Menu Swap - Quinoa

I am hosting this week's menu swap and have chosen Quinoa for my ingredient. Now that I think about it, I think that I choose that one regularly; I simply love quinoa.

A common misconception of quinoa is that it is a grain. In actual fact, it is an amino-acid rich seed that is related to those tasty leafy greens that we all love so much (or try to love). In its uncooked form, quinoa is loaded with manganese, magnesium, iron, tryptophan, copper, and phosophorus. Because of its magnesium content, quinoa can be beneficial for those who suffer from migraine headaches. Magnesium is known for relaxing the blood vessels, which in turn, prevents the dilation that is common in migraines. Riboflavin, aka vitamin B2, is also found in quinoa; this increases the metabolism within the brain and muscles cells, also assisting in the prevention of migraine headaches.

Another health benefit of quinoa is its antioxidant protection. Both manganese and copper are cofactors of an antioxidant that protects the mitochondria from oxidative damage. Cardiovascular health can be included in this beneficial category too, going back to the magnesium content which relaxes blood vessels and decreases hypertension. One final added bonus is the lysine content; lysine is essential for tissue growth and repair.

However, when we cook quinoa we do loose a fair amount of the nutritional value and I have to say that I am very guilty of that. A great way to eat quinoa in its RAW, natural form is to sprout it. I have used sprouted quinoa in place of bulgur to make tabouli or sprinkled over my salads; I love sprouted it! There are also recipes for RAW energy bars that can easily be made with this added treat mixed in for some added crunch, wrapped up individually, and stored in the fridge. This is great for an on-the-go snack and much healthier than those found in stores (sorry, but the sugar content in some of those things is very disturbing to me - although I do keep those ones in mind for emergencies). I do love larabars, but I find them to be really sweet, so one will last me about a week. Much better to make my own. There use to be a great RAW energy bar recipe posted, but I can't seem to find it; I'll keep looking. For now, that's my RAW foods spiel.

Again, I have another busy week ahead of me with work, training for my new job, and my student-teaching practicum (I haven't even included the homework into this schedule for fear of having a nervous break down at the site of it). This is also the last week of summer. Again, I am hosting this week's menu swap, so if you have a menu to share, leave me the website and I'll share it with everyone, with a link back to your site. Many thanks to our Temporary Headquarters of the Menu Swap, Cheryl over at Gluten Free Goodness for her wonderful organization.

My Menu: TBA (ooops! I am still waiting on RAW foods portions)

Sunday
Breakfast – Creamy Blueberry Banana Smoothie
Lunch – Turkey Wrap & Dill Borscht
Dinner – Garlic Cod over Green Salad (sprouted quinoa sprinkled over top)

Monday
Breakfast – Fresh Orange Juice & Fruit
Lunch – Quinoa & Black Bean Salad
Dinner – RAW Red Chard Slaw with Asian Pear & Cashew Dressing

Tuesday (early AM meeting & student-teaching day)
Breakfast – Fresh Orange Juice & Fruit
Lunch – leftover RAW Chard Slaw (if there is any) & a RAW veggie wrap
Dinner – Quinoa & Black Bean Salad over green salad

Wednesday
Breakfast - Fresh Orange Juice & Fruit
Lunch – Veggie Wrap
Dinner - Quinoa & Grape Salad (RAW FOOD REAL WORLD)

Thursday
Breakfast – Blueberry Peach Smoothie
Lunch – Quinoa & Grape Salad

Dinner –

Friday
Breakfast – Blueberry Nectarine Smoothie
Lunch –
Dinner –

Saturday
Breakfast – Blueberry Banana Smoothie
Lunch –
Dinner -

I hope that everyone has a great week!

Kimberly over at Gluten-Free is Life also enjoys quinoa and mentions that she has made veggie burgers with it. Her menu also has another one of my favourites... squash, which sounds like it will be filled with a delicious stuffing. Enjoy your "date" this weekend!

Book of Yum has a beautiful picture of herself and 2 month old "Baby Yum" along with a tasty sounding dairy-free spinach pie recipe. She is also planning on using cashew in place of ricotta cheese, which sounds delish!

Gluten-Free in Salt Lake City joins us this week with a great sounding menu. She is craving fruit this week and planning on inventing a zucchini "lasagna" (a great idea - I did this back in August and it was fabulous!); keep your eyes out for the recipe.

WendyGK is trying out a new crust recipe from a GF cookbook this week and has a pizza night planned - mmmm, pizza night. Check out Celiac's In the House to see some pictures from this past weekend.

Angela's Kitchen is busy this week, but she will still be in her kitchen cooking up some delicious meals. She will be in her garden picking lots of fresh veggies for her stirfry over quinoa this week; something that I should really think about doing.

Manda, over at Asparagus Thin, has posted some very interesting finds; particularly one regarding iPhones and the Glutenfreepassport. I shall also add Manda to my growing list of quinoa lovers and must commend her new attempts in the RAW foods world. Goodluck with your teaching this week and in the baking contest!

