Creamy Quinoa with Dried Cranberries

Caution: The breakfast above is hotter than it looks!!

I burnt the inside top of my mouth like nobodies business with my first bite. Admittedly, it was a bite while it was still in the pot, so it was my own silly fault. Take it from me, blow on it first. :)

Now, I didn't have maple sugar, so I used brown and a squirt of maple syrup. I also didn't have soy milk, so I used skim. (Between making it and having leftovers, though, I'd picked up some soy milk - and the leftovers were amazing with some poured on top.)

Earthy. Sweet. Wholesome = three words I use to describe this. "Tastes like camping" is what my husband said. I don't know what that means, but I hope it was a compliment. We are very much bacon and eggs for breakfast people, so this quinoa was a nice change. The dried cranberries plump up and the nuts are a nice contrast, both in flavor and texture. Maybe not the best choice for a summer breakfast, but believe you me, I'll be pulling this recipe out come Fall.

Creamy Quinoa with Dried Cranberries
c/o Vegetarian Times Magazine

Serves 4.

1 ½ cups vanilla soymilk, plus more for serving
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
½ cup dried cranberries
2 Tbs. maple sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground allspice or cloves
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ cup chopped pecans, toasted, for sprinkling

Bring soymilk, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in quinoa and cranberries, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and grains are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and stir in maple sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Serve warm, topped with more soymilk and pecans.

Per 1-cup serving: 362 calories, 10 g protein, 15 g total fat, 50 g carbs, 0 mg cholesterol, 185 mg sodium, 6 g fiber, 17 g sugars

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One Year Old: Dinner in a Bucket!

I cannot believe that I've had my little blog for a whole year. A whole year! I want to say that time sure flies, and it does, but I also know that a lot of meals have been made in the last year and I know I've learned a lot and met a ton of really great people! Thank you for tuning in and thank you for your kind support! To celebrate, I made dinner in a bucket, and I wish I could have had you all over for this funny little dinner this weekend!

Being a year-old blogger seemed the perfect reason to break out my nifty new Polyscience thermal circulator. I was lucky enough to win it through Menu for Hope 4, hosted by the lovely Pim. I seriously ran around the office squealing when I saw my name listed as the winner. I went rambling to my coworkers (who had NO IDEA what a thermal circulator was (and probably still don't, even though they've seen it)). I called my husband, I called my mom, I called the mailman. I felt like I was homecoming queen - or as best I can imagine that must feel, anyway. This is one clever kitchen accessory, and it goes so well with the snazzy vacuum sealer my darling husband/Santa brought me for Christmas!

The thermal circulator will allow me to more easily and safely sous-vide at home. Not that you couldn't wrap your product up in plastic wrap and monitor the temperature in a pot of water, but the fancy machines take the fussiness out of it. And the fear of botulism - which is a plus!

I pulled this recipe from the May 2007 issue of Food & Wine magazine. The recipe itself calls for roasting the loaf in the oven, but includes a blurb at the top mentioning that the chef prepares it sous-vide in his restaurant. I jumped on the opportunity!

I don't yet have a stock pot and my other pots weren't quite the right size, so I ordered a heat-safe hotel pan... that of course didn't arrive in time... We also ordered the little polyscience cage to protect the heat coils of the circulator (so the plastic wouldn't melt), but that also didn't arrive in time... so we used our multipurpose bucket from Home Depot and duct tape! Yay MacGuyvered dinner in a bucket!

While my husband fiddled with the bucket/tape set-up, I got to loafing! The meatloaf comes together the same way any other meatloaf would, but for one surprise - cottage cheese! I had never put cottage cheese in my meatloaf before, and now that I've done it, I don't know if I could go back (at least for turkey meatloaf, it might look weird in beef or pork.) Once ready, they got the spa treatment for about 90 minutes, until the meatloaf reached an internal temperature of 160°F. At that point, it was still pale pale meat, so I broiled the loaves for about 5 minutes for some color. (And as you can see in the photo above, the loaves got a little squished during the vacuum sealing, and they have sexy little squish-edges! Def. will freeze the loaves before I seal them, so they maintain their loaf-shape.)

I really really liked the red pepper sauce as it was, but Dave thought it needed a little pizazz, so I tossed in a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes. The little kick the flakes provided really did the trick, I think. I served the meatloaf, sauce, and peppers with quinoa instead of wild rice, because I wanted something closer to mashed potatoes - because who doesn't like potatoes and meatloaf?

