Recipe: Curried Quinoa thing

Take one large onion. Slice it thin and drop it into a hot hot pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper liberally, let it soften.

While that's cooking, slice some red and yellow peppers that you found (also softening) in the (poorly-named) "crisper". About the equivilent of one large pepper (which is what's left when you excise the iffy parts.) Cut into small dice. Don't do anything with them yet. If you find you have a cucumber, peel and dice that as well, and set it aside.

If the onions are turning golden, it's time to drop in the cooked quinoa. (You can cook some fresh - take the onion pan off the stove, tell everyone dinner will be 10 minutes later than you had said, and cook according to package directions. I had some left over -  most of a cup.)

Open and rinse a can of chick peas. Throw those in with the quinoa and the onions. Turn down the heat - a little crispy brown in awesome, but blackened is not delicious. Splash in a little water if you're worried about burning. Throw in the diced peppers.

Stir in a large spoonful of Patak's curry paste. We use hot, but there's also milder. Let that cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat - stir in a handful of dried cranberries and cover, let it sit for a few more minutes.

Serve with salt, pepper, plain yogurt and the diced cucumbers on top. Bizarrely deliscious. Kinda beige, though.

Vegetarian (vegan without the yogurt), high protein, all the fiber you need. Very very good.

Gluten- and Dairy-Free Carrot Cake.

Dude. no fooling. My first try at g-free baking was such a success that I am left speechless. I didn't think this could work. 

Carrot Cake adapted by ME!!

Preheat oven to 350, move a rack to the center position.

Grate some carrots (You need 2 cups) and let the grated carrots sit in a colander and dry out for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, drain a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple in juice.

Beat 4 large eggs, one scant cup granulated sugar, and one cup vegetable oil. And beat them and beat them and beat them, longer than you think could possibly be necessary, so they are as light-colored and foamy as they can get. This will work better if the eggs are close to room temperature - it makes them less gloppy. Add in the carrots and the pineapple, plus a cup of dried cranberries (Craisens).

(I didn't say it was a low-sugar recipe.)

In a separate bowl mix:
one scant cup white rice flour
one cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon (or a small palm-full) salt
2 teaspoons baking soda 
dry spices depending on your taste. Be generous. I used at least tablespoon of cinnamon, plus a generous shake of allspice. Use a LOT.

(If you're using a powerful mixer, you don't really need to pre-mix the dry ingredients - you can just throw them into the bowl with the wet stuff.)

Stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract; you can throw in a cup of nuts now, if you like. Walnuts are good.

Drop into greased muffin tins; you can fill them most of the way, a little more than you would with another cake batter. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes.

I have not tried these in a full-sized cake pan, so I don't know what effect it would have. They do rise in muffin tins, some.

They don't need icing, really. Also, DON'T seal them in plastic bags - the moisture will condense into, like, slush. This is good advice for all baked goods, but with something as moist as this, it's really important.

to me, these are indistinguishable  the wheat flour ones.  I'm stunned.

Recipe: Quinoa

Warm Quinoa Side Dish

Put 2 cups of water on to boil in a medium saucepan.

Chop half a large white onion, half a red pepper, and 2 stalks of celery into small bits.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a small sauté pan. Saute your veg until the onion is starting to soften, with a bit of salt and pepper.

Once the water boils, stir one cup of quinoa (I like Trader Joes Red Quinoa) into the saucepan. When the quinoa comes to a boil, reduce the heat and cover.

At the same time, reduce the heat under the veg. Stir occasionally. Throw in a bit of butter if you like (and if no one is vegan/anti-saturated fat.)

 If you like, add some leafy greens. Hearty things like kale will retain a lot of body, and need a little longer on the stove, and maybe a couple spoonfuls of the water from the quinoa. Wait a few minutes before adding soft greens like baby spinach; they should wilt but not completely collapse in the remaining cooking time.

Back to the quinoa - simmer it with the lid on for 10-15 min until the water is absorbed and the white ring is visible in the quinoa grains. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine the cooked, still-hot quinoa with the cooked, still-hot and still-a-little-crunchy vegetables. Plate. Season with salt, pepper, butter, hot sauce, rice wine vinegar, or whatever.

Dinner Tonight: Chickpea Tangine.

* 2 Tbs. olive oil
* Half a gigantic onion, thinly sliced
* 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs. minced from the jar.)
* i lb dried chickpeas, soaked about 18 hrs and rinsed
* several baby carrots, sliced into small chunks
* ¼ cup raisins
* 1 tsp. ground turmeric (shocked to find I had this in my cabinet)
* 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
* 1 tsp. ground cumin
* ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
* 2 tsp. honey
(I used Really Raw honey, but didn't see any of the usual miscellaneous bee parts - Eric must have eaten them all in the top layer.)
* ½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt


The night before:
pick over the dried chick peas, rinse them in a colander, and put them in a large pot with 6 or so cups of water. I left them on the counter overnight, but transferred them the fridge before I left for work.

When you plan to cook them:
Take soaked chick peas out of fridge, rinse them one last time, cover generously with cold water and set them to boil until you can crush one with a little effort. It took about 30 minutes here. Raw chickpeas taste a little like raw chestnuts, which I don't recommend either. Cooked chick peas taste a little like roasted chestnuts, and retain some of their springyness. Stop cooking them before they get mushy.

(The original recipe called for canned chick peas, rinsed, which would make this a 20-minute dish, and I'm sure that would be fine too. I'm just a dried bean snob. And cheap.)

Heat oil in dutch over over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic, and sauté until onion slices are soft.
Stir in cooked, drained chickpeas, carrots, raisins, spices, honey, and 2 cups water.
Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Keep an eye on it - I had to add about a half-cup more water at the 11 minute mark.
Serve, with a spoonful of yogurt.
Benefits from some salt and pepper.

THIS was a total winner, didn't take long, was definitely not technically challenging, and all with staple foods! We had everything except the yogurt already around the house. It's really delicious.

The original recipe is from last October Vegetarian Times. As I said above, it's even faster and easier.