Posts tagged with gluten free

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January 27, 2013

Quinoa Tabbouleh

quinoa

Right now I’m just croaking for fresh, light flavours to brighten up this oh-so-wintery winter. If I wasn’t the absolute worst plant parent, I would still have some fresh herbs at my place to liven up dishes all winter long. Alas, this is not the case. I’m brutal. I’ve killed off every little herb plant I’ve ever been gifted or bought! I have plans to get a little veggie patch in the works next summer so I really need to start doing some research on how not to be world’s most negligent gardener. For now, I leave it to the pros!

Tabbouleh is loaded with fresh herbs that will start up a little middle eastern food party in your mouth! Speaking of parties, this makes a great dish for potlucks, aside some grilled chicken or fish, or just enjoyed as a (vegan!) lunch. It keeps amazingly in the fridge, honestly, it’s best after being left in the fridge over night to get all those flavours a mingling.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

1 cup uncooked quinoa
juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-ish teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 cup chopped parsley
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quartered if they ar bigger
1 – 2 T of red wine vinegar
extra lemon juice, salt and pepper for seasoning

Prepare quinoa according to directions (1 part quinoa to 2 parts water, boil in a covered pot for about 15-20 mins). When it’s done, fluff with a fork, dump it into a big bowl and let it cool a bit. Once cooled, add all the other ingredients, toss it well, and refrigerate until it’s time to serve.

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December 13, 2012

Maple, Bacon & Winter Veggie Soup

 

Sometimes I wonder if people who are real, knowledgeable cooks/chefs ever see some of my ‘original’ recipes and think ‘She’s doing it wrong’.

I have zero proper instruction on how to cook or bake and often find myself wondering if what I’m doing is the best way to get maximum tastiness out of the dish I’ve got at hand. My love for food revolves around the act of eating, and as much as I do like to spend time in the kitchen, it’s safe to say that I feel pretty freaking clueless sometimes.

Soup’s pretty hard to screw up, but I managed to do just that, a lot last winter. Soup and I lost our mojo and took a little break from each other. Fall 2012 has been a time for us to rekindle our relationship, and so far, things are going pretty well!

I had some tasty root veggies that I picked up at my local farm stand, Noggins Farm. A couple of turnips, carrots, onions, the homely veggies that so many hearty, starchy soups are spawned from. In rummaging around my fridge looking for some butter, I found a pack of gorgeous, thick-cut bacon from a local butcher. Um, yeah. That bacon was going in my soup. No questions.

So here’s when I get a little iffy about my soup-ing method. Obviously I wanted to put the fat off that bacon to good use; my onions were getting browned in it, for sure. So chop bacon, get it all brown and toasty in the bottom of the pot, lots of tasty bacon grease to work with. Now…to leave the bacon in the pot or remove it? I left it in there. The bacon was along for the full soup ride. Not sure if that was the right way to go about this soup but hot damn…the end result is indisputably amazing.

Next post - this gorgeous, oat-y, sweet, soup-dunkable bread!

 

The smokiness of the bacon, earthiness of the veggies and a generous drizzle of maple syrup makes this soup the lunch equivalent of a heavy home-made afghan. So cozy and warm. This one’s a keeper, peeps!

 

Maple, Bacon & Winter Veggie Soup

Ingredients

  • 2-3 strips thick cut bacon
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots
  • 2 medium turnips (about softball size) chopped in about 1 inch cubes
  • 5 cups broth, I used veggie
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • pinch cayenne powder
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

In a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven (I used my Creuset), sautee the bacon until just done.

So here, I left the bacon in, but most bacon-y soup recipes call for it to be removed at this point, placing the bacon on some paper towel to drain. Do whatever!

Now sautee the onion, carrots and turnip in the bacon fat, seasoning with salt and pepper, cooking until onion softens, 5 or so minutes.

Add broth and bring to a boil, then cover, reduce to a simmer a let it go until all veggies are cooked through.

Once they are tender, remove the pot from the heat, throw the bacon back in (if you removed it in the first place), and add nutmeg, cayenne, and maple.

Puree using immersion blender or regular blender...just be careful! Once smooth, return to pot and adjust the seasonings as necessary for your tastes!

Enjoy with a thick slice of brown bread and have a little love for the winter!