Check out Heather over at Celiac Family. Not only has she posted her menu, but she has also added little notes about her preparation. There's also a link to Indian Quinoa that sounds really good - Yum!

Green V-Neck joins us this week with a vegan menu that sound tasty. Deb has a couple of my favourites on the menu such as sweet potato fries and lentils. I would love to hear more about the coconut chutney as I have become addicted to coconut lately.

Gluten Free Goodness has a week with out her DH and is excited for the quinoa ingredient. Cheryl has been intent on making a challah for Rosh Hashana and has a new post for a flourless chocolate torte that definitely needs to be checked out; it's gluten-, dairy-, and sugar free.

Menu Swap - September 7, 2009

Aaaahhhhhh, back to life I guess. It has been a wonderful 4 weeks of doing whatever I felt like with very little cooking or baking involved. However, my summer break is over and I must return to school & work, plus get ready to start my new part-time job.

I have spent the past 2 weeks trying to eat a diet that is 90% RAW Living foods; I was successful the first week, but last week, well, I didn't do quite as well as the first. I did, however, discover a delicious salad dressing which really isn't a dressing at all. For the past few months my mom has been putting EVOO on her salads with a splash of GF soy sauce (San-J brand) and cayenne pepper. I finally broke down and tried it; it was delicious! We've also been adding some cod fillets into the mix (that's been my filler). We also went out to Milestones Restaurant for dinner one night and each of us had phenomenal salads that were jam packed with some tasty treats... and they were GF! The manager himself discussed the options that were available and was the liason between our table and the kitchen. I will definitely be adding that restaurant to my short list of places to go (my mom had the California Spring Salad sans the pecans and I had the Grilled Seafood Salad with fresh fish - no marinades).

That's only a touch of my RAW adventures, but really, that's not why I'm here. As I said, I am returning to my busy schedule and I am intent on maintaining a regular menu for this semester. The past 2 semesters have been so hectic with work and school that my healthy eating habits dropped, and I'm not too happy about that. Of course, this week's menu leaves a lot to be desired, but I am only getting back into the swing of things. I'll have to work on it.

This week's Menu Swap is being hosted by Manda over at Asparagus Thin. She has chosen cassava (or yucca) as her ingredient since she has a bunch in her freezer. This is a root vegetable that is more commonly known as tapioca. Tapioca flour/starch is a common ingredient in GF baking, and it is this root that is ground up to produce one of my baking staples. There is so much more that you can read about, over at Asparagus Thin, regarding this interesting root vegetable, and I have to thank Manda for choosing it because I had no idea where my tapioca flour/starch came from. I think that I would also love to move into Manda's for the week too - her menu sounds delightful!

For this week, I will not be focused on eating RAW Living foods, but they will definitely be making an appearance. Sadly, there will be no raw cassava as it must be cooked prior to ingestion. I have never noticed this vegetable, but I will be keeping my eyes out for it. For now I'll just have to settle for using it as a flour/starch in my baking.

MENU - September 7

Monday
Lunch – Starbucks Frappucino (really bad, I know!)
Dinner – Chunky Chili with cheesy peppered cornbread

Tuesday
Breakfast – Peach Blueberry Smoothie & Banana Blueberry Muffin
Lunch – Turkey Wrap
Dinner – Basa fish mixed in a salad

Wednesday
Breakfast – Fresh Orange Juice & Fruit, Banana Blueberry Muffin
Lunch – Turkey Wrap
Dinner – Sushi??? (I have class this night and it’s a potluck)

Thursday
Breakfast – Fresh Orange Juice & Fruit, Cheese Scone & homemade jam
Lunch – Vegetable Wrap
Dinner – Soup & Salad

Friday
Breakfast – Peach Blueberry Smoothie
Lunch – Vegetable Wrap
Dinner – Green Salad with some GF Pasta Salad

Saturday – class today
Breakfast – Fresh Orange Juice & Fruit, Cheese Scone & homemade jam
Lunch – GF Pasta Salad & veggies
Dinner – whatever’s leftover!

Excellent! Don't forget to check out Asparagus Thin for other menus!

Quiche

Holy cow! This quiche is delicious!!! And even better, the fact that I made the whole thing from scratch. I'm won't bore you with the details of quiche. Nope, instead I'll just get to the good stuff... the recipe.

ZT&B Quiche (Zucchini, Tomato, & Basil)
I have used coconut milk in place of cream to decrease the amount of dairy. This could probably be made without cheese as well to make it dairy free.

1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
¾ cup cheddar & mozzarella cheese blend, grated
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
½ - 1 cup of zucchini, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh basil
1 cup of coconut milk
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch + some extra for sprinkling
¼ tsp. pepper
2 large eggs
1 9-inch pie crust (recipe below)

Dice onion and sauté it with crushed garlic clove. Remove from pan and sauté zucchini slices until they have softened slightly. Remove from stove. Slice tomatoes thinly and chop fresh basil (fresh basil is the key).

In a blender, mix together coconut milk, cornstarch, pepper, and eggs.

