Quinoa: A staple at Casa Metcalf

Quinoa is a go-to item in my weekly meal planning.  Not only is it yummy, but it has many nutrients and lots of fiber so we can definitely call it a super food.  I love this seed/grain as you can take it in many different culinary directions.

I’ve enjoyed it for breakfast, with cinnamon, blueberries and strawberries…

Quinoa goes well with edamame, red onions, and local cherry tomatoes…

You can make a hearty quinoa dish, similar to risotta with fresh tomatoes and parmesan cheese…

My friend, Mary Stuart, has introduced me to Costco and when I accompanied her on a recent trip to this mega-store, she pointed out the large bags of quinoa to me.  Of course I added the hefty bag to the cart.  We’ll be eating a lot of quinoa in the next few months.

Who knew Costco had quinoa?

Earlier this week, I made a batch of quinoa with sautéed onions and served it as a side dish with honey mustard chicken.  Of course I doubled the recipe so for lunch all week, I’ve been enjoying my quinoa with roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.  Mmmm…

Last week I tried a new quinoa combo.  I made the Gluten Free Goddesses’ (also known as one of my favorite blogs, Karina’s Kitchen) recipe for Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach, Chickpeas and Maple Vinaigrette.  Quite a combination, right?  It was so delicious and the textures worked really well together.  I particularly enjoyed the toasted pecans.  (I just toasted mine on the stove with a little olive oil on medium high heat for a few minutes.  You want to toss them as they cook to prevent uneven cooking.)

Gluten-Free Goddesses’ Quinoa Salad: (Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic quinoa
  Sea salt
• 2 good handfuls of organic baby spinach leaves, washed, drained
  1 large ripe pear, washed, stemmed and cored, cut into pieces
  1/2 cup chilled chick peas, rinsed, drained
  Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
  A handful of pecans, pan toasted and salted to taste
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  3 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Place the quinoa in a saucepan or a rice cooker. Add 2 cups fresh water, and a pinch of sea salt. Cover and cook on a low simmer until all the water is evaporated and the quinoa is tender- roughly 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and dump it into a large salad bowl.

Toss is the pear, spinach, and chick peas.

Mix in a separate bowl the maple syrup, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Pour on salad and toss gently.  Add S & P to taste.

Enjoy!

Note: If you want the leftovers to keep during the week, I would suggest adding the spinach on an ‘as needed’ basis or even just using it as a bed on your plate for the rest of your salad.  Then it won’t get soggy during the week.

Not only did I make this dish for dinner, but the next night I enjoyed Mary Stuart’s version of the same recipe.  Of course she and I both thought sweet potatoes would go well with the dish.  She also made an amazing GF quiche but more details on that later…

What do you like to add to your quinoa?

Recently a group of us hosted a luncheon to celebrate my good friend, Mary Stuart, and her baby that’s on the way.  On a steamy, summer day, it can be difficult to create a menu.  When it’s hot outside, we’re not looking to eat heavy, rich, foods.  Instead your food should be light and refreshing.  Also, this luncheon was not at my house, so I had to take transportation into account when planning.  I  didn’t want to be assembling my dish upon arrival, so my ‘quinoa for a crowd’ actually tastes better when made a day in advance.

As the name implies, this recipe makes a lot of food, and I always make too much food when I’m playing host.  Leftovers are delicious and this quinoa makes for a great lunch during the week.  In our Atlanta group of friends, I’m not the only gluten-free eater, so we labeled the items for the luncheon that were gluten-free and kept them at the beginning of the buffet line, in order to best avoid contamination.

Quinoa for a Crowd (Serves about 10-12)

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups quinoa
• 5 cups vegetable broth (or water)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoons salt & ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 1 red onion
• 1 bag frozen, shelled edamame
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes

Vinaigrette

• ½ cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 table spoon white wine vinegar

Rinse and drain quinoa if package instructs you to.  (Some do and others don’t.)  I have a very fine strainer that I use for rinsing my quinoa.

Heat olive oil on medium heat.  Add quinoa and stir for a minute while cooking.  Add 1 cup broth and stir while the quinoa absorbs the liquid.  Once liquid is absorbed, add 3 more cups.  Lower heat to medium-low.  Let cook, stirring occasionally.  Add salt and pepper.  Add more liquid as needed.  You’ll know the quinoa is done because it will ‘pop.’  Not like popcorn, but you’ll see that the quinoa becomes bigger and there will be a little line in the middle of each grain.  It will take about 20 minutes for quinoa to cook.  (Unlike risotto, I think it’s hard to overcook quinoa.)

