The Best Side to Fall For

Genius blogger Cathy of What Would Cathy Eat? issued a Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge:  use her 10 Tips for a Heart-Healthy Thanksgiving to cook/bake our own healthy creation.

Now while Cathy is indeed calling this a "challenge" I was overwhelmed with all of the things I could make for this.  The tips which include ditching full fat dairies & meats, using whole grains, skimping on the salt, and using less sugar are tips I run my kitchen with on a daily basis.  I certainly wasn't stuck for recipes.

The tip I decided to enforce with this post was "Go overboard on veggies."  Considering my last two Thanksgivings had veggie only sides (no starch sides) I was ready to go crazy with the produce patch.  I decided to share the very best veggie Thanksgiving side that I've made.  It is full of flavor, color, and amazing fall staples, including fruit.  What it's not full of is fat, salt or sugar.  And though I do use oil, it's not a lot.  Here's a great tip for using less oil when cooking/sauteing: put your oil in a spray bottle and that way you can lightly coat your pan without dousing it in tbs of oil.

Although this side requires a few steps and a good deal of chopping, it only takes 35 minutes from beginning to end (chopping included.)  That's not bad for a Thanksgiving side dish!  The speed of this dish is due to my use of what I call flash sauteing: sauteing for only a couple of minutes until warm.

I recommend this be the last thing you cook and serve it up instantly.  I'd imagine the recipe below would be enough to act as sides for a family dinner.  Feel free to double the recipe to satisfy the company that undoubtedly comes with a holiday meal.  Also, you can mix the dish with green and serve up a hearty salad.

Thanksgiving Fruit & Vegetable Medley

Ingredients:

1/2 small butternut squash (You will only use half of 1 squash for this recipe.  Save the other side for another side dish or for soup.)

1 lb green beans, snapped horizontally in half

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 large gala apple, (peeled, core and cut into 4 sides.  Then length-wise, cut thin slices out of the sides)

3 oz pomegranate seeds

1/2 tbs lemon juice

herbs de provence to taste or fresh rosemary, thyme, sage blend

olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut butternut first in half horizontally, than each piece lengthwise to give you 4 pieces of squash.  

Peel the two squash pieces without the guts.  Be careful!  Squash is hard to peel and must be done with a sharp knife!

Cut the peeled squash piece into 2 pieces of about 1/2"-1" thickness.

Then cut pieces into small cubes of squash.  Repeat with other peeled squash pieces.

Spray/toss cubes lightly with olive oil and fold in a foil packet.

Place in oven for about 35 minutes.

In a large pan sprayed lightly with olive oil, saute green beans on medium heat until tender yet still al dente.  This should only take minutes.  Do not overcook!

Remove green beans from pan and set aside.

Saute red onion in same pan just until onions are sweating a bit and begin to get tender.  Do not brown!  You still want the onions to have tang and a bit of a crunch.  Remove onions and mix with green beans, set aside.

Toss apple with lemon juice and flash saute until apples are just warmed.  Do not overcook or you'll have another side dish- applesauce!

Remove apple and mix with other veggies, set aside.

Remove squash from oven when the 35 mins end (which should be around now.) 

Add squash to other vegetables and toss with care.  You don't want to squash the squash.

Sprinkle herbs and pomegranate seeds on top and toss again.

Finally you're done and ready to serve and enjoy!  Trust me, everyone will love this side dish.  It might even make you forget to reach for the stuffing first ;)

Cranberries & Apples- A Perfect Match

I can never get over the joys of fall produce; I nearly yelped when fresh cranberries lined the display of my local grocery.  There is only one way to celebrate the arrival of cranberries: my Cranberry-Apple Chutney!  Now it's not technically a chutney in the traditional sense, where vegetables are cooked down with spices, but it has the same consistency and would not pass as a sauce or jam.  That's why I call it a chutney- don't hate ;)

There is so much to adore about this sumptuous side:

• The color is vibrant and immediately jazzes up every plate. 
• The fragrance is to die for.
• It's the perfect compliment to meats and veggies that need a little tang.
• What better way to get loads of fiber and antioxidants?

