Tag: quinoa

Butternut squash love

Since the very first I saw this season I have bought butternut squash every week and I am not yet tired of it. Whether it is with Japanese rice, risotto, faro, pasta or quinoa, it is always great. In jumbo ravioli also it is perfect. I love the taste and the texture and I love it because it cooks super quickly, it keeps quite long even after cut open. It is the perfect ingredient for me this week since A. is away on business and I cook only for myself. Oh! And I was forgetting that it suits very well melty cheese be it cheddar, Parmigiano or gruyère.

So I’ve tried faro risotto style pure and simple. Topped with plenty of grated red cheddar. For that I first boiled the faro a bit before cooking the butternut squash in olive oil and added the faro.

I did tagliatelle with butternut squash, when it was really late and needed to eat quickly. For that I added the butternut squash cut in bites to the boiling water of the pasta 5min before they were supposed to be done. Topped with grated Parmigiano and a bit of olive oil.

And finally I added it to some quinoa soup, a recipe that over the years has been a classic of the chilly season. I just tossed the quinoa with a carrot, a piece of lotus root, chunks of butternut squash and winged beans in gently boiling water, in order of cooking time. Added some curcuma, salt and pepper and ate all warm.

There are still a few more recipes I want to try with butternut squash, but it will be next week until I buy a new one…

All mixed inspirations

Sometimes that’s what happens… you have a fresh piece of sashimi red snapper, fresh baby leaf salad, homemade umeboshi and you want to eat them altogether. Now what would be the simplest carb to go with would be obviously Japanese rice. But when it’s late and hungry mouths are begging for food… rice is not such a good option: too long to cook. Pasta wouldn’t really fit, but quinoa would definitely! And yes it was a perfect match despite the very various inspirations. Here is what I did:

I simply cooked (boil/steam) a 3-color quinoa mix; I pan grilled the snapper; dressed the salad with olive oil; added an umeboshi on top. That’s it! That’s really not cooking actually but it’s a good way for me to get familiar with my new kitchen!!! 

Red quinoa

I’m on a mission to finish every single pack of rice, pasta, cereals and legumes that is opened and sitting on a shelf or in the fridge half empty. Yes! I keep pretty much everything in the fridge: flour, cereals, rice… to keep them longer (it prevents damages from high humidity and high temperatures in the summer, and low temperatures in the winter) and it allows to avoid pests since they are all organic or natural products and I am tired of food with bugs (more generally in the food that I buy in France…). I’m trying to empty my shelves as much as possible before we move to our new apartment in Tokyo, and same in the country house, just to clean my cupborads and fridge.

So I had a half pack of red quinoa to use. One thing I love to do with quinoa is some kind of croquettes. I cook the quinoa and then mix it with 2 eggs, some chopped vegetables: spinach, bell pepper, zucchini… and whatever else. This time it was some yellow bell pepper and a piece of Hokkaido salmon that was leftover from the previous day. I added some curry powder and some nutmeg, salt and pepper and cooked on both side in a greased frypan until crispy. I served them with some blanched okra, but any green is great. A light yogurt sauce with herbs can also be great.

And I was still having some extra quinoa, so for the next meal I prepared a vegan soup. Simply quinoa, sweet potato, butternut squash and shiitake, and again a bit of curry powder.  Finished with two shishito.

Fresh quinoa salad

If my weeks are busy with work my weekends are none the less busy with other activities: going swimming in the ocean in the morning and in the evening, working on some of my sewing/embroidery projects, gardening, baking, playing tennis, socializing… and when it’s hot outside I feel like eating nothing else than super fresh simple food: tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, melons… so for a boost of energy, adding red quinoa to a simple tomato/cucumber salad and making a dressing with olive oil, yogurt and  fresh basil is exactly the kind of lunch that I love. It takes 5min to prepare (and just 10min to boil the quinoa, but if you’re smart you can boil it before) and it’s fresh and light, which is perfect before 2h of tennis playing.

What is is your favorite summer food? 

Stuffed zucchini

Summer = zucchini plenty! Of course there are many ways to prepare them (see the zucchini recipe week from 2 years ago!). One of my favorite is stuffed zucchini. Classic meat stuffing would be my grand mother recipe, cheese stuffing would be my mother recipe. But yesterday night I invented a new recipe with some fresh local ingredients plus a bit of quinoq for texture. So here is my new recipe, and I loved it!!!

Cod and quinoa stuffed zucchini

– 2 large zucchini  

– a piece of cod filet

– a block of tofu (silk or hard, both work) 

– 2/3 of quinoa (I had tricolor one)

– 2-3 eggs

– salt, pepper olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 200deg.  Drain the tofu. In a pan grill the cod briefly then add the quinoa and cover with water. Add salt and pepper. When the quinoa is cooked and it’s dry stir well to mix the fish with the quinoa. Add the tofu and stir again well to obtain a rather creamy paste. Add the eggs. Wash the zucchini and cut them in 3-4cm trunks. Carve them to remove a bit of the center part to add the filling. Fill them. Set in an oven proof dish add some olive oil and bake until golden (30min or so). That’s it!!!

