Chupe de Quinoa

If you haven't tried quinoa, this is your chance! Quinoa is a quick cooking, extremely healthful grain. It contains a balanced set of essential amino acids which make it a complete protein source. What more could you ask for? Besides delicious. Which is where this soup comes into play.

Although this is a lengthy recipe, it is quite simple and comes together rather quickly.

Chupe de Quinoa, Quinoa Soup
(adapted from The Art of South American Cooking)

2 T oil
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, chopped
2 t cumin
1/8 t white pepper, or 1/2 t black pepper
1 T coarse sea salt, or 2 t regular table salt
1 lb potatoes cut into 1" cubes, peeled or unpeeled
1/2 lb fresh spinach, shredded
1 c raw quinoa
5 c stock or water
Juice of an orange
8 oz feta cheese
Hard boiled eggs, one per person

Heat your oil on medium heat, in a large pot. Add garlic and jalapeño. Be careful not to let the garlic brown. Add cumin, pepper and salt, cook until fragrant, 1-2 min. Pour in your 5 c water or stock and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until soft. About 15 min. While potatoes are cooking, make your quinoa and eggs.

Quinoa: You should always thoroughly rinse your grains before cooking. (Bob's Red Mill sells pre-rinsed quinoa!) Place 1 c quinoa and 2 c water in a pot, bring to a boil. Place lid on, turn off heat. Leave the pan on the hot burner. It should be done in about 10 minutes.

Eggs: This method is from Martha, and produces the most perfectly cooked egg. You know when you have over cooked eggs when your yolk is green. That wont happen when following these directions. Place eggs in a pot, add cold water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil, cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand for 12 minutes, then drain and run under cold water. I like to cook more than I need so that there are some left for a quick protein snack.

Back to the Soup!

Once your potatoes are soft, stir in the spinach and cooked quinoa. Pour in the orange juice and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve with feta and boiled egg on top. Bon Appétit!

A few additional notes:

*I don't always have jalapeño or oranges on hand and the soup still tastes delicious with out these ingredients.

*For less spice, remove the pith and seeds from the jalapeño before cutting. A spoon works great for this. Cut jalapeño in half and use a spoon to scrape out the insides.

*Choose feta made with goat or sheep's milk, it is much more flavorful. You will find that you use less, which counters the higher price.

*You can substitute any green leaf vegetable for the spinach.

*If you want to add meat, brown it in the pan before adding the garlic.

*If you want to add other vegetables, add them with the potatoes.

Quick And Tasty

You've just got to love a dish that is both quick and tasty!

I can't think of a name for this dish that conveys how yummy it is, so I will just get on with the recipe.

8 oz pasta, cooked according to package instructions
1 bunch of cooking greens like chard, collard, mustard, kale. Use one, or a mix.
1 c chicken stock or broth
1 T oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Shredded Fontina cheese, or Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio
Bacon for garnishing

I use rotelle pasta and I chop the greens pretty small with the thought in mind that small pieces will get stuck between the ridges of the pasta and then be consumed by my unsuspecting children. That being said, any shape pasta will do.

In a large pot, heat oil on med. Briefly cook garlic until soft, being careful not to brown. Add broth and greens. There will seem to be quite a bit of greens, but they cook down. Stir until the greens are wilted and then put a lid on so you don't loose all the liquid, cook for about 15 min. Mean while, cook your pasta, grate your cheese, get your bacon ready. I baked mine in the oven and then crumbled it to order.

Add your salt and pepper, mix the pasta and greens together. Serve with cheese and bacon. Yum.

Simple Summer Dish

This is Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice from 101 Cookbooks. Instead of brown rice, I used quinoa because it is a quick cooking grain that is high in protein. Although it comes together quickly, it does take more than 10 minutes. More accurately I would say it takes 10 minutes of cooking time, after you have gotten all your mis en place (a French culinary term for having everything all prepared).

I love the freshness of this dish and the tahini dressing, and it's asparagus season! The kids, on the other hand, don't really care for it. Violet mostly ate almond slivers and Wren ate mostly asparagus. But I can't please them all the time!

*recipe found on 101cookbooks.com through link above.

My Kids Ate This!

I had no idea what was going to be for dinner. Wednesday had been left blank on the weekly menu, thinking I'd fill it in after I finished grocery shopping. We had food, just what to do with it?

Riffling through the fridge I found chard, ricotta, spring onions. I knew I had some pasta and garlic. Oh, and those cherry tomatoes that needed to be used up!

