Quinoa and Healthy Eating Days

Hello everyone!
It's been a month since I posted anything: my apologies for the delay!
After New Year's, I have been crammed with school but I have also been dedicating whatever time I have to healthier eating habits. In the last week, I have committed myself to a strict quinoa eating diet, cutting out bread, pasta, and rice. Within five days, I had lost 7lbs both with my quinoa diet and committing myself to a workout routine. I've decided to feature the quinoa dishes that I made during my diet since not many people know what this super-food is nor its health benefits (and to commorate the recent 2013 decalaration of the UN in calling this new year the declared International Year of Quinoa).
Quinoa is a pseudo-cereal or pseudo-grain because although it looks like a grain, it is actually a seed. It is a super-food held in sacred standards by the Inca, who viewed the grain-like crop as having the abilities to provide their warriors with stamina and strength as well as feed the population. It is known as a superfood because it is high in nutritional value, especially protein (almost 11.5 grams of protein per 100 grams) and is also high in amino acids, fiber and low in carbohydrates. It is gluten free and since it is very versatile, it is ideal as a great alternative for anyone who does not include gluten in their diets.

The first quinoa dish I made was a breakfast scramble, with hints of cilantro, cumin and tumeric. I cooked quinoa until the right doneness (I like them still slightly crunchy) and scrambled it with an egg, some turmeric, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, diced tomatoes and finished it off with cilantro. It was so yummeh! I ate some leftovers cold and it was still good!

The second dish I made was a Black Bean, Corn and Quinoa soup that lasted me for around two and a half days (or two dinners and one lunch). It was seasoned with Mexican spices like chile powder and cumin and of course, I loaded it up with a lot of chopped cilantro! The recipe is completely vegan, unless you want meat, you can tear up some leftover chicken or cut 1 raw chicken breast into strips and saute it with the onions n' garlic

Black Bean, Corn and Quinoa Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 glove of garlic, minced or 1 1/2 tsp of garlic powder if you are lazy.
2 tsp chile powder (or more if you like heat)
2 tsp cumin (more if you like)
1 tsp coriander powder (more if you like)
1 tsp paprika (more if you like)
4 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock
1 medium can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of frozen corn
2/3 cup cooked quinoa (or 1 cup if you want)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped (or 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro)
salt and pepper to taste

In a small pot, heat the olive oil on high heat. Add the onions and garlic and lower the heat to medium. Saute until onions are slightly transparent, then add the spices. Cook until the spices become aromatic.
Add in the stock, beans, corn and bring the heat up to high.
When the soup comes to a gentle boil, add the quinoa and chopped tomato. Simmer for around 5 minutes then  Season to taste.
Remove from heat then stir in the chopped cilantro and serve immediately.


The third dish I made with quinoa was also another soup: Kale, White Bean and Quinoa Soup. This one also lasted me around two and a half days (or two dinners and one lunch). This one was more "hearty" and fresh and less spice went into it, if any at all. I used the recipe found here but I did cut the recipe down to fit my own serving requirements. The kale adds an extra boost to you nutritional intake as well! Kale is very high in Vitamin K (helps prevent blood clots), Vitamin C and A as well as fiber, iron and calcium. The soup itself is very filling because of the white beans and quinoa so I felt very full very quickly. It helped me reset my metabolism by eating less for more :).

A dish that I made twice because I loved it so much was the Quinoa Omelette found in an amazing quinoa cookbook that I own. It is called Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming. I have yet to try the dessert portion of the cookbook but I will very soon in the near future! I only used the recipe for the eggs and the filling was basically whatever I wanted. The first time I made it, the omelette was overloaded with four different types of sweet bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, a sundried-tomato "pesto" and crumbled feta cheese. The second time was just green bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. Maybe I am biased because I love omelettes aha <3

Egg Mixture for Omelette
2 eggs

1 tbsp milk

2 tbsp cooked quinoa
1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

Whisk all the ingredients up. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet or frying pan then add the egg mixture into the hot pan, waiting around a minute before taking chopsticks or a fork to draw circles into the omelette, then swirl pan to cover the holes you just made with the uncooked egg mixture. Cook until the edges start to come away from the pan. Add your filling on one half and fold over with the other half with a spatula. Serve hot. Happy omelette making!

Another dish that I also really loved was my Avocado Quinoa Uramaki (Inside-out) Sushi. I made sure to cook the quinoa with a little bit of extra water so that it becomes softer and seasoned it with a mixture of rice vinegar, mirin, water, salt, and a little bit of sugar. If you don't want to get these ingredients or if you're too lazy to make the sushi rice dressing, there are pre-made dressings available at Asian super markets!
I like this sushi because the quinoa adds a fantastic nutty flavor to the roll, plus it is gluten free so it's even better! I topped the rolls with Sriracha Sauce for an extra kick. If you don't like avocados, cucumber, or any filling is fine! Just make sure you have a sushi mat (covered with plastic wrap for easy clean-up and less stickiness) and that the quinoa is cooked till soft so it would hold together!

If you have Instagram, follow me to see my daily eats!!

Christmas Day

I've been really bad at updating this blog...then again, I haven't been cooking much lately so please bear with me :(
It's Christmas Day and since I'm now on winter break from school and on holiday from work, I have enough time to concur up some deliciousness!
In the late morning and early afternoon, I made a simple Eggs Benedict Brunch for the family to enjoy before we opened up our gifts.
Like so many times before, I did not have English Muffins or crumpets on hand so I cut circles out of thick, Texas Toast bread slices. The rest is self explanatory, shaved ham, poached eggs, homemade Hollandaise and a pinch of cayenne.

