Carrot Infused Quinoa Salad

The past few months have been  flying by at the speed of light! I can’t believe that this is my first post for 2012 and it’s already March!  Life has been busy in my corner of the world, and it won’t be slowing down for another few months yet. You are likely to see more relaxed posting for a while until my schedule slows down (July-ish?)

Today’s recipe is really simple. It’s a little trick I picked up in a magazine, but I honestly cannot remember which one! Quinoa has grown to be a popular option for many who want to eat healthy. It’s actually a seed – not a grain. But regardless, it’s delicious. One of my all-time favourite recipes is the Red Quinoa Salad that I previously posted. However, this one is just a really simple trick to add more nutrients into an already awesome food – however you choose to serve it. This recipe was done with the light coloured quinoa, not the red.

When cooking your quinoa, boil it in a mix of carrot juice and water. That’s it. Easy.

The salad in the picture shows that it takes on an orange colour – I used a lot of carrot juice. I mixed mine with edamame (soy beans), chopped red onion, and some cilantro. It keeps for a few days and makes for a power packed salad for lunches.

Enjoy!

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Basil and Mozzarella

The prep for this one was a tad time consuming, but in my opinion they looked amazing and offered a fresh veggie option for friends to try at the Fall Tasting Feast. I liked that I could make part of it in advance and finish the prep right before the first arrivals!

Fresh mozzarella, cut into tiny cubes

Olive oil

1/3 cup chopped basil leaves

1 tsp. lemon zest

salt and pepper

cherry tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes so they were super tiny) cut in half with inside scooped out (invert and let drain about 15 minutes)

1. In a large bowl, mix together the cheese, 3 Tbs of olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
2. Refrigerate between 2-4 hours.
3. Spoon mixture into tomato half and arrange on try – serve! (Can refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving)

So darn easy! These would go nicely at a picnic or to accompany a light lunch! It just reminds me of summer…

– Carolyn

Classical Crostini…

This is a recipe that offers incredible ‘wow’ for very little effort. I served it at the Fall Tasting Feast and it didn’t even make it around the room! Check it out…

1 medium baguette (slice into … well, slices)

Olive oil

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dates (pitted and chopped)

1 Tbs. honey

1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

1 round of brie (trim the rind)

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Put bread slices on baking sheet and brush both sides with a bit of olive oil.
3. Put bread into oven for about 6-8 minutes (should be starting to brown and crisp)
4. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix dates, honey, vinegar and walnuts
5. When bread is out of oven, place a slice of brie on each piece of bread and return to oven just long enough to soften the brie (2 minutes)
6. Remove from oven and top each slice with date mixture.
7. Serve and enjoy the ‘ooh’s and ‘ahhh’s

As always, let me know how it goes!

-Carolyn

I could eat them all....by myself!

Roasted beets with citrus reduction

It’s the best beet recipe I’ve ever found as I don’t usually like them – this time I wish I had made more. Each bite gives you a soft dense texture with a  reduced citrus note.  After trying them I’ve decided that they will be featured at my fall tasting feast so that everyone can try it. But if you’d like to try making it yourself here’s how you do it:

1. Cut off the beet greens and very tip of beet. Wrap each beet in tinfoil and place in oven for 1 hour at 400 degrees.
2. Remove beets and let cool. Unwrap and rub off skin of beets. Chop into large chunks.
3. Heat in saucepan 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/4 balsamic vinegar. Takes about 10 minutes on a low/medium heat. The vinegar will smoke a lot, but it’s okay – stir constantly and you’ll see it thicken up.
4. Mix reduction with beets and serve.

I found this recipe on another blog (http://www.biorequiem.com/mmmf/mmmf-001-roasted-beets-citrus-reduction/). She does more than a few recipes as well as fashion, make-up, design and more – an interesting place!

Red Quinoa Salad…seriously good stuff.

This is now one of my favourites and I will make this one for years to come – it’s both sweet and savory. Kinda like a Waldorf salad as it’s full of good stuff. There are several pluses to this one: it’s vegetarian, it’s full of fibre, it can act as a complete meal, it keeps well in the refrigerator. I received excellent remarks when I served it at the Tasting Feast and I’d like to share it with you now so you can make it yourself. This recipe came from the Feb/March 2011 issue of Fine Cooking.

1.5 cups of quinoa (red)

5 tbs. olive oil

1 large red onion – quartered and sliced

2 tbs. balsamic vinegar

4 oz. arugula (3 cups) – thin slices

4 oz. aged Gouda – diced

3 medium celery stalks – sliced

1 large crisp apple – diced

1 cup walnuts – chopped

1 cup fennel – finely diced

3/4 cup dried cranberries

3 Tbs. sherry vinegar

1. Make the quinoa. Follow recipe on package – takes about 15 minutes. After boiling, drain and let rest for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork. Cool to room temp.

2. Cook onions in a frying pan using 2 Tbs. olive oil. Should become tender and brown. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for about 1 minute then remove from heat. Cool to room temp.

3. In a bowl mix quinoa, onions, arugula, cheese, celery, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and fennel.

4. In a small bowl whisk 3 Tbs of olive oil with sherry vinegar and a pinch of sea salt. Add to salad gently. Let rest and serve.

That’s it. It’s very easy, but with so many ingredients it’s not a cheap salad to make. However, it makes a large amount and the presentation is quite beautiful.

Good luck!

– Carolyn