This is is a more sauteed/cooked dinner Quinoa dish that the summer dish posted earlier this week. I know we have ingredient overlap but I'm just a poor college kid trying to make a food blog! Came home tonight thinking I'd only have a pb and j sandwich but decided to make something with leftover raw ingredients from the salmon dish plus some new members. Red wine n cookin' = love
2/3 cup of Quinoa
1 cup of Water
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh chive
Olive oil
1 red pepper
1/2 red onion
4-7 Crimini mushroom caps (how mushroomy you like it!?)
Sea salt
Chopped Spinach leaves
Garlic naan optional!
Directions:
Chive infused olive oil:
Make this first so it has time to marinade in it's juices!
1. In a blender (or food processor if you're lucky enough to have one) place 1/2 cup olive oil with chives and a pinch of sea salt.
2. Puree until smooth
3. Strain over bowl
4. With remaining chive place on cheese cloth and squeeze oil remaining olive oil--there's more in there than you think!
Cook quinoa as stated in previous posts
How to roast a red pepper! No need to buy the canned sliced stuff when you can do it yourself:
pre heat oven on broil (this is important you're not baking you're BROILING!)
1. Slice a red pepper in half discard stems and seeds
2. Place open face down on a baking sheet
3. Broil for 7-10 minutes of until the top skin on the red pepper is thoroughly burnt! (don't be afraid the more burnt looking across the surface the better, it means it's roasted thoroughly and it'll be easier to peel)
4. Remove from oven let cool
5. Once cooled, peel the burnt skin off to reveal delicious roasted red pepper, slice as desired!
Sauteed veggies:
1. Heat olive oil a pan and add garlic (make sure the garlic does not brown too much though!)
2. To the pan add red onions and saute diced crimini mushrooms
3. Add spinach after mushrooms and onions have softened a bit. Spinach does not take as long too cook.
Combine!
1. Fold the sauteed veggies and roasted red pepper slices into the warm quinoa and add the chive-infused olive oil.
Serve with Naan or some type of break or cracker if you wish!
Optional: I added Manchego cheese shavings and chili power to the top
So what's in it for you?
Well I've sung Quinoa's praises (almost a bit too much this week) so I'll talk about new additions to this recipe; chive, spinach, cannelli beans and crimini mushrooms.
One, two, three, four, CHIVE! Chive might just be my favorite herb, most likely because it's in the same awesome family as onion and garlic--OPA! Chives stimulate and aid digestion (particularly in fatty foods), are known to be good for your respiratory system, and have diuretic properties*.
**Diuretics augment diuresis. WTF? This means they help remove liquids (like PEE) or relieve fluid retention in the body. While it's good to be hydrated it's equally important to release salt-contianing fluids in your body that make your blood heavier.
And guys, chives had been known to reduce the chances of prostrate cancer by as much as 50% so eat up!
SPINACH like it HOT! If you don't like spinach you might want to read another blog because this will be a reoccurring veggie. Maybe it's not as crisp as iceberg but iceberg is lacking HARDCORE in the vitamins/minerals department. Plus, spinach is much for versatile and likes it hot unlike most leaf lettuces. There's a reason Popeye's so strong. Packed with vitamin A (good for weak eyes like mine), choline and inositol (keeps your arteries from thickening or hardening), antioxidants (carotenoids prevent formation of tumors!), and has anti-aging properties (I'm 23 going on 21 again!) . Got a cut? Vitamin K in spinach aids in blood clotting.
Cannellini's and Crimini's.
Crimini mushrooms provide you with zinc, which supports a healthy immune system and (my favorite) is essential/required for an optimal sense of taste and smell! Ladies, crimini's have anti-cancer (particularly breast cancer) properties. Crimini nutrients regulated estrogen levels in your blood by inhibiting aromatase (produces estrogen). By keeping the producer of estrogen in-check this produce item lowers your chance of breast cancer.
Cannellini beans! Have a delicious nut-like flavor. The white, Italian cousin of the kidney bean are LOW FAT, HIGH PROTEIN, HIGH FIBER, and VITAMIN B RICH. Ere go, lose weight, be strong, be regular, and support your immune system, skin, muscle tone, nervous system, etc!
I like chopping up white onion, mincing garlic, and throwing these beans in with lemon juice and olive oil and chilling for a delicious summer snack.
Environmentally friendly tip?
I find myself frustrated living in Boston sometimes because me and my roommates had to write to request a recycling bin to have for our apartment. Then all they delivered was a tiny bin with barely enough volume for me! Then our building got a big recycling bin. But now I'm on to where can I compost and how without getting mice?! Well, this will be addressed in a future blog but I guess I also get upset about not being able to have my own garden. Sure, there's no way I'm capable of growing tomatoes on my back deck but I think herbs are another story.
I've since looked into being sustainable by growing my own herbs! Luckily for me chives grow year round if I bring them inside and put them in the window. I'm going to try this and let you know what happens!
BEan kind to the environment and reduce gas from beans! I'm serious, methane is bad for the environment, haha. Most people avoid beans for avoid flatulent follies and embarrassment. Make sure to rinse beans before and AFTER cooking them and DO NOT use the same water you use to soak the beans to cook them.
Upcoming post will suggest what to do with leftovers...don't throw good food away or let it go to waste!
Links:
http://www.examiner.com/x-30695-Greensboro-Sustainable-Foods-Examiner~y2010m2d4-Onion-chives-be-sustainable-grow-your-own
http://penniwisner.com/grow-your-own-herbs-chives-the-harbingers-of-spring/
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