 

 The Fam and I settled down to open gifts with hot cups of Bailey's Coffee topped with a unhealthy delicious dollop of homemade whipped cream. My lil' brother had a nice hot mug of hot chocolate since he doesn't like alcohol. 

After wrecking mayhem on the wrapping paper and boxes, I hit the kitchen to prep and make our Christmas dinner. Our turkey was very small, weighing less than 5kg. I buttered the bird up real good with garlic butter, making sure to spread the fat under the skin to lock in as much moistness as I can during roasting. Since I was not cooking for a crowd, I had enough time to experiment with heat settings, basting and glazing. The bird was small, so cooking time was around 2 hours and 40 minutes and a resting time of at least 50 minutes. I used a Mustard glaze with hints of maple and orange to add extra flavor and color to the bird. I found that by cooking the bird covered with a lid (or a roomy tin foil tent) for 40 minutes at 220C/425F will help keep the moister from being lost and also accumulates more juices to flow back into the pan for gravy. After 40 minutes, I turned the oven down to 180C/350F and roasted the bird for 2 hours, making sure to baste the bird every 10-15 minutes. For the last 20 minutes, I glazed the the bird twice with my Mustard Glaze (in 10 minute intrevals). After that, let the bird rest for at least 50 minutes (if you have extra time, rest for the amount of time you cooked the bird). The turkey turned out amazingly moist, the most moist I've ever cooked a turkey!

 

The stuffing was made of a gourmet mix of wild rice and a variety of other rice types (red, brown, long grain etc.) As I cooked the rice with vegetable broth in my handy-dandy rice cooker, I sauteed together white onions, garlic, grated carrots and grated apples then celery. After the rice was cooked, I added it to the vegetables, seasoned and stirred in a small cube of butter (around 1/4).
I roasted some family-favourite veggies like Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli. A new addition was parsnips, which my family went crazy for a month or so before, when I made soup with it. There were also dirty, roasted garlic mashed red-potatoes
I used a recipe for Ginger-Roasted Parsnips and Jerk-Spiced Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower and Chickpeas from the magazine (and website) of Food & Wine to bring the faves to light. As for the broccoli, I roasted them and simply toss them in some lemon juice, lemon zest and a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.
I also made the cranberry salsa that I served for my Thanksgiving dinner because the leftovers that I stored in October is all gone (my brother ate it all). The salsa keeps for a very long time in an airtight container, stored in the fridge. I'm never going to make traditional cranberry sauce anymore because the cranberry salsa is both exciting and different to the palette (plus I love the spicy kick I get from the jalapenos and spices).

Thanksgiving Dinner

Oh my goodness, it has been forever since I made a post -bows in apology-
I have been very busy with school and work so I have not had enough time to cook anything.
 This month, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner on the same day of my great-grandmother's memorial...so...there was a lot of food! Along the veggie dishes my mom and I made, there were also pork roast, turkey and all the fixings! I even attempted a pumpkin chiffon pie but I think I'll just stick to cheesecakes and fruit pies from now on hehe ;)

Some things on the menu were crab soup, veggie curry, veggie chicken and mushrooms, Korean vermicelli stir-fry and some spring rolls.
The Thanksgiving menu included Herb Roasted Turkey, Apple and Cheddar Stuffed Pork Roast (adapted), Scallop potatoes, mashed Sweet potatoes (1:1 yam and russet), Tex-Mex cornmeal cheese scones, red rice stuffing, cranberry salsa, and turkey gravy.

The chiffon pumpkin pie I made is a 'light' twist on the traditional, heavy custard pie which I turned into a sheet pie. However, I think I'll stick with cheesecakes and fruit pies...enough said haha! 

Herb Roasted Turkey; parsley, cilantro, garlic, shallots, salt, pepper, rosemary, and thyme

Apple and Cheddar Stuffed Pork loin, wrapped in bacon ;)

Vegetarian "Bún Riêu" or Tomato Noodle Soup

Bún Riêu cua, a noodle dish that is one of the top vendor foods in Vietnam. The original vendor dish is made with grounded paddy crabs, tomatoes, deep-fried tofu and an egg and shrimp paste mixture. The dish is sometimes known as tofu-curdle noodle soup, since the chunky eggs in the soup resemble curdled milk. The broth is colored with annatto seeds to produce a bright orangy-red color to the broth. In this quickie veggie version, I used my home-grown tomatoes and crushed tofu to create this "replica." The dish is accompanied with a variety of condiments ranging from chili pepper paste, fermented shrimp paste, limes, bean sprouts, shredded banana flower, spearmint, shiso leaves, and/or exotic leaves called rau kinh giới (Elsholtzia ciliata).

Steelhead Trout with Mango Salsa

 I haven't cooked dinner in a very long time and today I whipped up a trout dish for the fam. I picked up a steel-head trout fillet at Costco and a box of mangoes along with some corn, bell peppers, and avocados.
In around one hour after getting home, I served up a dish full of delish; trout fillets cut into individual portions, lightly seasoned, grilled and glazed with a my favorite mesquite sauce (a raspberry chipotle mix). Served with a refreshing mango salsa and placed on top of red rice and corn and black bean medallions. Yummeh!

Mango Salsa

1 large tomato, pulped and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1 mango, diced
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 medium avocado, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne powder to taste (optional)

Place tomatoes, peppers, red onion and sugar in a medium boil. Mix it up and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients.

Corn and Black Bean Medallions

2 large russet potatoes, peeled, chunked, boiled and mashed
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup black beans
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Sautee corn, beans, peppers, cilantro and onion until slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into mashed potatoes and stir in bread crumbs and cheese. Form into little patties and pan fry until both sides are golden browned.

Mango Salsa without avocados because my brother does not like avocados

Mango Salsa with avocados for the rest of the family