goes well in almost any dish!  Try it sometime and I will make sure to add quinoa recipes periodically.

-Night Owl Gal





*Source: "Contemporary Nutrition: 6th edition" Wardlaw, Gordon M. and Smith, Anne M.  2006.  McGraw Hills Companies. 

Oven baked steak fries

Yesterday was Easter, this of course, implies that I over-indulged in a variety of too many, too sweet foods... My husband and I had my mother and his mother and step-father over for an afternoon of coffee and chocolate delights.  I baked a delicious vegan chocolate cake (if you would like to make a scrumptious vegan chocolate cake, I encourage you to use this cupcake recipe and instead of cupcakes bake the batter in a 9"x9" cake pan for about 20 minutes).  My mother also brought along an assortment of delicious chocolate candies and sparkling cider! 

In response to my over-indulgence of sweets yesterday I really wanted something salty and savory for my dinner tonight. I decided to try my hand at steak cut french fries!  They turned out so delicious!  Soft in the middle, but crisp and salty on the outside.  I ate them fresh from the oven with a salad and an over-easy egg on the side. I don't think that I will ever buy pre-made french fries again; fresh and home made are totally the only way to go!  So easy to make as well! 

Steak fries
(serves 2)

3 Russet potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

salt/pepper 

Wash your potatoes. Choose to skin your potatoes or leave the skin on them, I chose to skin them because they weren't organic I wanted to reduce as much chemical exposure as possible.  However, next time I make these I am definitely buying organic potatoes and leaving the skin on. I think the skin would get crispy and make the fries appear more authentic and visually appealing! 

Slice the potatoes into 10ths and place the slices into a large bowl.

Fill the bowl with cold water, make sure all the potato slices are covered in water.

Let the potato slices soak for 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes is up heat your oven to 400F, then drain the water and dump your potato slices onto a paper towel or clean kitchen rag and dry them out well.

When the potatoes are all dried put them back into the large bowl, pour your olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix well with your hands, you want the olive oil to coat every slice.

Arrange the potato slices on a large cookie sheet.  Make sure that each slice has its own space, don't lay slice on top of each other!  They will not brown properly if they are layered.  Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes flip the slices with a spatula.  Continue cooking for another 20 minutes.  

Sprinkle with a little more salt and make sure to eat while pipping hot from the oven!

 

- Night Owl Gal

Egg-free chocolate chip cookies

This has been a long week for me.  The weather has shifted, all too suddenly, from beautiful 75-degree days to freezing 30-degree days.  My body and my mind were getting ready for spring, albeit a bit early, so I was not really prepared for snow to come land on my sprouting mint plants! In retrospect, this is a very northern climate and I really should have expected a curve ball in the weather...

In other news, it is the beginning of the month which means bills, bills and more bills.  My not working at the moment has been trying on my nerves a bit, I have been a bit stressed and wondering if we are going to make all the payments.  We always do manage, but some times it can be tiresome. In an effort to forget about the weather and other unpleasant things, I decided to make a big ol' batch of chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes you just need chocolate!  As Charles Schulz once said, "all you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."  So true Mr. Schulz, I agree completely.

Instead of going with a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe, such as the all too familiar "Nestle Tollhouse" recipe often found on the back of the bag of chocolate chips, I decided to dig up a recipe I have been working on for several years.  I haven't made this recipe in about a year, but I remembered the first time I made it, my hubby and I simply loved the cookies!  They stayed soft for days! The secret? Yogurt!

A few years back I wanted to make egg-less cookies and I found a great deal of recipes that called for all sorts of egg substitutes: ground flax-seeds, tofu, bananas and applesauce. I tried a few of them, but they often left the cookies tasting like the ingredient used to substitute, i.e. banana-flavored cookies.  I finally tried using vanilla yogurt and hit the key ingredient!  These cookies do not flatten out like traditional chocolate chip cookies, they are much fuller and more moist.  My hubby and I love these cookies, give 'em a try if you ever find yourself without eggs! 

Egg-less chocolate chip cookies

(makes about 2 dozen)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup earth balance spread or butter

1/2 cup vanilla, full fat yogurt

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-2 cups chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Mix the earth balance, or butter, with the two sugars.  Cream them together. 

Add the yogurt and blend in with the butter and sugar mixture.  Then add the rest of the ingredients.

Add the chocolate chips and mix in well.

Scoop out by the teaspoon onto a waiting cookie sheet.

Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes, the cookies should be just beginning to brown when you take them out.  They will look a bit under- done, but they are ready!  Let them cool and enjoy!

- Night Owl Gal