so, i haven't been blogging for a while now...i sort of lost my drive and desire to sit down and legitimately write down what i needed to write down. this is just me putting some words back into this blog to hopefully re-boot my zest for writing. it might work, it might not...who knows.

Morning Quinoa Porridge

Morning Quinoa Porridge

1/2 cup dry Quinoa
1 Banana~peeled
1 small container black berries
1 medium apple
honey
1 sm. pinch sea salt





Instructions:

Cook Quinoa in 1 C. water until the grain turns into tiny spirals, and is soft. saute chopped apple until tender, add the black berries, and cook until color starts to bleed into the apple a bit. add the cooked fruits to the cooked quinoa, and mix in honey to taste. chop a banana and add to the top. sprinkle chopped nuts over top if you wish. serve hot.

This recipe is perfect for a morning boost of awesome energy. enjoy!

Delicious Quinoa Big Bowl

Ok, sorry for the huge delay in posts, but this recipe is also from 101 cookbooks, and it is delicious!

2 cups white quinoa, rinsed well
4 scant cups water
1 teaspoon salt
a few splashes of extra virgin olive oil
3 - 4 medium/large potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice (or sweet potatoes)
1 large yellow onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup toasted nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, etc)
1-2 cups lightly cooked asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch segments

another splash or two of good olive oil or citrus dressing

Bring the quinoa, water and salt to a boil in a large thick-bottomed pot. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa opens up revealing a little spiral and is soft and pleasant to chew. If there is any remaining liquid at this point, drain it off and set the quinoa aside.

Warm a splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the potatoes and a couple pinches of salt. Toss to coat the potatoes and cover for a few minutes to allow the insides of the potatoes to sweat and cook. Uncover, toss again, then cook a few minutes longer (uncovered) until the potatoes start to get some color. Continue tossing every few minutes to get more color and crispness. When they are cooked through and pleasantly crunchy, season to taste with salt and scoop out onto a plate. Set aside.

In the same skillet (no need to clean) warm another splash of oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes or until they soften up a bit.

Toss the quinoa with a splash of olive oil . Serve each bowl of quinoa topped with potatoes, onions, nuts and asparagus. Alternately, you can toss everything together in one big bowl and serve it up family-style.

Serves 4 - 6.

Rustic Cabbage Soup

This is not my own recipe, one of my co workers gave me the URL to 101 Cookbooks (http://www.101cookbooks.com/index.html) it is a site that well, here is what the site creator Heidi Swanson has to say about her site:

The premise this site was built on is best summed up in two sentences: When you own over 100 cookbooks, it is time to stop buying, and start cooking. This site chronicles a cookbook collection, one recipe at a time.

101 Cookbooks started in early 2003 when I looked up at my huge cookbook collection one afternoon and realized that instead of exploring the different books in my collection - I was cooking the same recipes over and over. I seemed to buy a new cookbook every time I stepped out the front door - always with good intentions. I would regularly go through my collection of books and magazines and carefully tag each recipe that piqued my interest. I ended up with shelves full of books brimming with Post-it notes and drawers full of recipes clipped from my favorite magazines - neatly organized by course, flavor, region, or ingredient.

I fell in love with this site almost instantly, there were recipes for things that i hadn't even heard of!! but, back to cabbage soup...Today the weather in Indianapolis is wet, balmy, and with a slight chill. It might be the middle of the summer, but it feels like fall at the moment, what a perfect day to make and enjoy some tasty soup.

Here is the URL for the soup: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/rustic-cabbage-soup-recipe.html

and here is the recipe:

Rustic Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a big pinch of salt
1/2 pound potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 cups stock (see head notes)
1 1/2 cups white beans, precooked or canned (drained & rinsed well)
1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons
more good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions:

Warm the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and potatoes. Cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes, it's o.k. to uncover to stir a couple times. Stir in the garlic and onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the stock and the beans and bring the pot to a simmer. Stir in the cabbage and cook for a couple more minutes, until the cabbage softens up a bit. Now adjust the seasoning - getting the seasoning right is important or your soup will taste flat and uninteresting. Taste and add more salt if needed, the amount of salt you will need to add will depend on how salty your stock is (varying widely between brands, homemade, etc)...

Serve drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a generous dusting of cheese.

Eat Warm!!!

This soup was literally like an explosion of flavor in my mouth, and i loved it.