Altogether, a lovely meal. Interesting gadgetry, moist and lovely meatloaf, fresh and vibrant red pepper sauce, joined with fluffy quinoa. A very satisfying way to mark a great year!

Mini Turkey Meat Loaves with Red Pepper Sauce
c/o Food & Wine Magazine, May 2007
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/mini-turkey-meat-loaves-with-red-pepper-sauce

Cottage cheese is a low-fat way to keep lean turkey meat loaf moist. At Gamba’s restaurants, he cuts even more fat by cooking the meat loaves sous-vide.

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground lean turkey, white meat only
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup panko
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
3 red bell peppers, sliced
1 thyme sprig
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon half-and-half
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
Cooked wild rice, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°. Lightly oil two 6-by-3 1/2-inch metal loaf pans. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic and two-thirds of the onion; season with salt and white pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Add the turkey and cooked vegetables to a large bowl. Add the egg whites, panko, cottage cheese, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper. Knead until blended and divide between the pans. Place the pans on a baking sheet and bake in the upper third of the oven for 35 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°. Remove from the oven and preheat the broiler.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add two-thirds of the red peppers, the remaining onion and the thyme. Cover and cook over moderate heat until softened, 10 minutes. Add the water, cover and simmer until the peppers are very tender, 7 minutes. Discard the thyme. Transfer the contents of the skillet to a blender, add the half-and-half and puree. Season with salt and pepper.

In a skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the remaining peppers and cook over moderate heat until softened, 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Broil the meat loaves 4 inches from the heat until browned, 2 minutes. Turn the loaves out onto a plate and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Spoon the pepper sauce onto plates. Top with the meat loaf and peppers. Serve with wild rice and the remaining sauce.

Per serving: 505 cal, 21 gm fat, 2.9 gm sat fat, 20 gm carb, 3.3 gm fiber.

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Quinoa and Crescenza

My husband wants to know where the ghosts are, and why they're making us eat so much fiber. He also thinks I should rename my blog to All Fiber, All the Time.. or something similar.

So, yes, this is yet another fiber-y dinner... and my third from Heidi's Super Natural Cooking (see, ghosts... ) THIS WEEK... but what about it? :) This chapter specifically says to explore grains and I have! Before this week, I'd never made pearled barley or quinoa! I really enjoyed their chewy disposition, and I'm quite positive I'll find other ways to incorporate their tastiness into our meals. Just maybe not all in one week.

I couldn't find the Crescenza cheese at Wegmans, so I substituted with the Tallegio. I could have picked my much-loved Brie, but I wanted to go with something new to us. Tallegio, if you've never had it, is really smelly. I mean, really really smelly. Neither one of us cared for it on its own, but it really works in this dish... really really. I also used a mix of brown and white button mushrooms. I went with the already-sliced ones, just for the convenience.

While I really liked this meal, and thought it could stand on its own, Dave would prefer to revisit it as a side dish. More for me, then!

All Fiber, All the Time, signing out. If you'll excuse me, I have to go figure out how to kick my Dearie off the tv, so I can watch the last Stargate SG-1 episode ever. :(


Quinoa and Crescenza
From Super Natural Cooking, by Heidi Swanson
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Natural-Cooking-Incorporate-Ingredients/dp/1587612755/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6815521-7348005?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182220708&sr=8-1

6 tablespoons clarified butter or extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped
2 cups quinoa, rinsed
1 cup good-quality dry white wine
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more as needed
2 cups water
2 big pinches or red pepper flakes
1 pound mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 ounces Crescenza cheese (or substitute Gruyere, Tallegio, or Brie)

Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the garlic and the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the onion starts to soften and get translucent. Add the quinoa, wine, and 1 teaspoon salt, bring to a boil, and continue boiling for 3 to 4 minutes, until the liquid has reduced a bit.

Add the water, return to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the quinoa opens up, revealing a little spiral, and is soft and pleasant to chew.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, along with the red pepper flakes and a few pinches of salt. Stir in the mushrooms and cook without stirring for a few minutes, until they’ve begun to brown and release their juices. Then shake the skillet every few minutes until the mushrooms are evenly browned, about 4 more minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the quinoa is perfectly tender yet textured, drain off any excess liquid and stir in the cheese. Ladle into big bowls and top with the mushrooms.

Serves 4 to 6.

See the recipe...