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November 14, 2012

Meaty Fusion Chili

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chili rules when you’ve gotta feed a crowd. This past weekend, we had a bunch of buds over prior to a charity wine tasting; I whipped this up because it’s  smart to lay down a good food foundation before the vino starting flowing! It ended up being one of many yummy dishes on the docket, because I’ve got some pals that are mega-talented in the kitchen, especially Miz Kathy of Eat Halifax. Girl brought over a squash risotto that had everyone going for seconds, and thirds!

I’m just realizing now, this post is the first of me coming out of the closet, officially. The carnivore closet, that is. I’m back on the meat, folks. After three years of vege/pescetarianism, I’ve decided to bring some sustainably raised beef, pork and fowl back into the mix! Honestly? I’m loving it. I still find my meals at home revolving around fish, tofu, or legumes; the biggest change has been that I’m no longer that dinner guest who’s constantly reassuring the host that greens and spuds will hit the spot. Don’t get me wrong, as a P-E-Islander I love me some potatoes. However, many a time I’d feel bad that the host would feel bad about me just eating potatoes, y’know? So that’s over with. Sometime soon I’ll put a little post up showcasing some of the farmers who raise some damn fine animals in an ethical, sustainable way in my neck of the woods. For now, we’re going back to this chili.

I posted a recipe a while back to Sweet with Heat Veggie Chili. It is super tasty and easy as pie to whip up. This one, however, really is sweeter, and hotter, and contains a shameless quantity of meat. And not one types of meat, but two. Pig and cow. There’s also beans thrown in there too, lots of ‘em, because I do love the creaminess of beans in a chili.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe is based loosely on one from Allrecipes.com, I’ve buggered around with it so much I think it’s safe to say it’s pretty close to my own. It got loads of compliments from my guests on Saturday night and is enough to feed a crowd of about 12. We buddied it up with some tasty little cornbread muffins and it was a straight up, house-party, tex-mex good time. Enjoy!

Meaty Fusion Chili

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs hot sausage, casings removed
  • 2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 2 large onions, diced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 small can (6oz) tomato paste
  • 1 cup dry red wine OR dark beer
  • 2 large cans (29 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup wershersher sauce (aka worchestershire)
  • 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce (like Tobasco)
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 cup molasses (honey would be okay too)
  • 1 large can kidney beans
  • 2 large cans chickpeas

Place sausage and ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove meat from pan, and set aside. In a large pot, Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of the meat drippings over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onions are soft and translucent. Season with salt and black pepper. Stir in tomato paste, and allow to caramelize. Pour in wine (or beer) to deglaze the pot, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom.

Stir in cooked meat, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and hot pepper sauce. Season with cumin. Bring to a boil, then stir in molasses. Carefully mix in kidney beans and chickpeas without breaking them. Cover, and simmer for 3 hours. Stir and scrape the bottom every hour or so.

This will keep in the fridge really well for 3 or so days. Makes great leftovers!

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November 5, 2012

Scattered Sushi Bowls

I think I have some weird attraction to eating things in bowls. Usually all three of my meals are bowl-based, and my work pants are usually better off for it (read: I’m a messy eater and end up with far less food in my lap)!

One of the worst messy-meal offenders? Sushi. Or, anything that requires the use of chopsticks, really. This meal is a slightly less messy and super fun way to get the taste of a maki combo without the work and the $25 bill! Win-win.

Any dish like this is super flexible and will taste pretty great no matter what fresh ingredients you use, getting a variety of flavours and textures guarantees a meal that will totally hit the spot. Think tender-crisp veggies, creamy avocado, the saltiness, sweetness, and spiciness of the sauce is perfectly balanced. Did I mention that this is undeniably uber–healthy? A great way to counter-balance those weekend indulgences!

Scattered Sushi Bowls

2 servings

2 servings short-grain brown rice, cooked according to instructions
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 servings protein of choice, salmon or tofu for eg. and seasonings, like garlic powder, salt & pepper

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Assorted veggies, such as:

Sweet peppers, cucumber, green onion, sauteed bok choi, avocado, boiled edamame

Sesame seeds, lightly toasted (optional).

Directions

Cook your rice according to directions, and set aside. Pan fry your protein of choice, with a dusting of seasonings. I used a bit of garlic powder, a touch of ginger, some salt and pepper.

To make the dressing, set the sheets aside. Combine the orange juice lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minute, the add the shoyu and vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zests.

Assemble bowls with a layer of rice, topped with dressing to taste. Top with your fave veggies and your protein, and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on there too! We drizzled ours with some sriracha for added kick.

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