As always, this chutney is an extremely easy fix.  It takes at most about 30 minutes from start to finish, and the ingredients are affordable.  A little also goes a long way.

The flavor is adjustable depending upon what your tastes are.  I like this quite tart, quite.  My recipe is based on those specific tastes.  Please feel free to use more sugar to your tastes.  The best way to do that is to add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach a preferred flavor.  Same if you're a spice-a-holic:  feel free to up the spices a teaspoon at a time.  This recipe is mild-medium spiced.  The cranberry has an overpowering flavor, so you may decide you need more spice for them to shine through.

Cranberry-Apple Chutney

Ingredients:
2 small gala apples, peeled and diced or rough chopped
12 oz cranberries, rinsed and dried
6 tbs desired sugar (I prefer Coconut Sugar, always try to use Fair Trade!)
1 tbs Earth Balance Soy-Free or comparable fat (butter, margarine etc...)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Melt the Earth Balance (or fat) low heat in a medium saucepan.

Add apple, and stir to coat, sauteing until the apples become slightly tender but not browned.

Add cranberries and all spices stirring to combine.

Raise to medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid sticking.
Add sugar 1 tbs at a time, while stirring.
The cranberries will begin to break down due to the heat.  Give the pot a stir, wait about 30 seconds, and then re-stir, repeating so that the cranberries will break down evenly.
When all the cranberries are broken down and the mixture looks like this:

Taste the mixture.  Too tart?  Add more sugar one tbs at a time.  Not spiced enough?  Add more spices one tsp at a time.  Stir constantly.

When desired flavor is reached, remove mixture from stove and transfer to serving dish.  I like to let the dish cool to room temperature.  Feel free to serve hot or chill for a colder dish.

Ta-da, you're done!  Now didn't I tell you that was easy?

Fall's Here! Butternut Squash Fries Anyone?

It's fall again which means it's time for yummy autumn produce to line the aisles of your favorite farmer's markets and grocery stores.  I for one have been getting increasingly excited as the apples, squash, pumpkins and cranberries start rolling in.  How many amazing things can you make with all of these delicious ingredients?  Countless.  But let's start with a personal favorite:  Butternut Squash Fries.

This recipe is ridiculously easy; the only things you need are a super sharp knife and patients.  Although I love these fries, I hate cutting up raw butternut.  Probably because until this year, I didn't have a super sharp knife.  Please make sure when you're cutting up the squash that you protect yourself by making sure the squash is stable against a cutting surface and that your fingers and body are kept away from the knife, because you will be pushing against the produce. 

The end result is more than worth it!  This is a super healthy, vegan-friendly and allergy-free alternative to the potato fry craving.  You'll want to eat them all at once, so the only real problem with these fries is saving some for the next day ;)

Butternut Squash Fries

Ingredients:
1 medium/large Butternut Squash
1 small bunch fresh thyme (leaves detached from stems and chopped up)
1 small bunch fresh rosemary (leaves detached from stems and chopped up)
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Peel the squash.
Cut in half and scoop out seeds/pulp; throw seeds/pulp away.
Cut the butternut into thin fry shapes.  Chunky steak fry shapes will need to cook longer.

Toss the fries in olive oil.
Transfer the fries to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet in one layer (or two sheets if they don't fit on one.)

Sprinkle with salt/pepper to taste.
Bake for about 25 minutes, flip fries over, then return to oven.
Bake for 10 more minutes and then sprinkle thyme and rosemary over the fries and return to oven.
Check in 5-10 more minutes.  When fries are soft (and they should be by then) remove from oven.
Transfer to serving dish and serve immediately.  If you cover them or reheat them in a microwave they will get soggier, just like real potato fries.

These are a delicious side dish for guests of all kinds and a vibrant addition to any plate.  It's also a great way to sneak in nutrients for picky eaters.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Cauliflower Fiesta!