In prepared pie pan, sprinkle cornstarch around the bottom of the crust (this is to prevent the crust from getting soggy). Then spread onion & garlic on the bottom. Sprinkle grated cheese over top. Layer with tomato slices, followed by chopped basil. Top it off with the zucchini slices and then pour coconut milk mixture over top.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Let sit for about 10 minutes, then serve.

*I used only a ¼ cup of basil – it’s still good, but I think that more basil is needed to add to the flavour

*Next time I am going to alternate the zucchini and tomato rows together so that there is a more colourful presentation.

*Great to cut up and freeze for lunches or quick dinner runs – that’s what I plan on doing before the summer is out. This way, while I’m in my work/school craze I’ll have instant meals.

GF Savoury Pie Crust

1 cup of basic flour mix
2 Tbsp. sweet rice flour
½ tsp. brown sugar
¼ tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. dried basil *I like to add a spice mix to the crust for added flavour based on the filling

Mix all ingredients together. Roll into a ball and wrap with saran. Chill for 1 hour. Roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper (sprinkle white rice flour on parchment paper and on top of dough if sticky). Be sure to gently pull parchment paper away from dough and check stick. When ready, pull parchment paper off on both sides. Leave rolled out dough on one sheet and place pie pan over top of crust. Quickly flip the crust and pan over. Gently remove parchment sheet and pat crust into pan.

Basic Flour Mix:
Adapted from one of Rebecca Reilly's flour mixes in Gluten Free Baking
1 ½ cups brown rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
½ cup tapioca starch
½ cup almond meal

Sift flours together and mix in almond meal. Makes 3 cups. Refrigerate leftovers for next pie crust.

*Carol Fenster's Rice Flour blend also works.

Blueberry Salsa

Here's another party favourite (or atleast, it would be if I had recorded my alterations the first time round). I'm posting the basic recipe. I'll have to make it again and play around with it. This was made a while back and it was to die for, but alas, there was no record of the changes that were made. Let me know what you think.

Blueberry Salsa

4 cups Blueberries
½ Vidalia Onion
1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper
¼ cup Fresh Cilantro
¼ cup Fresh Lime Juice
1 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Pepper

Coarsely chop half of the blueberries. Combine the chopped and whole blueberries in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Cover and let stand for 1-2 hours so the flavours can blend.

Sorry, no picture at the moment :(

Potato Salad

It's that time of year, summer BBQ's and lots of fireworks or camping trips. A perfect time for potato salad, or any salad for that matter.
My Favourite Potato Salad:

3 large russet potatoes
3 medium carrots
2 dill pickles
½ - 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
4 pinches of cayenne
¼ - ½ cup mayonnaise
2 green onions
salt & pepper
small chunk of Vidalia onion

Peel and chop the potatoes, boiling them until they are soft. Mash them and let them cool. Peel and grate the carrots, then add them into the potato salad. Chop the pickles, Vidalia onion & green onions very fine and toss in with the carrots and potatoes. Add mustard, cayenne, & mayonnaise (I like mine to be creamy). Mix together. Add salt & pepper to taste, as well as any extras that you might like.

As usual, this is a recipe that is based on taste. I'll more than likely change my measurements the next time that I make it because my tastes will be different. At the moment, I'm thinking of trying it with grated beets - YUM! My mom's friend did that and it was delicious.

Enjoy!

Fresh is Best!

I love the smell of spring, but mostly I love the great selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs! Last week my mom came home from a friends with some leftover salsa for me. At first glance I wasn't too impressed as it looked nothing like what you get in the stores, but I couldn't stop eating it. I decided to replicate it with a few extra touches of my own, it was that good. There's a great farm market on my way home from work that sells produce grown without sprays for amazing prices, and when I saw their cilantro selection I couldn't resist. It also helped that they have all peppers on for .75 cents a pound! It was meant to be!!! Also quite fitting as this is the week of Cinco de Mayo, so in honour of that I made sweet pepper salsa and Chunky Chili using all fresh fruits and vegetables (except for the tomato sauce - had to use some kind of sauce).

SWEET PEPPER SALSA

1 sweet yellow pepper
1 sweet orange pepper
1 medium tomato
1/2 a small onion
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
juice of 1/2 a small lime
pinch of salt

Chop the peppers and onions very fine. Chop the tomato and cilantro and add to peppers and onion. Add lime juice and salt. Mix it all together and chill for at least an hour.

Serve with rice crackers, tortilla chips, or RAW bread/crackers (recipe to follow shortly).

This makes a great snack!

BANANA BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
3 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Biscuit & Baking Mix
2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add bananas and eggs, then mix together with electric mixer.

In a separate bowl, sift the baking mix and baking soda together. Mix in the salt and cinnamon.

Add dry mix to the banana/butter mix. Once both mixes are blended together, gently fold in the blueberries.

Using a 1/4 cup, scoop batter into prepared muffin tins.

Bake for about 20 minutes.*

*time could vary depending on how full the muffin tins are. Mine were completely full, and they took about 30 minutes to bake. Next time I plan on only filling them about half way as they do rise a fair amount.