Remove quinoa from heat and let cool to room temperature.  Meanwhile, finely chop red onion.  Heat shelled edamame (according to cooking instructions on bag).  Drain and let cool.  Cut tomatoes in half.  Put onion, edamame and tomatoes into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk lemon juice, honey, olive oil, white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.  Taste.  Depending on how tart or sweet you like your food, add more honey and olive oil (for sweetness) or add more mustard or lemon juice (for tartness).  This is completely about your flavor preference.  I find that anytime I make a vinaigrette, I keep sampling it until I’m content with the flavors.  (Not very precise or scientific, I know!)

Once your quinoa has cooled, add the grain to your large bowl.  Mix with tomatoes, edamame, and onions.  Add your vinaigrette and toss.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  If your salad dries out a little, just add some more lemon juice or olive oil before serving.

As I mentioned, this quinoa, is the gift that keeps on giving, so I brought the leftovers to a dinner that same night.  Still delicious.  And I ate it for lunch the next day.  And the next.

Another highlight of the luncheon was the chicken salad that my friend Meredith made, using one of Emeril’s recipes.  I loved the cashew and apple combination.  Salty, sweet and tart, all in one.  Not too much mayo either.  You can see this naturally gluten-free recipe here.  (The only change Meredith made was omitting the parsley.)  Of course, thoughtful Meredith even remembered to bring gluten-free crackers for the chicken salad!

What do you like to make when cooking for a crowd?

Summer squash is a favorite of mine.  I love the different colors, textures and shapes.  Squash can be roasted simply but I also use it in squash casserole.  Yes, ‘squash casserole’ sounds a bit funny, but I promise, it’s delicious.  This is my grandmother, Dot’s, recipe and even though I never actually ate her version of it (because I was too young to appreciate squash casserole), it reminds me of her.  This recipe also makes me think of my mom because she always makes it in the summer, when I’m around.  My dad doesn’t like squash so when I’m in town, there’s someone else to enjoy it with her!

I found myself with a bounty of squash and onions this weekend so I made squash casserole for a dinner group.  You can bake it before hand so it transports easily.  I posted this recipe last summer, but I realized when making it on Sunday, and following my blog recipe, that I forgot to mention that you should melt the butter.

Oops.  It still turned out alright but I had to laugh at myself for messing up my own recipe.  (It looked a little funny but tasted yummy.)

Dot’s Summer Squash Casserole

Inngredients:
3 pounds summer squash, chunked
3 medium onions, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
Parmesan cheese (the original recipe also calls for crumbled crackers on top but we just skip that step now to make it GF! Instead I sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top)

Directions:
Cook squash & onions with water, sugar, salt and pepper until mashable (about 45 minutes).
Beat two eggs lightly.
Add milk to eggs and mix well with squash. Add butter and mix.
Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes. (With 10 minutes left in cooking, remove from oven and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.)

Perfect for a 4th of July cookout!  Transports with no trouble and reheats easily.  You make make it and freeze, and just reheat before serving.  Happy cooking!

I love Thursday nights.  In fact, anyone who eats dinner with me on a Thursday night, inevitably hears me remark about how much I love Thursday nights.  Why do I prefer this particular evening?  You have almost the entire week behind you and the entire weekend ahead.  What a great moment in time with many things to look forward to.

I think part of my enthusiasm for Thursday nights goes back to my life teaching at a boarding school.  Wednesday nights were my dorm duty nights so I basically worked until midnight on Wednesdays, doing sign-ins, proctoring study hall and enforcing lights out.  Having a Wednesday night like that made Thursdays even more amazing.  Also, by Thursday evening I was usually finished with athletic events for the week as well as Dean’s meetings, advisory events, and all of the other things that come with dorm life.  Glorious Thursday nights…

I savor cooking dinner on Thursday nights because I can just relax and enjoy my time with David and whoever else we have in our home.  When I came home from work yesterday, my arms full of fresh vegetables, I smiled to see David on our tiny porch smoking his pipe.  (Yes, my husband occasionally smokes a pipe.)  I joined him on the porch for awhile, chatting and enjoying the fact that it was…Thursday.  Nowhere to be, nothing to do.

Going with the “laid back, chilled out” Thursday night theme, I roasted a bunch of vegetables for dinner, including summer squash, carrots, and onions.  I served them with sautéed yellow snow peas and red quinoa.  A perfect meal for leading into Memorial Day weekend.  So easy.  So simple.

Simply Sauteed Snow Peas:

Snow peas are great for cooking because they can stand up to heat well and still maintain their crunch.  David likes to eat them raw, but I prefer them sautéed, with garlic.

• 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed (I used yellow this time, but green are great too)
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in pan on medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for a minute.  Add snow peas and sauté for about 2 minutes.  Snow peas will still be nice and crisp.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I hope your Memorial Day Weekend is full of relaxation, cooking, and delicious food.