Since I've returned home, cooking has been one of the only things on my mind.  Traveling can be fun, but after a while, restaurant food just isn't going to cut it.  Not to mention that its sometimes just not as fun looking as what you can create at home.

Many people think that making healthy food appetizing is a labor intensive ordeal, or even worse, making healthy or Gluten Free/Allergy Free eats means putting nothing in the food at all.  Plain meats, plain steamed veggies, plain depressing!

I disagree.  Making healthy, GF and allergy-free foods can taste AMAZING only with the use of:

• Colors
• Textures
• Spices & Herbs

Take today's recipe star ingredient for example:  Cauliflower.  Now I know many people who dislike poor cauliflower because they think its boring and tasteless and colorless.  Well, of course if you don't dress up cauliflower you might get that impression, BUT what if you took it to a party.  What if you said to the cauliflower, it's time to get jazzed up and have a little fun!

That's what I did today with my veggies.  I added colors with sweet long red peppers, some purplish hued shallots, some green chives, and a little sprinkle or sweet paprika.  Now I made my fiesta a little hot, hot, hot, because I like a spicy party in my mouth, but feel free to scale back on any ingredients or to saute the shallots and garlic first to calm them down a bit.  

Although this requires some prep work, it is a super easy dish that packs a pow of flavors!

Cauliflower Fiesta

 (Before its oven-baked)

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, steamed until soft but not mushy, about 30-40 minutes, then chopped

2 sweet long red peppers, diced

1 handfull of chives, finely chopped

1 large shallot, diced or chopped (depending how much pow you want)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1 tbs Soy-Free Earth Balance, softened

sea salt to taste

sweet paprika to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix chopped, steamed cauliflower with all diced and chopped veggies, Earth Balance and seasoning.

Transfer mixture to a lightly olive-oil greased square pan.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes letting the ingredients get to know each other.

Serve it up! 

If there's not enough crunch for you, think of sprinkling some GF bread crumbs on top or adding some sunflower seeds.  This makes the perfect everyone friendly side dish and you can even add beans to make it a main affair.

Pass the Biscuits Please

One of my least favorite things to make Gluten Free is bread.  Sorry, but it's true.  It's not that making GF bread is particularly difficult or that the results don't often turn out tasty, but working with GF bread dough is messy, sticky, and a pain in the butt.

I have tried all the expert tips, yet, I can't seem to get more bread in the loaf pan than what's stuck on my hands, in the mixer, on the mixing paddle, or in the rising bowl.  Plus, bits of dough usually end up in my hair, on my face and stuck in between my fingers (which I've even needed to use a scrub pad on, in order to get dough off.)

That's why this recipe folks is GOLD.  I wanted to make something quick and easy for an FBLA meeting I was attending.  Since our meetings are usually potlucks at brunchtime, I wanted to make something more brunchy, easy to serve, and portable.  For some reason, I figured that biscuits would really fit the bill.  I wasn't really taking into account the fact that biscuits would be a bread of sorts.  When I was searching for a great recipe, I picked one of the least complicated ones I could find.  Sometimes, I worry when I see an uncomplicated GF bread/quick bread recipe that it won't work.  As you'll find, that is not the case here!

Thank you Google for sending me to a Celiac.com article page highlighting biscuits and rolls.  I found this wonderful recipe which you just know I had to change ever so slightly.  If you stick to the original recipe though, you can make great biscuits entirely allergy free.  That's right, entirely allergy free.  I added some cheese (which of course is dairy) and I used dairy milk but you can add a cheese substitute like Daiya and any milk sub and make a fantastic allergy free and vegan biscuit.

These are not messy, easy to handle, quick cooking and delicious.  I used a greased mini quiche pan to make the biscuits smaller for easy sharing.  You can easily use an english muffin pan to make them a little larger.  If you want, to free form, you can roll a ball of dough with your hands and press down to a circle on some parchment over a cookie sheet.  I didn't cook them free form though, so I don't know if they'll keep their shape.

