Quinoa Chili-esque

I. Love. Quinoa. Love it. The worst part about the whole thing is rinsing it, but other than that, it's wonderful. While on my trip I had two roasted sweet peppers stuffed with red quinoa, cranberry nuts and roasted garlic with a pepper puree on top. It was amazing. I will most definitely work on replicating that recipe once I get some red quinoa.

Yesterday was pretty lazy, so I decided to make a big pot of something so that lunches and dinners would be prepared for the next couple of days. Lo and behold, I had a large bag of quinoa that I purchased a few days before my trip. I started looking at some different quinoa recipes but found that I was missing two many ingredients from one or another, so I went with me own.

I have given birth to a super awesome quinoa chili-esque dish. It was fantastic. It's supposed to last me a few meals, but it'll be gone in like two days. The best part is it's pretty versatile. Really whatever vegetables you have on hand can be thrown in.

Quinoa Chili

2 cups uncooked quinoa

3 cups of water

1 small onion diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 bag frozen vegetables (mine had red peppers, broccoli and mushrooms in them)

2 cans black beans

1 can kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 of them drained (mine were fire roasted with oregano and garlic)

2 handfuls of spinach

1tbs chili powder

bay leaf (if you have it)

dried oregano to taste

salt, pepper to taste

First soak your quinoa in water for 10 min. Then rinse it 2 or 3 times, carefully removing any small stones that might be left behind. Cook the quinoa, covered, in the 3 cups of water until the water is mostly evaporated, roughly 20min.

In a dutch oven, saute your onion, garlic and vegetables on med low heat for 10 min. Then add your tomatoes, bay leaf and beans, reduce heat to low. By this time your quinoa should be done, so add this to your pot, add the seasonings and cover and cook for 30 min, stirring occasionally. When it has thickened up to your desire, turn the heat off, add the spinach, check for any needed spices and serve. Some vegan sour cream would be nice with this!

Quinoa: A Love Story

So I'm really bad at blogging. Like, really really bad at it. My mom blogs on a regular basis and her entries are always so entertaining. I feel like when I blog it starts to turn boring and a "here's another recipe" sort of thing.

Anyways, I'm still vegan, so my recipes will still be of that nature. I love it so much and it was so easy, I can't believe it took me this long to get here. I started at the end of August, really just to see if I could last a month, and I can't believe the transformation you go through. I now exercise 4-5 times a week because I have so much energy, I'm down 45lbs and 2.5 dress sizes, and I can't describe the way my body feels. I still have a ways to go, but goal weight doesn't feel like such an impossible task anymore. I feel like I know my body better, that I think more clearly, and I'm not this miserable blob. I don't drink soda but once in a blue moon because it doesn't make my body feel good, which is so weird to me. My diet has switched from mostly processed to mostly fresh and whole, plus cooking is a lot of fun. My mom has been so much fun to cook for because she's not only honest, she's open to trying anything I make, and some of the stuff really impresses her. My dad is even opening up about trying some of my dishes (as long as they aren't too loaded with carbs =P)

Okay, off my "vegan is amazing and everyone should do this!" platform and moving on...

When I cooked this recipe last night, I knew I had to blog about it. A blog I read, apricot-tea.com, is becoming one of my favorites and her husband is a combination of vegan and raw, so she in turn is at the very least vegetarian. When I came across this black bean and tomato quinoa recipe, I had to try it.

There's a small natural food store in Waldorf that sells different grains and whatnot, but their items and hours are very limited, so I usually do a Whole Foods trip on Tuesday when I'm at work since one is fairly close (and a pretty walk). I got my quinoa from the bulk bin and it looked nothing like it does when it's cooked. I also had no idea how to cook it. I read that I had to wash it well plus my coworker reminded me about the importance of washing it, so when I looked up why, I found out that a coating covers the quinoa and can make the dish bitter.

So last night I mustered up the courage, bathed my quinoa twice and made this dish. It. Was. Amazing. It reminded me of rice a little, but it wasn't heavy and it kept me satisfied for a while. Plus, 1 cup of uncooked quinoa swells to 4 cups cooked, so in my opinion it's a pretty awesome deal (and 1c cooked is 4 ww points, which is a very filling meal with vegetables to me). I also paired it with avocado and Tofutti sour cream that tastes so much like regular sour cream to me, that I probably shouldn't have purchased it. I tweaked her recipe a little to fit what I had on hand and I apologize for the grainy picture, my camera phone isn't the greatest. I will be making this again today because I have left over ingredients and this will make lovely meals throughout the week.

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

2 teaspoons grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (really it was the zest and juice of two small limes)
3 tbs Olive Oil
1 teaspoon sugar (used Truvia)
1 cup quinoa
1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium tomatoes, diced
3-4 green onions, chopped (white and green parts)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Wash quinoa in 2 changes of cold water. If you don't have a sieve like me, wash your quinoa in a pot and empty out the water as much as you can without loosing the quinoa. Then line your strainer with paper towels and dump the quinoa in that. A little more work but it's easy still. Put quinoa in a pot with 2 cups of water; bring to boil. Then turn the fire down low to a simmer & cover to steam. Cook for 20 minutes (or until it’s reached its desired softness and no liquid is left).

Meanwhile, whisk together lime zest & juice, oil, & sugar in a large bowl.

Add dressing to quinoa & toss until dressing is absorbed. Stir in black beans, tomatoes, green onion, & cilantro. Mix well, salt and pepper. You can add avocado and sour cream and eat it as is, or serve it with tortilla chips.

Vegan sour cream?! So excited about this.

Tonight I think I'm going to make some pumpkin bread, which will at the very least warm up the house. So cold today!