Just Add Quinoa

Still on my quinoa craze. I've been trying to make a big batch of whatever on Sundays so I have leftovers throughout the week. I didn't get around to it this week, so when we had a bunch of leftover vegetable kabobs from last night, I just added quinoa.

I sauteed some garlic in a pan of hot olive oil, then added the leftover veggies to heat them up, a few handfuls of baby spinach, and then a bunch of quinoa I'd cooked in the morning with chicken broth made from last night's grilled chicken carcass. So it's not exactly vegetarian, but it did have its share of veggies -- zucchini, tomato, onion, green pepper, spinach. Easy, peasy.

Itz Cheezy

I found this on Pinterest a couple nights ago. And I showed Eric. Enough said.


Recipe here. Only he used this:

Adzuki Bean and Yam Hash

I was talking easy vegetarian meals with my friend Jo on the way home from quilt guild meeting one night. I told her about my zucchini-eggplant dish, and she shared her yam hash recipe. I finally made it today, and I have to say, it's really good. Pretty basic:

Chop up a medium onion, saute in hot oil. My onion was big, so I only used half. I should have used the whole thing. Add thyme and cumin.


Chop two yams, in relatively equal-size pieces. Add to the onions.


Stir a bit, then cover and let the yams cook until tender.


Meanwhile, chop up about four or five stalks of kale...


When the yams are cooked to your satisfaction, add the beans. I didn't have adzuki beans (and don't know that I've ever had them at home) so I used black beans...


Then the kale.



The kale will wilt after a few stirs, and when it's all wilted enough and the beans are hot, add pepper and Herbamare to taste.

Now about this Herbamare.

I had the recipe for a week or more and didn't make it because I didn't have Herbamare. (I don't get out much, remember?) We finally made a trip to the co-op and found it.


It was like $6. Eric was tempted to make a smaller quantity of it, but looking at the list of ingredients, there were enough unusual ingredients that the co-op didn't carry, so we just bought the mix.

Ingredients: Sea Salt, organic celery leaves, organic leek, organic cress (water and garden), organic onion, organic chive, organic parsley, organic lovage, organic garlic, organic basil, organic marjoram, organic rosemary, organic thyme, Kelp (with trace iodine)

Anyway...serve it over quinoa or rice (or the grain of your choice), and you're done. And I've got at least two more days of leftovers I can eat for lunch.


I really like it -- it's filling and healthy and tastes great. I don't really have an opinion on the Herbamare yet. I think I'm going to add it to some popcorn soon to give it the real taste test.

Thanks so much, Jo!

Here is her recipe...

Adzuki Bean & Yam Hash

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium yams, peeled and diced small
2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 - 1 tsp grd cumin
2 c. cooked adzuki beans
4-5 collard greens, finely chopped
Herbamare and black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and few dashes of salt. Saute' for a few minutes.

Add yams, thyme, and cumin. Saute' for a few minutes uncovered then cover your pan and cook for about 15-20 min, stirring, occasionally, until yams are tender. Watch carefully so they don't burn. (they will cook quickly if diced into small pieces)

Add adzuki beans and collard greens. Saute' a few minutes more, or until collards are tender. Add Herbamare and pepper to taste.

Serve over brown rice or quinoa.

(I have also used canned black beans if I'm in a hurry, otherwise I cook the dried beans using a pressure cooker which makes it go faster. I also like to put cilantro and avocado on top...really good!)

Cooking for Dummies

When I find a savory dish that I can easily prepare myself, I tend to eat it over, and over, and over again. I discovered this one when Eric was in Portland for the month of March and I was left to cook for myself. I'd just discovered quinoa and wanted some vegetables to go with it, so I used what I had on hand. I really haven't made any adjustments to it, either, I like it that much. (Plus I'm lazy and pretty clueless when it comes to seasoning.)

Start with a zucchini and some eggplant. I generally like to use more eggplant than this, but this is all I had today.

Chop them up into pieces that will cook quickly.

Put them in a pan with a little hot oil. I used olive oil.


I put everything in at once, but I would recommend putting the zucchini in first, because it takes longer to cook. Stir it around every once in a while, and when the zucchini is tender, add some chopped garlic. I used two medium-sized cloves.


Then add some tomatoes. I had some leftover canned tomatoes, so I added those. I've used fresh tomatoes before, and that's even better. (This pic is horribly blurry, but it's all I got, and I didn't want to leave out this visual step.)


Now cover it up for a few minutes to let the tomatoes cook/heat, and to finish off the vegetables.


While that's stewing I heat up the leftover quinoa. If this isn't already prepared, you need to start this first. It takes a good 20-30 minutes. Instead of water, I use vegetable stock for added flavor.

That's it! I had a little Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, so I added it, but it's not really necessary. I also add a little salt. I'm sure there are other herbs that could be added during the saute/simmer process, but as I said, I'm clueless. Experiment. (And please let me know if you have any suggestions!)

And there are even leftovers for tomorrow.


How easy (and healthy!) is that?

I'm No Michael Ruhlman

I found this photo yesterday on Pinterest ( "Pinterest is a place to catalog the things you love.") and showed it to Eric.


Lately it's been almost a weekly occurrence for me to mail baked goods to friends across the country...




...so I figured I owed him a dessert that he would actually get to eat. I tracked down the source and discovered it belonged to Michael Ruhlman.

A chocolate chip cookie bowl. How hard could that be?

Problem #1: I don't own multiple graduated-sized bowls like Michael Ruhlman apparently does, so I improvised, which limited me to just two cookie bowls at one time.

According to Mr. Ruhlman's recipe, what looks like Problem #2 is to be expected.


Separate the bowls, then put back into the oven for a few more minutes to cook the bottom of the cookie bowl.


Trim the overflow...

"When the bowls are cool enough to handle, cut off any dough that's over flowed the edge and, very carefully, run a pairing knife along the sides, gently lifting up to delicately free the bottom of the cookie bowl."

Yeah, right. Problem #3:

"Yes, you can eat that one."


I'm actually glad I don't own so many bowls, because the whole process was kind of a pain.

I just made cookies with the rest of the dough.



So the whole cookie bowl thing was a big fat fail, BUT the cookie recipe was great. Very buttery, but not too crisp. Who needs cookie bowls?!