Alright, let's get southern up in here-

Savory Biscuits

with Cheddar, Garlic, and Thyme

as adapted from Liz Wolf's Southern Biscuit recipe posted on Celiac.com

Ingredients:

2 cups GF flour mix (I used my rice mix w/ guar gum.  I tend to use rice mixes for non-GF ppl)

1/3 cup + 1 tbs Earth Balance Soy Free Spread

2 1/2 tsp baking powder (I use corn-free)

1 tsp Ener-G egg replacer

1 tsp salt

1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or non-dairy sub)

4 gloves sauted garlic or crushed garlic equivalent

1 tbs thyme or thyme to taste

3/4 cup milk (I use lactose and fat free; you can use a milk sub)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the milk in a mixer with paddle attachment or food processor and blend until mixture looks like the spread is cut up into pebbles giving the same sand effect as when you make pie crust.

Add milk and mix until it looks like a dough.

Form biscuits however you choose by hand, in pan, drop, or cut.

Bake for 10 minutes.

That's it.  Trust me you'll love these.  For the girl who hates to make GF bread and quick breads, this may just have made me a believer!

Quinoa Foodgasm

Now, I've been eating quinoa for quite some time since I was told to go Gluten Free.  The high-protein, highly nutritious grain that's as tasty as it is satisfying is often a go-to quick side or vegetarian main base for me.  And I've always been very happy with it.  It's been a great companion and it's always made me feel good, but it's never given me that special something that every woman foodie wants- a Foodgasm (you know, the thing that puts you in instant heaven with no risk of communicable diseases.)

This Quinoa Foodgasm came as much as a surprise to me as it may to you dear reader.  I mean quinoa's pretty fantastic, but it's usually the nice-guy food, not the Casanova of the kitchen.  Well nice-guy no more!  Even stranger, I found the recipe for this impactful dish on the Mayo Clinic recipe site.  I'm not saying that the Mayo Clinic wouldn't promote tasty recipes, but normally when you find a recipe labeled "healthy" on a hospital website it's not quite up to a wicked caliber.

Of course, you know me.  I see a recipe, and gosh darnit, I just can't stick to it!  So I'm going to give you both options to achieving a palate plaything the original, and the oddly strange thing I did to it.

I would also like to explain that I found this recipe while looking for Quinoa Risotto.  Though I believe the recipe is delicious, I'm not sure I would call it a risotto.  This is probably because what I did to it left it a bit on the brothier side and almost made it like a fantastic half-soup/half-risotto creation which I LOVED, but also was not expecting.  If you follow the original recipe, I would imagine you would get a better risotto texture, but I'm not sure since I disassembled it so.  The mushrooms in the original recipe probably would sponge up some of the broth (I'm not a huge mushroom fan, so I usually omit.)  I also used some random ingredients that you wouldn't necessarily have around the house but trust me- so worth it!

Here we go; are you ready?!

Quinoa ala Suz

(aka Quinoa Foodgasm Risotto Soup)

Altered from this recipe found on the Mayo Clinic website.

 

Ingredients:

olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, diced or minced
2 cups of quinoa (ready to cook version, if you buy it in bulk you may have to rinse first)

4 1/2 cups veggie broth (I LOVE Imagine broth.  Use it and you won't regret it!)

5 oz of baby arugula, washed and dried or prewashed

6 oz pack of vacuum sealed steamed artichokes (no seasoning)/or 6 oz fresh-steamed

10-15 large black cherries, pitted, diced or sliced

2 finger full pulled pinches of dried daikon radish (easily found in Asian isle/market)

.31 lb grated Parmesan cheese

pinch or 2 of black truffle salt

1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

In a large (I mean large) and deep saute pan heat olive oil over medium heat, add onions and saute until translucent.

Add garlic and quinoa, cooking for 1 minute.  Do not brown garlic.

Add veggie broth and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer until the quinoa is al dente texture, about 12 minutes.

One at a time, add arugula, artichokes, cherries, and dried daikon radish.  Be careful to stir each ingredient in until incorporated before adding the next one.

