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?