I sautéd the garlic and onions. Threw in chopped chard. OK, that's good, but my kids wont eat it like that! What if I blended it up with the ricotta? Now we're talking. I thinned it a little with cream, seasoned with salt and pepper and tossed it with whole wheat spaghetti. Still needs a little something. Cherry tomatoes halved, with olive oil, salt and pepper. Perfect!

And look! They are eating it! Minus the tomatoes, but I'm still happy.








I know that there are some kids who wont touch anything green, so I know I'm lucky. My kid's issues have more to do with texture and appearance, so I get fairly good results when it works to blend up the vegetables. For tonight, I'm a happy mom knowing my kids ate their greens!

Too Hot For Soup

Potato Leek Soup was on the menu for tonight, but it is way too hot for soup. A friend suggested I make Tortilla Espanola as this was her favorite dish in Spain and uses similar ingredients. It can also be made and then eaten at room temperature. Perfect for this kind of weather! I mostly followed this recipe, but googled Tortilla Espanola and read a few recipes to get the main idea.



RecipeSource.com explains that "In Spain, a tortilla isn't the cornmeal flat bread that we think of, but an omelet" typically loaded with potatoes and onions.

My first attempt at this dish didn't turn out perfect, it could be because I didn't follow a recipe and tried to wing it a bit. But I can definitely see its potential. I think that using onions as called for, instead of leeks would really be better.

My friend swooned over this dish and everything I read said it was wonderful, so I must make it again. Next time I'll pick one recipe and stick to it!

What's For Dinner?

Last night we had Cobb Salad. This is a wonderful family friendly meal because each person can create their own. I made sure that the choices included something that each person likes.



The ingredients:
chicken
diced tomatoes
hard boiled eggs
avocado
turkey bacon (for the hubby)
real bacon (for me!)
blue cheese crumbles
romaine lettuce


My salad, I like everything!

The kids ate their's with ranch, but I made a more traditional Cobb Salad dressing from this recipe for the adults. I loved this dressing! I want to make a blue cheese, pear, walnut salad and use this dressing.

The kids really enjoyed building their dinner and Denny told me that it was the best salad he'd ever eaten. One gold star for me!

My Kids Eat Soup!

Well, they are eating Chicken Noodle Soup. OK, so they are mostly just eating the noodles, but I'm still thrilled! Normally, they'd give any dish that resembled soup one glance, push it aside and declare "I don't like it!"



My sister-in-law made us some wonderful soups one night for dinner last week, Chicken Noodle and Cheesy Vegetable. My kids ate it! Hoping it wasn't some sort of a fluke, I thought I'd give it another try.

I had most of the ingredients needed for a good soup, but not the noodles. I wanted those nice fat soft noodles that make a good chicken soup even better. Then it occurred to me, I'll just make them!

I didn't use a recipe for the soup, just onion, carrot and celery sautéed until soft. Then some homemade chicken stock and some pulled chicken left over from a baked chicken dinner. I threw in some thyme, salt and pepper and a can of evaporated milk.

But the noodles, I got that recipe from Cook's Illustrated's Best Soups and Stews cook book. This book is great, they have made pretty much any soup every way possible and documented the whole process.

I couldn't believe how easy it was to make noodles, why haven't I done this before?

Fresh Pasta Noodles

2 c All Purpose Flour ( I actually used white whole wheat)
3 large eggs, beaten

"Pulse the flour in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade to evenly distribute and aerate. Add the eggs; process until the dough forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds. (If the dough resembles small pebbles, add water, 1/2 teaspoon at at time; if the dough sticks to the side of the workbowl, add flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and process until the dough forms a rough ball.)" Turn dough on to a dry work surface and knead until the dough is smooth, 1 to 2 min. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 min to 2 hours.

I don't have a pasta machine so I just cut the dough in to 6 pieces and rolled each piece as thin as I could get it with my rolling pin, turning and dusting lightly with flour if it got sticky. Then I cut the dough into strips. I made them the night before, so I stored them in the refrigerator in a container with a tight lid.

Boil them as you would any pasta and add them to the soup right before serving.

They were delicious! I might have to start making my own pasta more often.

Spice It Up!

I received a nice present of spices from Penzeys Spices for Christmas. Smoked paprika sounded interesting, but I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it. So, it sat in my cupboard for a few months.

I was making Spanish rice one evening for dinner. Looking through my spices for something to add flavor, but not heat, I spotted the smoked paprika. Perfect! It added a nice smokiness along with a good depth of flavor.