 

Curry-quinoa

Here is again a recipe based on quinoa. Because it cooks rather quickly, quinoa is always a good option when running short of time and a good alternative to rice and pasta. Since I discovered this quinoa soup recipe last year in my vegetarian cookbook I have found new ideas to use quinoa rather than simply boiling it. I also find that it goes very very well with lotus roots. This time I prepared it in a spicy version. Simple, warm and tasty.

Vegan curry-quinoa: 

– 100g of quinoa (adjust depending on the size of your portions, mine are usually not big)

– 1 large lotus root or 2 or 3 small ones

– 1 large sato imo or if not available 1 potato

– 1 large carrot

– 2 tomatoes

– 1tbs of curry powder

– a pinch of nutmeg

– a pinch of cardamom

– a pinch of salt and pepper

optional: fresh lemon and fresh ginger

In a large pan set the quinoa, cover with water with about 1cm more water. Start cooking. Peel the carrot, the lotus root, the sato imo, cut in the shape/size you like and add to the quinoa. Add salt. Add the spices and the fresh ginger. Then add the tomatoes. By then the water should have almost disappeared. Check with a tooth pick for the sato imo (or potato) if cooked. Serve immediately with the juice of the lemon. Have a beautiful week!

Autumn quinoa soup

Last Christmas my parents offered me a giant book on vegetarian cooking. I’ve tried several recipes from that book and a lot of inspiration. I also learned a lot about some basic preparations. But if there were only one recipe to remember about it, the one that I would have not thought of, it’s the quinoa soup. I love that recipe and how it can easily be adjusted to the seasonal ingredients. This time I prepared it with half of a little kabocha, 2 little potatoes, 1 large very ripe tomato and one Japanese eggplant.  First, I cut all the veggies but the tomato in dice then in a pan on high heat, greased with olive oil I roast them a bit. Add water for 2.5 soup servings, 1/2 to 2/3 cup of quinoa (I used black quinoa, but red and white work perfectly too). Add the tomato diced or in 1/8. Add a bit of black pepper and nutmeg (salt is not necessary with the nutmeg I find). Cook under cover at medium heat for 10 to 15min. Serve hot!

Cooking and recipe contests

No, I haven’t quit writing for TPS, it’s just that sometimes work is taking really all my time, even the one in the train, one of the moments I prefer to write. so this week, no workout (but with the muscle pain I had from the surfing and paddle boating Saturday, and the stairs climbing at Kai, stretching and abs were more than enough), very little cooking and more disappointing I missed the deadline for several recipe and cooking contests. Because Yes! I really enjoyed it and I want more!!! So after some search I found a few with submission deadline September 15th, but September 15th was also the deadline for too many things at work and I didn’t have time to do my homework and prepare and adequate recipe for each contest (I’ve learn my lessons). Too bad… But I’m sure there’s gonna be new ones soon! 

Below is one of my new recipe for a simple healthy dinner with quinoa, myoga, cucumber, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and soya sauce. I wish you a good weekend! 

Coconut oil curry

I am not too much in food trends and I am not too keen in trying new fashionable products. I see them on the shelves of super market: hemp, egoma… but never or rarely buy any. Three months ago when our friends from Germany visited us and we went food shopping for organic rice and Japanese products for them to bring back home, they convinced me that coconut oil was nice, and before that I read that it has many virtues so I bought some. And then I kept it in the fridge since then. Open it once or twice, but the smell rebutted me and I continued cooking with olive oil as usual. Last night I decided it was time to try. So I come up with a recipe where I could as well have used a little coconut milk: a spicy vegetables mix to serve with grilled snapper and black quinoa. I used 1 onion, 1 potato, 1 capsicum, 1eggplant and 1yellow zucchini all cut in bites. In a big pan I heated one large teaspoon of coconut oil and added the vegetables: onion first then potato, eggplant, then the rest a little while after. And cooked under cover. I added 1tsp of curry powder a little of cumin powder, a tsp of anise seeds and a very little of nutmeg powder. Added 10cl of water and stir. Cooked an additional 5 minutes without cover. The curry is ready!

In the meantime I prepared the black quinoa and grilled the fish. Prepared the plates and served immediately. 

Then what about the coconut oil? The smell is quite strong and the taste persistent in the food, which for my preparation was perfect but it can be slightly repelling in some dishes or may be one needs to get used to it. It is vey nice for golden brown veggies, I obtained a very beautiful color and texture. So yes it’s nice, but for me it is going to take a little more brain to find recipes where to use it. Any suggestion to start with?

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