Cook an additional 2-5 minutes.  Taste quinoa for desired texture.  If it's too hard, cook longer.

Transfer to serving deep serving dish/bowl and stir in Parmesan cheese, black pepper and the pinch of truffle salt.

Between the daikon radish and the truffle salt, this sucker is bursting with umami.  But the cherry really adds an awesome kick of sweet to balance it out and the arugula and cheese add interest and depth.  I wasn't actually expecting this to work (as you can tell by me saying it a million times) but I think this is a recipe that I will use for many, many years to come!

I invite you to lick the spoon of this warm and comforting bowl of hot lovin' quinoa.  This makes a lot but I encourage you to have leftovers because when the flavors sit for at least a day, they mingle, marry and improve!  

I Roasted a Chicken and...

I didn't set fire to my kitchen, char it to inedible, poison myself, or break anything.  I know, I know- I'm pretty talented ;)

Why oh why as cooks are we intimated by random tasks?  I have a friend who is terrified of learning knife skills; she thinks its impossible.  I have another friend who never bakes because baking doesn't work for her.  I have another friend who only bakes because she "can't make anything good that isn't made of sugar."

So what's my silly thing?  I don't roast.  I don't roast anything.  On Thanksgiving I make everything on the menu- everything except the Turkey that is.  I'm terrified of not cooking meat correctly in its whole state or as a large piece.  I think this stems from very particular conversations that my mother used to have with me about cooking raw meat and all the germs and viruses that could kill you if you don't cook the meat enough.  But then again we tended to eat slightly over-cooked meat because of this fact, and because I became used to slightly over-cooking meat, I never got used to the proper way to make it tender and juicy without stewing, braising, or baking with liquid.  The result?  Roastophobia.  Well folks, Roastophobia ends now.  My Schlemmertopf killed it.

Before you say, Gesundheit, I'm sure you've seen a Schlemmertopf before. Its those giant clay bakers lurking on the top shelves of cookware stores that you're never really quite sure of.  They look like this

How did I meet my future friend?  My aunt, a fantastic cook and gardener extraordinaire purchased one some years back.  From the time I tasted the wonderful poultry she prepared for us in that crazy, clay oven, I knew one day I would have one too (thank you Sur La Table gift card.)  My Schlemmertopf killed my fear of roasting because that sucker is fool-proof; the fool in this situation would be yours truly.  Now it's true, I took the easy way out; I bought this giant clay thing because I was too chicken to roast a chicken without it BUT I would like to point out that its a very good investment.  See, what makes the Schlemmertopf system so wonderful, is that it cooks through baking and steaming the meat in its own juices.  That means you don't need oil, butter, cream or any liquids if you don't want to use them.  Health conscious, dairy free and kosher cooks unite!  This also eliminates the time-filled tradition known as the great baste walk:  the walk one does every 15-20 minutes between the oven and other parts of their house in order to baste their meats while they roast for however many hours they roast for.

Why this sudden interest in roasting meat you may ask?  Due to not being able to purchase chicken from any butcher in town because of a rise in soy feed (read all about my troubles here) I have found a couple of Grass-Fed chicken farms that sell at the local farmer's markets.  Trouble is, they only sell whole chickens.  I need to eat chicken reader; I can't only be eating red meat and cheese for protein, its just not healthy!  And thus, let the roasting begin.

First, I rinsed the chicken, pulled the skin off of it, made she it was fully gutted (gross!) and then rinsed it again.

Then I stuffed it with one white onion (cut in half), several rosemary sprigs, and a couple cloves of garlic. I salted and lightly peppered the chicken, and covered with a combo of Herbs de Provence and sweet paprika.

I also cut two large turnips in half and threw them next the chicken so they could roast up.

Then I followed the directions recommended by the manufacturer, which is placing the covered baker (prepped with a pre-soaked top) in a cold oven. For 10 minutes, you put your oven on low.  After those 10 minutes you bake at 425 F for 90 minutes.

When I removed the giant oven within an oven from my oven, I was very careful to open it away from my face, as it is propelled by a large amount of steam.

