Snow and Soup. Snow and soup. And playing.
It’s been snowing so much lately, and I feel like we have barely left the house. Scotty must have shovelled 4 feet of snow off our deck today from just the last couple days. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Quinoa
Walking! (Oh, and Watermelon Salad)
It didn’t take long for Calla to venture on her own after walking along furniture and using mom and dad’s hands for support. For a month and a half Calla practiced. Pulling herself up and working on her balance and coordination. Building and strengthening her legs and core muscles. She would surprise us by walking a step or two away from the couch, or turn to see her standing on her own. We practiced a few times letting her try taking steps between us and made it to about 5. Now at 10 1/2 months she walks freely, with arms in the air, sometimes pausing to clap and smile. Her balance improves in leaps and bounds everyday. A small step she had trouble with one day, is conquered the next. Her speed gets swifter, and fearlessness more defined.
She’s a tough little girl, always climbing or pulling herself onto something. Figuring out how to get where she wants to go. It shocks me sometimes how she’s figured out something so quickly and with such ease. The faster she moves and more determined and independent she gets only means the tumbles may happen more frequently, and more hurtful. What lays ahead of us is something I’m not looking forward to, the bumps and bruises. The first cuts and wounds. The tears.
Many of those tears shed I’m sure will be my own. As Calla gets more independent, it will be hard for me to let go and let her figure things out on her own, even if that means there will be a few stumbles along the way. This I’m learning is one of the hard parts of being a mom. However, one of the very best parts of being a mom, is watching those first steps, the attempts to run and skip, and even being there when the tears come to kiss the bumps, bruises and wounds and make it all better.
Watermelon, Quinoa, Feta & Mint Salad
(Adapted from Tartelette)
1.5 Cups Quinoa, rinsed
3 Cups Water
1 Cup Watermelon, cut into small cubes
1/2 Cup Feta, crumbled
2 Green Onions, chopped thin
1/3 Cup loosely packed mint, thinly chopped
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
Salt and Pepper, to taste
In a large saucepan, add rinsed quinoa and water and bring to boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
Once the quinoa has cooled, add chopped watermelon, feta, green onions, olive oil and mint and fold together gently, keeping watermelon pieces intact. Season with salt and pepper and chill until ready to serve.
Quinoa, Spinach & Gouda Salad
Wednesday night we tried something we love. Something we thought would be easy and fun to make. Something we’ve never made before and eat out regularly. Any guesses? Sushi!! California rolls & Smoked Salmon rolls.
Wondering why I’m posting about this salad then? Well, sadly our first sushi experience was a bomb. A total bomb. Rolling was the easy part, it was the ingredients we didn’t get down.. No biggy, we can try again another day. No wednesday night post this week though.
I think this was one of the first Quinoa dishes I made & still make it quite regularly. It’s great in any season, any meal and holds well for a couple days, so it’s great for leftovers.
(Adapted from Fine Cooking)
1 1/2 cups quinoa, red or white
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Red Onion, diced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 cups spinach, trimmed and chopped
3/4 cup Smoked Gouda, cut in small cubes
3 Medium Celery Stalks, sliced thinly
1 Apple, diced
1 cup Walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup Dried Cranberries
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
In a bowl, rinse quinoa and rub between fingers for a few seconds. Drain and transfer to medium sized pot. Add 2 1/2 cups water and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes until all water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, but still crunchy.
Once quinoa is cooked, remove from heat and let cool. Drain if needed.
In a medium sized pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over med-high heat. Add onion, cook for a few minutes until tender and brown on the edges. Add balsamic vinegar and toss with onions until vinegar cooks away, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, mix spinach, gouda, celery, apple, cranberries, and walnuts. Add quinoa and onion once they’ve cooled.
In a small bowl, whisk remaining 3 tbsp olive oil with apple cider vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir into salad. You can add more olive oil if the salad seems a bit dry.
A cure for the cold – Roasted Butternut Squash, Quinoa & Chicken Stew
Spring is here which makes me happy. Sunshine, longer days, warmer weather, rainstorms, and well amongst all the good, also a cold. The best thing about this cold though is it gave me a great reason to try this comforting, healthy stew from Cooking Canuck that I’ve had bookmarked for awhile. I’ve attempted to make soup before, a few butternut squash soups and I will admit they’ve been a bit of a disaster. Why such failures? You would think soup would be quite easy to make, and after making this one, I know they are, all you need is a little time and patience to allow the ingredients to cook, a no-brainer.
I decided to roast the squash instead of steam it, and I had some extra tomatoes that needed to be used up, so I roasted those as well instead of using canned. At the very end I also realized a had some kale that I needed to use, so I tossed it in, and I’m glad I did. Since I didn’t have parsley, the green kale gave the stew a bit more color, and good texture too.
1 1/2 lb butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed chili peppers
5 vine tomatoes, sliced in quarters (or a 14oz can of diced tomatoes)
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
1-2 handfuls chopped kale
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, place on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and lightly brush with olive oil. Cut tomatoes into quarters, place on baking sheet with squash and brush lightly with olive oil. You can make a divider between the two so the squash doesn’t get soaked by tomato juices. Place chicken breasts on another baking sheet. Bake all 3 at 350F for 30-40 minutes, check periodically. I had some time to spare, so I baked the three separately in a toaster oven.
Once the chicken, tomatoes and squash are cooked, remove from oven. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add minced garlic, crushed chili peppers & oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
Add tomatoes & butternut squash to saucepan and stir to combine.
Add quinoa and let toast for a minute. Add chicken broth, stir, cover and let simmer until quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
Stir in chicken and chopped kale. Cover and let simmer about 5 minutes.
Raspberry, Cream Cheese Muffins with Quinoa
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and lucky for me I love breakfast. I also love having something quick, healthy and readily available to grab, and these muffins are perfect for that. If you have left over quinoa in the fridge, you can use that. If not, it cooks up easily in about 15 minutes. Quinoa is easily digestible, gluten-free, actually has more calcium than milk & full of protein. Mixed with the fruity raspberries means you’re off to a good start in the morning with these muffins, or as an afternoon snack.
I found this recipe in Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood, a cookbook dedicated to this amazing wholegrain. It also has a pretty sweet baby food section which I will be diving into soon for Miss Calla.
1/2 cup white or golden quinoa
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
4oz cold light cream cheese, diced small
1 cup frozen raspberries
3/4 cup white or cane sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Combine all dri ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Add 1 1/4 cups of the cooked quinoa and mix until it is evenly coated with the flour mixture. Stir in the cream cheese, breaking up any large pieces. The cream cheese should remain chunky in these muffins. Add the frozen raspberries and coat in the flour mixture. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil, followed by the egg. Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla. Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until just combined. Spoon the dough evenly among the cups. Bake on the center rack for 25 to 27 minutes, until the muffins are light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
