Serves 3-4

Ingredients

– 1 cup Quinoa
– 2 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Stock
– 3 cups Sweet Potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
– 2 cups Dinosaur Kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
– 1 cup Chickpeas (recommend that you use dried and follow cooking directions on the bag)
– 1/8 cup Green Onion, chopped (white/light green only)
– 1 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 1/3 tsp PaprikaSalt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss to coat. Season with salt and sprinkle with paprika. Roast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft, tossing halfway through. In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of vegetable stock to a boil. Add quinoa and stir. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked through and the liquid has mostly evaporated. In a saute pan, saute the kale and chickpeas in remaining olive oil. Add quinoa and sweet potato and toss everything together. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with green onion. Serve warm. 

This salad has a natural sweetness from the corn and sun golds and would be a perfect side for a end-of-summer BBQ or even brunch.

Ingredients

– 2 ears fresh Sweet Corn
– 1 container Sun Gold Grape Tomatoes
– 1/2 cup Quinoa (uncooked)
– 3 Tbls Shallot (chopped)
– Handful of fresh Basil (chopped)
– Handful of fresh Italian Parsley (chopped)
– Sea Salt to taste

Directions

Bring 1 cup water to a boil with a pinch or two of salt. Add quinoa and bring down to a simmer, cover with a lid. Cook until water evaporates and quinoa is cooked (I like a little bite to mine). Remove husks and threads from corn. Using a knife, cut off kernels and break apart in a bowl. Slice grape tomatoes in halves and toss with corn. Add shallots, parsley, basil and quinoa and toss together. Salt to taste and serve at room temperature.

Spicy Quinoa Cakes with Lime & Cilantro Sour CreamI’ve been obsessing over making quinoa cakes since I had them at Lodge in Williamsburg a few weeks back…2 cups cooked Quinoa (I used a combo of black and white quinoa)3 Eggs, lightly beaten 1 Jalapeno, seeds removed, minced1 clove Garlic, minced1 small Red Bell Pepper, chopped in to small pieces1/2 cup chopped Cilantro 3/4 cup Bread Crumbs (plus more if needed)Salt to tasteOlive oil1 small container Sour Cream1 1/2 Limes In a bowl, season quinoa with salt. Add garlic, red pepper, 1/4 cup of cilantro, jalapeno to the quinoa and mix together. Add eggs and toss together. Add bread crumbs and mix together. Let sit for a few minutes until the liquid is absorbed (you’re going to form patties, so add more breadcrumbs if it’s too soft, or a little bit of water if too dry). Form into patties with your hands (whichever size you like, but make sure they’re not too thick). Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Cook each side of the patties on low/medium heat until brown, carefully flipping over. For the sour cream, combine remaining cilantro and juice from the limes and mix together. Top quinoa cakes with lime & cilantro sour cream and serve. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa, Spinach, Goat Cheese and Toasted Pumpkin SeedsMy brother called me out on slacking on the blog, and he’s right. I’ll admit I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with work and keeping up with social obligations (aka rooftop bbqs), so being in the kitchen has taken a bit of a backseat recently. I’m working on getting my recipe wheels turning again…
2 Orange Bell Peppers1 cup Black Quinoa 3 handfuls fresh Spinach (big stems removed)1 cup Grape Tomatoes 2-3 Tbsp Goat Cheese1/4 cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds (sans shell, or buy already roasted, also called Pepitas)2 cloves Garlic, chopped2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive OilA few splashes of Dry White Wine Salt to tastePreheat oven to 375 and roast pumpkin seeds until they brown slightly. Remove from oven, and turn oven up to 425. Bring two cups of water to boil in a sauce pan. Add in quinoa and a pinch of salt. Turn heat down to a simmer and cover pan with a lid. Cook until liquid is completely absorbed, about 15 minutes. In a saute pan, add olive oil and chopped garlic. Saute on low/medium heat until soft. Add spinach and toss with olive oil & garlic. The leaves will begin to wilt. Add quinoa to the spinach and toss together, continuing over heat. Add dry white wine a little at a time and stir until liquid start to evaporate. Salt to taste. Cut grape tomatoes in half and toss with quinoa. Add most of the toasted pumpkin seeds as well. Remove from heat and set aside. On a cutting board, cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and any remaining white edges inside the pepper with your hands. Stuff each pepper with quinoa mixture. Place in a shallow pan so peppers stay upright and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven until the peppers are soft but still have a bit of bite to them. Remove from heat and top with goat cheese and toasted pumpkin seeds.
This recipe is completely packed with good nutrients (protein! fiber! iron! vitamin c!), which is what I was craving. I swam laps for the first time in years tonight and donned my dorky, faded swim team suit from 1999 and Dollar $tore rainbow swim cap. The stuffed bell pepper was a nice healthy and filling dinner after the pool/public humiliation. 