The veil of steam parted to reveal something I've never produced before:

A Perfectly Roast Chicken!!!!!

I took the turnips (which were delicious) and smashed them with some parmesan and garlic for a side dish.  The chicken fell of the bone, juicy and tender in the best and most perfect way.  I ate every part of this wonderful and simple dish.  And I plan to make all my meat in it for years to come!

Martha Stewart Made Me Lazy

Greetings friends!  I keep promising to post the back log I have, and what better way to get rid of the eyeball pie, then to tell you a very true and sad fact.  Martha Stewart made me lazy.  I know, I know, the crafty g-ddess herself should actually elevate you to new levels of domesticity.  After all, she's quite the perfectionist.  And she uses fancy things like doilies.  Surely a woman of her caliber would only push me to work harder towards a culinary standard than anyone else.  But nope.  She made me lazy.  And this is why:

I love risotto, which stands to reason as rice is my favorite food.  I could probably eat risotto every day (I've occasionally tested this theory and know it to be true) and I welcome the bites of beautifully cooked arborio rice on my tongue.  But I work.  A lot.  I usually only cook one day a week for the rest of my week, and I was feeling particularly useless at that moment when I looked up a recipe for a simple baked risotto.  Yes, I was really so tired that stirring rice around for 25 minutes didn't sound doable, but I really wanted a fresh made risotto.

Enter a recipe I found on Martha Stewart Living here.  As you know, its in my genetic make-up that I can't follow a recipe as is, so instead of onion I used lots of yummy shallots, and further added diced butternut squash and thyme to make a rich, fresh and bright flavor.

Result?  It was okay.  The flavors worked very nicely and it was beautifully fragrant, but I found the rice to be much softer than I prefer it.  I don't like mushy risotto, and that's what happens when you oven bake it apparently (which I should have guessed.)  Also, I think that in the end, it would've taken about the same amount of time for me to actually prep and stir regular risotto.  I'm not sure this recipe saved me so much obvious time that I would go for this version instead of my regular go to. Especially when my go-to allows for a bit more of an al dente texture on the rice.

But, if you don't mind a softer rice and you need to step away from the stove for 30 minutes, by all means, be lazy.  If Martha says it's okay, then it has to be ;)

Has It Really Been Almost a Month?!

Yikes! I guess it has been almost a month since my last post. You know, the holidays should be the time when bloggers hunker down and share all their amazing holiday cooking with the world. But apparently, I did the opposite. I went completely M.I.A. and tried to enjoy a little down time this holiday season, once again at my blog's expense. I totally missed my blog-a-versary for one. I've never written consistently in any one format for over a year, so I'm pretty jazzed about that milestone. I guess I feel compelled. The power of cooking has compelled you. That's as funny as I'm going to get on a Monday folks. Stay tuned for more hilarity as the week continues.

In the meantime, why don't I post some of these recipes I've been holding hostage from y'all.

One super duper, easy side to make is Spaghetti Squash. My dear friend and one-time college roommate introduced me to the amazing world of squash, and she showed me how incredibly easy it is to produce full and fall-rich flavors. When I was in college in upstate NY, we could go out and pick our own apples, pumpkins, and squash and nothing tastes better than fresh from the farm. Naturally, I fell in love.

Since I eat only one serving of complex carbs a day, usually in the form of quinoa, rice or rice products, I have to get creative with my side dishes. There's only so many vegetables that are low-medium oxalate, and there's only so many ways to cook them. Spaghetti Squash makes the best fake carb side dish ever: it's filling, full of flavor, and has the look and feel of a nice starch. Ready to see how easy this is?

Quick & Easy:

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 medium to large Spaghetti Squash

olive oil

sea salt

pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Rinse the outside of the squash.

With a fork, make puncture vents piercing the skin of the squash. Vent all sides of the squash.

Place squash in a pan, then pour about an inch of water into the pan.

Throw that pan in the oven, uncovered for about an hour (al dente) to an 1.5 hours (mushy.)

Remove from oven.