Wheata-Bix

So, most mornings (when i wake up on time) i like to have a spot of breakfast. As opposed to going to a cheap and un-nutritionally-rewarding fast drive thru, i have a bowl of cereal. Wheata-Bix are probably the best things in the world, as far as healthy cereal breakfast are concerned. So the average Wheata-Bix by it's self is relatively plain, i like mine with one packet of splenda, a handful of raisins, sliced banana, handful of a nut of some kind, and some fat free soy milk. here is the finished product.

So much for updates daily!

Hello all out there in the blogger sphere, I am sorry to have not updated in so long! I have been cooking, mind you, that is for certain. I am only posting one recipe today, this one has fish in it, so if you aren't a fish fan...well, there are many other great recipes that will just as easily tickle your vegetarian fancy! I have, so far, made up all of these recipes as i go along...tell me if they suck! i would really appreciate it!

Surf and Veg.

1 small container of Baby Sea Scallops
1 package of de-shelled crab meat, or imitation if that is all that is available
1 c. brown rice
1 shallot
1 pinch fresh basil
1 pinch fresh rosemary
1 pinch fresh dill (if you like dill)
1 pinch of any herb that you enjoy. everyone is a bit different.
1 pack green onions
1 package mushrooms (any flavor will do the trick)
1 head purple cabbage
2-3 red potatoes w/ skin, chopped
pinch of basil
salt
pepper
plop of cooking oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
some whole wheat flour


Instructions:

Vegetables...

Chop all of the vegetables, saute them on medium high heat in the oil starting with the green onion, potato, and mushroom, when the onion starts to brown slightly, add the remainder of the veg, saute for approx. 5 min (until the cabbage starts to wilt a bit) add the vegetable broth, and cover. let steam until a fork can easily pass through the potato.

Rice!
Bring 2 1/2 c. water or broth to a boil, and add 1 c. brown rice. when the rice has a soft center, but is still a bit aldente, remove from water, wrap in cheese cloth, and steam for 45 min, or until rice is finished cooking.

Fish #@$%!

In a large, non stick pan, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, add chopped shallots, herbs, and cook until the shallots are translucent. the pan needs to be really hot to cook the scallops, dump the container into the pan, and cook quickly, until the outside is slightly browned, but the inside is still fleshy, and dosn't have the consistency of a rubber band. remove from heat. in the same pan, saute the real (or fake) crab meat until slightly browned. **you might have to add a bit more oil** remove from heat.

Sauce ^_^

Pour about a cup of soy milk into the hot pan used to cook the fish, and stir until the milk takes on a different color. add a pinch of whole wheat flour to the mix to thicken the sauce, when it is as thick as you want it , remove from heat.

Plating!

for this, you will need a ramekin, small cup, something round and not huge! place a good scoop of rice on the top, and the vegetables at the bottom. make sure everything is compact in the cup, press down to be certain! turn the dish over onto a plate, and lightly tap on the top of it to dislodge the food. Scoop some of the fish mixture on top of the rice/veg, and drizzle some sauce over top of the rest of it. you could decorate the plate, but it isn't a real priority. eat and enjoy!






This was delicious! i was a first timer as far as scallops were concerned, but they turned out beautifully!

Vegetarian Pizza!

here's the recipe:

Veggie Zaa'
1 zucchini
1 purple onion
1 package mushrooms
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 pack asparagus (white or green)
2 Tbs. butter
salt
pepper
1 pre made pizza crust (home made, if you're daring)
1 jar marinara sauce
1 12 oz. pack of mozarella cheese

Instructions:

pre-heat oven to 350, melt the butter with some salt, rosemary, basil, really any good pizza herb you can think of. when butter is melted, lightly brush the pizza crust, and put in oven for five min. Peel the zucchini so that some skin is still on the surface, cut asparagus to about 1.5 in from the tip, chop the peppers and mince the onion and mushrooms. lightly saute the vegetables, and set in a bowl to cool. mix some of the marinara sauce with basil, salt, and pepper. Brush mixture over the surface of the pre heated crust. sauce to your liking. pour some of the vegetables over the sauce, and pour cheese over to cover. add some more vegetables ove the cheese, and lightly sprinkle a bit more cheese on top of those. place in the oven until the cheese starts to brown, pull out of oven, cool and serve.

yum. that is all i have to say about this recipe. This pizza is great for a rainy day, or a late afternoon meal, it is much healthier than ordering out a pie from dominoes or the like.