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Quinoa with Black Beans and Corn

13 Dec

I think quinoa is one of the greatest words in the English language. It can be used as a question “Would you like some keeen-wahh?”, a declaration “I bought keenwah!”, or statement of sorrow “We’re out of keenwah…” Quinoa is ridiculously adorable-it starts out as a tiny seed and puffs itself up into a little ring when you cook it. It’s a great source of protein and vitamins for a hungry vegan, and is as easy to cook as rice. Seriously, if you haven’t tried this stuff, you’re missing out. Get off this website and go buy some. Now.

A friend of mine mentioned quinoa recently, reminding me of a lonely box sitting in the bottom of my pantry.  I scoured Allrecipes (read:searched for 23 seconds) for a recipe that would fit with what I had on hand. I found this recipe for quinoa and black beans that I altered slightly. It would be great as a side dish or wrapped up in tortilla, but it worked easily as well as an entree.

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Roasted Red Peppers

12 Dec

I took a short trip to the local Country Market today and found a pack of 4 red peppers for $1.19. They weren’t the most beautiful looking peppers, but their wrinkles wouldn’t matter after they were roasted. I didn’t want to let them wait much longer, so I roasted them and stored them in olive oil. I’m sure I’ll be glad later in the week when I can put them to use on a pizza or in lasagna.

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Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

29 Nov

Before I created this blog, I was posting photos of my meals on Facebook regularly. I’ve been going through my old photos to remember what I was making several months ago, which sometimes inspires new ideas for me. Yesterday, it inspired me to make tortellini.

I found this bruschetta that I made over the summer several times and I thought I’d share the standard recipe I use. My basil plant was growing and it was a great use of the fresh summer tomatoes-sometimes I added roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, or heirloom tomatoes.

Feel free to make any of the suggested modifications from above or any based on your own tastes. I like to use an 18 year aged balsamic from Galena Garlic Company that I picked up about a year ago when I visited my parents. I highly recommend it-it’s amazing on tomatoes, avocados, plain bread, or even on it’s own.

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 medium ripe plum tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Chop tomatoes, removing most seeds. Mince garlic. Tear the basil into small pieces. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let flavors combine for 1-2 hours. Serve on toasted bread or with warm pita on the back porch on a nice summer day.

Black Bean Soup

3 Nov

I love the black bean soup from Panera Bread, especially in a bread bowl. However, I don’t like paying for a meal that I can easily replicate at home. I’d estimate the cost of this soup is about $3 and it only takes about 20 minutes to make. It’s great for a cold fall day or a quick lunch after you’ve been out shopping all morning.

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Pumpkin Chili

19 Oct

Today was cold, drizzly, and miserable. I was inspired by a half-full can of pumpkin puree in my fridge to make something warm and filling. Why not chili?

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