Carefully, cut the hot squash in half, length-wise, and scoop out/trash the guts.

Using a fork, grate the flesh of the squash. You'll notice spaghetti-like strands emerge. Grate until the entire squash is used.

Carefully put the grated squash into a big bowl and dress with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste. If you prefer to get grand with it, use sauce and cheese. Me, I'm a simple girl :)

Quick, easy, and cheap. You can't beat fake spaghetti with a great source of vitamin A, potassium, and folic acid.

Quick & Easy Side: Quinoa w/Cranberries

Oh fall. Your flavors, your colors, your products... how I love thee? I tell you how I love thee. I put some of your flavors into my quinoa. Well, mostly one flavor. Hello Mr. Cranberry. How'd you like to be a part of my Q&E dinner this week? Oh, you would?! I'm ecstatic!

Okay, enough with the crazy. My Quick & Easy dinner this week is truly enjoyable. Quinoa, my Q&E side, is a star super-food (one I'm not allergic to either.) With about 8 grams of protein per serving, your side isn't just a starchy, sugary, grainy mess. Nope, this bad boy is going to give you energy and fuel your brain, and Lord knows I need brain-fuel when I get home from a long day at work. Don't you?

Good thing this side dish takes at most 30 minutes to make including chopping efforts, and things can be accomplished while the quinoa is cooking. Multi-tasking in the kitchen is a sure-fire way to keep things Quick & Easy!

Now I'm giving you flavor options with the below recipe and here's why: every one's tastes are different. If you like your cranberries more sour with a punch, you'll probably want to add less agave to your mix. If you like only sweet cranberries, you'll want to add more. Remember, taste as you go to make sure the recipe is incorporating what pleases your flavor palate. Same goes for any time I put salt and pepper to taste. If you're not sure how much to use, simply add 1/4 or 1/2 tsp at a time until you find a balance that you're at peace with.

Quinoa with Cranberries

picture coming and it's pretty

Ingredients:

1 cup dry red quinoa

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

2-3 handfuls of organic fresh cranberries (I have small hands so I used 3)

1 medium/large zucchini (diced or chopped into long slivers)

2 big slices of white onion (diced or chopped into long slivers)

1-2 tbs agave nectar

1/2 tbs rosemary

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

sea salt

black pepper

olive oil

Directions:

In a medium pot, combine the quinoa and broth.

Bring the pot to a boil, then simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until broth is absorbed.

In a large pan coated with olive oil, add cranberries and coat with agave over low heat

**As cranberries heat, they split open. If you keep your pan over medium to high heat, you'll force them to burst open which is a bit more messy.

When all the cranberries have split and seem to be cooking nicely, add zucchini and onions and raise the heat to medium, making sure you saute/stir the combo regularly.

Add garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper to taste when the vegetables start to get tender.

When the mixture looks nice and incorporated (the veggies are tender and the cranberries cooked down a bit) remove from heat. By this time, the quinoa will be ready.

Combine the quinoa and cranberry mixture in whatever bowl you plan to serve/store it in and enjoy!

Tip: You may notice that I cooked my quinoa in broth for this recipe. It's true, quinoa is a super food, however, it doesn't have all that much flavor on it's own. For me quinoa alone is a cooking base, a sponge if you will, that will absorb the flavors you throw in there. In order to enhance the flavors of the dish while attempting to keep a balance, I try to cook the quinoa in a little something that will add a dimension to the dish. For example, if you try to add extra cranberries for flavor instead, what would probably happen is you would overpower all the other flavors in the dish. Yes, it would be more full of flavor, but it'd be full of only one flavor. Using the broth is a subtle way of bringing the quinoa alive, before you start to doctor it. So if you're bored with quinoa or you've never found it all that appealing, try cooking it with broth instead of water and see if you like it better. Good luck!

