I tried on a pair of jeans last week that used to fit me. With room to spare. And now they don’t. Given that all my current jeans are hand-me-downs from my designer-shop-a-holic friend, I simply must do something about this. Enter quinoa. I have heard loads about this complete protein and even seen some recipes here and there that have struck my fancy and I finally decided it’s time to lay off the pumpkin and chocolate themed desserts for a bit while I work on buttoning my pants again. I was certainly skeptical about these quinoa cakes. First, who uses quinoa and cake in the same sentence? Secondly, the little tails on quinoa scare me. And third, these quinoa cakes were supposed to go in a salad, which seemed like health food overkill even if I am on a diet.

I read on another website that someone enjoyed these with a lemon-garlic aioli sauce (I’m certain aioli is either French or Italian for “unhealthy”). I looked up the recipe, omitted half a cup of the oil to help make it designer-jean-friendly and smeared it on my quinoa cakes. And now I’m a quinoa cake convert. These are absolutely delicious. I enjoyed them so much that I plan on making another batch soon, which says a lot. I also am thinking about a sweet version for breakfast. Because, you know, we’ve already had the discussion about how I won’t eat anything savory for breakfast, no matter how delicious it is.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted on Facebook asking the question, “What in the world should I do with the swiss chard growing in my garden?” Boy, oh boy did my readers have soooooo many suggestions! Eggs to soups to lasagnas to pizzas… the list goes on! I whipped up this scramble for lunch that day and I was surprised. I liked it! I really liked it! I liked it so much, in fact, that I made it a week later as a special breakfast for my husband. He loves anything savory for breakfast, so eggs doused in cheese is a real winner. I encouraged him to try these even though his negative sentiments towards swiss chard surpass mine! Brant loved this egg scramble and gobbled it up, swiss chard and all! And so we have a swiss chard winner!

Is your ideal breakfast sweet or savory? Because I’m *totally* a sweet person. In fact, I couldn’t eat this scramble for breakfast. For lunch? Divine. For breakfast? Ick. I gave my portion to Brant and reheated a strudel topped peach muffin for myself. How about you? Sweet or savory to start your day? 

Continue reading: egg, cheese, and swiss chard scramble

If it’s good enough for Annie, it’s good enough for me. Annie’s Eats is one of  my favorite food blogs and I love almost everything she makes. She wrote in a recent post that she had put off trying these corn cakes for a loooooong time (something we food bloggers are wont to do given that we have so many recipe ideas flying at us every day!) and that her only regret was not making them sooner. I decided at the last minute to add this recipe to my appetizer list for my birthday dinner. They were an absolute hit (everyone especially loved the salsa that went on top) and the leftovers reheated nicely in the toaster oven for my lunch the following day. I highly recommend serving these as an appetizer or side dish. They’re delicious!

corn cakes with tomato and avocado salsa
from www.annies-eats.net

for the corn cakes:
3 large ears of corn, shucked
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. buttermilk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

for the salsa:
1 large tomato, cored and chopped
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of half a lime
1½ tsp. olive oil
1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced

Cut the corn kernels off of the cobs and place in a large bowl.  Place 2 cups of the corn kernels in the food processor and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky.  Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.  Add the flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to mix well.  Add the eggs, buttermilk, and butter, and stir just to combine.

To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients except the avocado in a medium bowl and mix well to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days.  Just before serving, mix in the avocado.

Place a large skillet over medium heat.  Add just enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan and heat until sizzling hot.  Scoop the batter into the skillet a heaping tablespoon at a time, cooking the cakes in batches of 4 or 5 so that they are not touching.  Fry 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown.  Transfer the cooked cakes to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve immediately topped with the salsa.

pear salad with mustard vinaigrette dressing
adapted from www.allrecipes.com

several cups of mixed salad greens
1 pear, thinly sliced
1 orange, peeled and thinly sliced (or use candied oranges)
2 ounces crumbly cheese (gorgonzola, blue cheese, white cheddar, etc.)
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Place the baby greens in a large, flat bowl. Top with pear slices, oranges, and cheese.

In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup of sugar together with the pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans. Carefully transfer nuts onto waxed paper. Allow to cool and break into pieces. Sprinkle over the salad.

For the dressing, blend oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and pass additional dressing at the table.

For some people, this is too spicy as written, so I recommend omitting some of the spices at first and then add more to taste when you serve it. Remember that spicy foods become spicier the longer they sit, so plan accordingly if you think you’ll have leftovers. Also, with the inclusion of both sweet potatoes and honey, this may be a bit sweet for your taste if you follow the recipe as stated. You may want to start by omitting the honey and then adding it to taste after all the other ingredients have simmered.

sweet potato and black bean chili
adapted from www.denverpost.com

3     large sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1     large onion, chopped
1     tbsp olive oil
2     tbsp chili powder
3     garlic cloves, minced
1     tsp ground cumin
1/8-1/4   tsp cayenne pepper (depending on taste)
2     cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
1     can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth, plus more to taste
2/3 cup pumpkin puree (optional)
1-2     tbsp honey (depending on taste)
1/2   tsp salt
1/4   tsp pepper
1/2   cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican cheese blend (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
Cilantro, minced (optional)

In a pot, heat the oil and saute the sweet potatoes and onion until crisp-tender, about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the chili powder, garlic, cumin and cayenne; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, broth, pumpkin, honey, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. Adjust seasoning to taste. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with cheese and/or top with a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle with cilantro, if using.

When I was growing up, no one told me that stuffed peppers usually have meat in them. Really? Why would you do such a thing? It sounds downright awful. These are meat free and chock full of flavor. I would just eat the rice and cheese mixture, but I figure a girl needs her veggies. However, if you don’t care for bell peppers, feel free to just make the rice mixture and bake it with some cheese on top!

The trick to getting the peppers perfectly cooked is to microwave them before you stuff and bake them. Don’t miss this step! I often forget to do this, and when I sit down to eat, I end up emptying out all the peppers and then mircrowaving them. This makes a huge mess and does not make for very nice presentation. So, learn from my mistakes and microwave at the start of the recipe so you don’t forget!

stuffed peppers

4-5 red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and microwaved for 4-5 minutes or until softened
1 14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup brown rice
2 tbsp black wild rice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp salt
Cheddar cheese, sliced

First, microwave those peppers. If you don’t do it now, you’ll forget, and you’ll be sad when you sit down to eat!

Next, combine the rice, tomatoes, water, and cumin. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low until the brown rice is fully cooked. Because different types of brown rice have different cooking times, look on your package for instructions on how long to cook the rice. Mine usually takes 40-45 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed, add the beans and salt. Stir to combine.

Preheat oven to 400. Place the pepper halves open-side-up in a 9×13 pan. Divide the rice mixture among the peppers.

Add cheese slices to the top of each pepper. This is optional, but it’s my favorite part, so I wouldn’t skip it. However, if you have a dairy allergy, go ahead and make them without the cheese!  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve with a fork and knife! We usually serve 2 halves to each person as a complete dinner. Enjoy!