I've added it to hummus and used it in a spice rub for chicken. I love it!

Then I remembered chipotle peppers! These aren't anything new, I have used them before in restaurants, I just never thought about using them at home. The next time I made Spanish rice, I chopped up one chipotle pepper, removing most of the seeds, also adding some of the adobo sauce. This added a nice touch of spice with the smoky flavor.

Since we have chipotles in the fridge now, my husband has been putting them on everything, including his turkey sandwiches. He likes it spicy!

Smokin' Spanish Rice

2 T olive oil

1 small onion

1 1/2 c uncooked rice

1 t oregano

1 t smoked paprika or 1 chipotle pepper with 1 T adobo sauce

1 - 10 3/4 oz can of tomato purée

2 c chicken or vegetable stock

1 t salt

Heat a sauce pan over medium heat, add oil and onion and cook until transparent. Add rice, oregano, and paprika or chipotle and cook until rice starts to brown. Now add tomato purée, stock and salt. Bring to a boil, give it a good stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Cover, turn off heat and let rest on hot burner until done.

*If you don't have stock, water will work as well.

So, You Like Peanut Sauce?

Then you really should try Almond Butter Sauce.




This is a dish we had for dinner that I adapted from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.

Don't get me wrong, I love peanut sauce. But I really like the rich 'meatiness' that almond butter sauce adds to a dish. We ate it with marinaded tofu and collard greens, served over whole wheat noodles. I would also serve almond butter sauce with brown rice and stir fry vegetables - maybe even throw in some chicken!

Almond Butter Sauce

1/2 c creamy almond butter
4 t maple syrup
1/4 c soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
1 T fresh ginger root, grated or minced
1-3 t hot pepper oil (adjust to desired spiciness)
2/3 c water

Put all ingredients into a sauce pan on low heat. Using a whisk, mix ingredients until smooth and warm. Add extra water to thin if necessary. The more you cook it, the thicker it gets, so be careful.

Marinated Tofu

1 lb firm tofu, slice 1/2" thick and then into small rectangles
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1" fresh ginger root sliced 1/8" thick
1 c water
1 T rice vinegar
1 T sesame oil
1/3 c soy sauce

Place tofu and marinade in a container with a tight fitting lid into the fridge and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Heat 2 T sesame oil in a skillet and brown tofu on both sides.

Ode to Winter Squash

Winter squash, how many ways do I love thee? Last night it was in lasagna. Oh, so delicious.

I just threw a layer of mashed up butternut squash in the middle of my lasagna and baked as usual. Lasagna is such a wonderful winter meal that can be done so many ways.

And I'm always making up a batch of 'Pumpkin' Bread, made with basically any orange flesh squash I have on hand. I played around with the recipe and this one is my family's favorite. The only spice used is powdered ginger, which brings out the squash nicely instead of covering it up.

Sally's Winter Squash Bread

2 c squash purée

1 c granulated sugar

1 c brown sugar

4 eggs

2/3 c oil

2/3 c water

1 t salt

2 t baking soda

2 t powdered ginger

3 c white whole wheat flour (or any flour of your choice)

Mix squash and sugars together in a large bowl. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Stir in oil, water, salt, baking soda and ginger until combined well. Mix in flour just until combined. Bake at 350 in greased bread or muffin pans. Bread takes about 45 min and muffins range from 15-20 min. Bread will also brown much more on top than muffins will. Enjoy!

I don't think I will have enough squash left in my freezer to last through the summer. That's a funny thought, freezing winter vegetables to last you until they are in season again! Winter is almost over, thank goodness, but I sure will miss eating winter squash.

Make Your Own Pizza Night

A while back, our friends had us over for dinner where we each got to make our own pizza. What a great idea! We have adopted the tradition and do it quite often. Especially since we use this wonderful white whole wheat pizza dough recipe from 101 Cookbooks. This recipe was adapted from Peter Reinhart's Napoletana Pizza Dough recipe. The white whole wheat works wonderfully in pizza dough. I'm not a big fan of regular whole wheat used in pizza dough, it stands out too much.



It's really quite fun. The kids usually use the same toppings every time, but I love trying something new. For one that turned out especially delicous, I prebaked the crust for 5 minutes and then spread the entire crust with a thin layer of chevre. Then I put on some pizza sauce, kalamata olives and roasted redbell peppers.



The recipe makes enough dough for my family to have pizza twice in one week. Next time I think I will use half the dough and make bread sticks for another meal to see how that turns out.