As you may or may not know, I work from home.  Dream scenario, right?  Well yes and no.  Sometimes I miss the simple things, like getting out of the house for hours on end and being around people (for those things, I escape to my beloved Cafe Grumpy.)
There is a plus though, and that is called lunch.  My kitchen sits about three feet from my “office,” so it’s a cinch to whip something up between sessions of pounding away on the keyboard.  No quick trips to the vending machine between emails.  No crossing my fingers hoping that there will be leftover pizza after the engineering meeting.  I have the world, er, refrigerator at my fingertips. I made this salad on Monday AND Tuesday, with one major difference: the poached egg.  It was exactly what was needed to make this meal complete.


Quinoa & Arugula Salad with Poached Egg
1/4 cup Quinoa, cooked (follow directions on box)1/2 cup fire roasted tomato (I love Muir Glen Organic)1/2 red onion, chopped1 clove garlic, chopped1 egg2 cups arugula1 tbls olive oilsalt & pepper to tasteHeat olive oil in over medium heat and add onion, cooking until tender.  Add in garlic and tomato and cook for a few minutes.  Add cooked quinoa and mix.
To poach the egg (I had to look up directions because it’d been so long and seems so intimidating), bring a few inches of water to a boil in a sauce pan with a sprinkle of sauce.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Crack egg into a cup (this helps ensure you don’t break the yolk when you add the egg to water.)  Add egg to simmering water.  Cook for about 2 minutes for a runny yolk.  On a plate, pile with arugula and spoon quinoa mixture over top.  Add poached egg and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Between the quinoa and the egg, this salad is packed with protein and is seriously a snap to make.  I might have to go for round three today.

Why do I feel like summer is barreling away from me and is nearly over?!  At this point there’s only a few weekends left where I’m not traveling or someone else isn’t in town.  I’ve spent minimal time at the beach.  Something has got to change!
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and did not blow an arm off like that dummy in Long Island.  I didn’t touch a single firework, though I did spend quite a bit of time reminiscing about the “Friendship Pagoda” and “Ground Bloom Flower” and having tank wars.
We did a potluck, and after some aggressive food assigning by Mads, I was given the task of making salads.

I intended to make my ma’s cold sesame asparagus dish, but there was no asparagus at the store! Not a single one!  I had to make this recipe on the fly as I walked around the store.Southwest Quinoa Salad2 cups of quinoa (follow instructions on the box/bag)1 can of black beans (this never ever happens, but I had NO black beans at home.  I opened the “legumes” drawer and was completely shocked.  I used fava instead.)1 can of unsalted corn (or fresh if you’re a better person)1 container grape tomatoes 3/4 cup chopped cilantro1 small red onion, chopped1 cup pepperjack cheese, cubed (optional! Just as good without)Juice of 3 limesChipotle chili powder, optionalCumin, optionalsalt & pepper to tasteMix ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.  That was easy!
If you ever want to be annoyed, listen to me whine after I realize the potatoes I used in my potato salad are undercooked.  You’d swear I’d ruined Christmas or something.Greek Yogurt & Dill Potato SaladI made way too much, so these are all approximate numbers for a normal amount of people.  I was going to make this a red, white and blue potato salad but there were no blue taters at the store.  I felt bad for being let down.  How soon do I start buying sweaters for every holiday?2 pounds red and white small potatoes, quartered1 container Greek yogurt1/2 chopped dill1/4 cup dijon mustard with grain1/2 lemon (juice)salt & pepper to tasteBoil potatoes until tender, drain.  In a bowl, mix Greek yogurt, dill, mustard and lemon juice.  Add potatoes and toss until coated.  Salt and pepper to taste.
We spent most of the day on Bjorn’s roof, which had a great view of the fireworks exploding behind the Manhattan skyline. 
Mads cooked up some lamb burgers for everyone, while I enjoyed a Danish version of a hot dog (er, veggie dog), complete with a homemade remoulade and pickled cucumber. 

Brooke’s delicious and patriotic trifle
I had a great day with everyone, but it did make me miss my family back in WA.  Aunt Nancy and Uncle Laurin throw an epic party at the lake and I’m bummed every time I miss it.  That being said, I’m excited to head home in two weeks and see everyone and perhaps make some NW inspired meals.