Vegan Iron Chef Challenge #1 QUINOA

[Firebird Rising]

Uncommonly healthy little grain -

Quinoa - Wiki definition
QUINOA can be subbed for a variety of starches, rice, couscous and other pastas, bulgur, TVP and tofu and many other things. It easily takes on flavors.

Do some googling, some cookbook searching and have fun with QUINOA! Try to make it vegan or with a limited amount of dairy/egg (in other words, "cheesy quinoa enchilada with extra cheese and eggs" is not quite what I'm looking for )

Challenge #2 clue
My description contains equal amounts of two primary colors
My harvesters are well supported during the months of October and November
As a baby, I travel so much that my brothers and sisters are feet apart while we grow

For more information on this challenge, visit this link: GCM Veggie Iron Chef challenge

[Firebird Rising]

<disclaimer>My sole purpose in cooking is to make it easy for myself. This means I don't measure very well. I cook to taste. Someday when I am writing a cookbook, I'll have to get over this. But if it's a recipe I've thought up, be prepared to play with amounts since I won't have hard and fast measurements. That said....>

All pictures are clickable thumbnails

Curry Quinoa Salad

• little bit of olive oil
• One 16 lb extra firm water packed tofu, drained, patted dry and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• two handfuls of raisins or "craisins"
• four cups COOKED quinoa
• 1/3 bag of that prewashed baby spinach
• two handfuls of almond slivers
• curry powder
• Bragg's liquid aminos OR soy sauce
• garlic granules or powder
• 1/3 cup vegannaise

Pour a swig of olive oil into a frying pan. Heat up the pan on medium and swirl oil around, then flip pan upside down over sink and let the oil empty out. You just wanna small bit to keep tofu from sticking. Throw the tofu cubes in and add a few shakes of curry powder (I keep this in a bottle with a shaker lid). Add a few shakes of garlic powder. You can't really overdo it with either ingredient because they will just enhance the quinoa flavor if nothing else. It should look a bit like this:


Squirt some braggs or soy sauce in the pan so you can mix it up and get the tofu coated with the flavors. Again, you can't really overdo it because the flavors will become much diluted when you've added the other ingredients.

Allow the tofu to fry, mixing it with a wooden spoon, until you just start to see the tofu toasting a bit. The tofu should be a dull yellow from the curry seasoning. After the tofu is showing signs of being fried, turn it off.

Grab your almonds and throw them in a small frying pan turned on med-high. You're going to toast them. Let them sit there a minute, then pick up the pan and swirl them or mix them around with a spoon or other apparatus. Let them sit a bit more and repeat. DO NOT STOP WATCHING THEM. I have burned many a nut while attempting to toast it. < I just read that again and it came out a bit different sounding than I meant, but it made me laugh so I'm leaving it. This is a very serious recipe and it needs some humor>



throw the toasted almonds into a glass bowl as soon as they show signs of being toasted (when they're brown in spots). DO NOT leave them in the pan as they'll keep cooking.

Chop the spinach into strips (like the lettuce at Taco Bell, only you don't have to be quite so anal-retentive about the width).

Do the hokey pokey.



Dump it all in a mixing bowl and stir. Oh yeah, throw in the raisins too. Add a bit more curry powder, well, you can add a lot, if you like curry. A bit more means a shake or two.



Eat it either lukewarm or chilled. The kids and I just eat it out of the mixing bowl with a spoon, usually. Then we don't tell my parents and put it in a tupperware for them to finish

[mommylove]

Spinach with Chickpeas and Quinoa


Total time = 20 minutes; Serves 4

1 c quinoa, dry
1/2 c pine nuts
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15.5oz) can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 c raisins (dark or golden)
3 handfuls spinach or swiss chard, chopped
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper


Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in quinoa and cook, covered, on med-low for 10 minutes, or until water cooks out.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, over low heat, toast the pine nuts, shaking the pan frequently, until golden, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. (Or stick 'em in the toaster oven like I do. Just a notch over the med setting will toast them nicely without burning.)

Return the skillet to medium heat. Add oil and heat for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas, raisins, spinach, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chard/spinach is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in quinoa & pine nuts.


I give this recipe 4 stars. It's very light, so it makes for a nice lunch or side dish for dinner. The original recipe calls for couscous, which I prefer, so I dropped a star when subbing quinoa.

[Serafine]

Black Bean Quinoa Salad
Time: No idea, I made it up on the fly as I went

1 cup dry quinoa (red or regular)
2 cups water or broth (for cooking the Quinoa)
1 avocado, chunked
1 medium tomato, chunked
1/2 medium onion, chunked (or 1 bunch green onions, sliced)
handful of cilantro leaves
1 can (or 2 cups home=cooked) black beans, rinsed/drained
toasted or crispy nuts (optional, it was good without it -I prefer cashews, but almonds were good too) - handful or 2.

dressing:
olive oil
cilantro
lime juice
salt/pepper

Cook Quinoa however you like (we have enjoyed using our rice cooker)
Combine rest of ingredients (we sprinkle the nuts on each individual serving)
mix dressing together
toss salad with dressing
salt/pepper to taste.

[Aisling]

I'll be a showoff and submit my own recipe...I made this one up. Totally proud of myself; it rocks.

Ashley's Fantastic Black Bean & Quinoa Soup

1.5 lbs canned or soaked & cooked black beans
1 TB powdered roasted chipotle pepper (or to taste)
2/3 cup quinoa, uncooked
1/2 tsp cumin
1tsp onion powder (you could use 1/3 cup diced onion, I just have a picky eater )
1-2 large cloves of crushed garlic
1 finely diced red bell pepper
3 TB blackstrap molasses (you could sub honey or maple syrup, I just like the iron content of the molasses)
1tsp cinnamon
salt to taste

suggested garnishes and sides:
sour cream (vegan or regular)
diced fresh tomatoes
chives or thinly sliced green onions
sliced avocadoes (2-3 usually work for our family of 5...yes, the baby EATS)
Blue cornbread, toasted pita or tortilla chips

Put everything but cinnamon in pot, cover until water is 2" or so above the beans. Simmer with lid on at med-high, stirring occasionally and checking for water. Add cinnamon last (it gets bitter if you cook it for too long), then garnish bowls with sour cream, avocados and tomatoes.

Mmmmmm! Everyone in the family loves it, and it packs a mongo-load of protein and iron, and it's great for the immune system, too. I've had guests rave over it, so it's a good "company" veg/vegan meal.

[Firebird Rising]

Ashley, I love the comment about the avocados. It's hard to get by with two avocados in this house. Ben will eat about a whole one himself..

Should I be able to find the powdered chipotle at a regular store? I didn't realize you could buy them like that.

---------- Post added at 03:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:23 PM ----------

It's awesome how well beans go with quinoa. Super huge dose of protein.

I can't wait to try these recipes