Quick & Easy Side: Parmesan Zucchini "Casserole"

I'm not the swiftest emu in the midst so it took me about a week of reading menus in the UK to realize that a zucchini was otherwise known as a courgette here.  It's an extremely dignified sounding vegetable isn't it: courgette.  Since le courgette is le cheap and le easy to prep, I chose to make a delicious side with it do accompany my Q&E Chicken With Garlic and White Wine.

As most bad habits go, my lack of measuring when tossing together dishes is probably the worst habit to have when blogging about food.  Please forgive me reader; I'm sure you can eyeball this one though.  This dish is beyond quick & easy; it's downright done in the blink of an eye.

Parmesan Zucchini "Casserole"

Ingredients:

5 medium zucchinis, washed and sliced into circles

about .4 oz parmesan cheese

olive oil

dried oregano

sea salt

fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Layer a row of zucchini in either a square or round casserole dish.

Sprinkle with oregano, salt, pepper and oil.

Repeat layer and instead of sprinkling oil, sprinkle cheese this time.

Repeat alternating layers until the dish is full of beautiful zucchini rows.

Bake for 15-20 minutes covered (if you like a stiffer zucchini, bake for 10-15 minutes)

Remove cover and bake for 5 minutes more.

Enjoy.

Agave Gone Wild: An Experimental Evening In The Kitchen

You may notice that this week's recipes have something in common: Agave.  If you haven't heard of my little friend here, let me inform you. Agave is a wonderful, natural vegan sweetener with a low glycemic index (woo hoo.)

Because granular sugar is not encouraged on a low oxalate diet, I decided it's about damn time I broke out the not-so-secret ingredient that health nuts have been lovin' on for a while now.

Now reader, let me warn you.  This week was an experimental week.  I'm definitely satisfied with the below, but it's probably a recipe that could do with a little tweaking (but it certainly serves its purpose.)

I actually had big plans for this dish.  It was originally going to be a sandwich.  Then it was going to be an open faced sandwich.  Then, when my experiment didn't go so well, it became a deconstructed sandwich: filling on one side of the plate, starch on the other.  And you know what happened?  Nothing happened.  It didn't work out how I planned, but I still got a nice filling meal out of it.  And don't fret, one day, I'll get it right.

Also, my brother wanted me to mention him on my blog tonight because I was cooking while talking with him.  Since he's one of two people who reads this blog, I figured, why not.

Gluten-Free Cornbread

&

Turkey Cheese Roll-ups with Tangy Slaw

1) Gluten-Free Cornbread

I'm just gonna go out and say: to me, cornbread is one of those tricky things to make.  Too much wet, it doesn't cook through.  Too much dry, and it crumbles faster than my bank account during the holidays.  Like I said, I gave it a go.  It's a tad on the drier side for cornbread, but it does have a nice density to it and generally stays together.  I think it'd be good paired with something wet- like soup or the yummy slaw that follows.  As always, when storing gluten-free baked goods for more than a couple of days, freeze your creation (I like a layer of foil and a layer of wax paper, then put in zip-lock bags) and thaw later for same day freshness.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of cornmeal (gluten free)*

2 cups milk less 3 tbs (I used lactose free organic milk)

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs baking powder

1/2 cup agave

*For you low oxalate eaters, 1 cup of cornmeal is a moderate oxalate intake, which means it shouldn't be consumed more than once a day. Translation: don't go crazy eating the cornbread.

Have one small square a day as your moderate oxalate choice and don't forget to drink all your water!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the cornmeal and milk together until combined.

Add the olive oil, agave, and baking powder, in that order.

Beware that the baking powder will clump, and mix that bad boy 'til its lump free 

(but don't over mix)

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish/pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean from the center.

2) Turkey Cheese Roll-ups with Tangy Slaw

The only thing that requires a "recipe" (and I use that very loosely as you'll see) is the slaw. Basically, all I did was take a slice or Provolone cheese, a slice of turkey, and topped with some slaw.  To eat, you bend the cheese taco-style and voila, easiest dinner ever.

Tangy Slaw

Ingredients:

10 oz shredded green cabbage

1/2 cup canola oil mayonnaise

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Directions:

Mix all those up.

Eat all those up.