Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is a complete or high-quality protein, possessing all essential amino acids in the proper proportions and it's also a great source of carbohydrates, making this grain-like seed an excellent choice for vegetarians. I've used quinoa many times as a rice substitute in dishes like stir-fry and even in sushi. My most recent quinoa side dish was a warm, vegetable-packed, quinoa salad, which I served with yummy fried okra and tofu. This salad is very light, so it is ideal for the summer and although I initially served it warm, it is also excellent as a cold salad.

I've used red quinoa, but both red and white quinoa cook the same and can be used interchangeably. The instructions might seem a bit long, but really you are just making quinoa and cooking some vegetables. Not that difficult really, I've just tried to line everything out timewise for you.
For those really hot summer days, forget the baking, and barbecue the vegetables! After the vegetables are grilled, cut and toss with the quinoa in the same fashion.

Serves: 8-12 (as a side)

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup vegetable broth + 1/2 cup water
A pinch of red chili flakes
3 medium cloves garlic
1/2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1 portobello mushroom
1 medium yellow pepper (orange or red works too), halved
4-6 spears of asparagus
3 cups kale, de-stemmed and chopped
1 green onion, greens and whites separately chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts (other nuts or seeds can be used)
1/8 cup fresh basil, ribboned
1 tbsp white or red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 tsp sesame oil, divided
1/4 tsp ginger powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In a medium pot, cover quinoa with cold water, and let soak for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and cut vegetables. Place garlic (in their husk), quartered zucchini, portabello, yellow pepper halves (center down) and the asparagus spears on a large baking sheet.
Place baking sheet in the oven, set to 400°F and cook until vegetables are tender, up to 30 minutes depending on your oven.

After quinoa has soaked, rinse with cool water using a mesh strainer until the water runs clear. Transfer quinoa back to the pot, and add the 1 cup of liquid, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, a pinch of red chili flakes, the whites of the chopped green onion and a good grind of black pepper.
Put pot on medium heat uncovered. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook covered for 30-35 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in a medium serving bowl, combine the other 1/2 tsp sesame oil with 1/8 cup of olive oil, the vinegar, the ginger powder, and a bit more pepper. Stir, then add in basil, green onion tops and pine nuts.
As the vegetables are nearing completion, you can take them out of the oven one at a time and begin adding them to the salad.
Remove the garlic first, it can be removed after about 20 minutes if you are ready. Depending on how cooked it is, you can either mash it in the bowl with the olive oil, or if it is more cooked, you can give it a rough chop, then add it to the bowl.
Remove the zucchini and slice about 1/4" thick, add to salad bowl.
Next, remove the pepper from the oven, remove its skin, chop the flesh into small squares, then add to the bowl.
Finally, remove the asparagus and the mushrooms, chop and slice and add to the salad.

After about 30 minutes of cooking, when the quinoa has absorbed all the water, remove the pot from the heat and let steam for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes of steaming fluff up the quinoa and let it cool slightly before transferring it to the salad bowl.

In the quinoa pot or another pan, quickly wilt the kale, by stirring the kale on medium heat until bright green and slightly soft, about 3-5 minutes.
Add kale to the salad bowl. Stir and combine. 
Add the remaining 1/8 cup olive oil to the salad, mix again. 
Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Japanese Sprouted Salad

       I've always enjoyed that mysterious orange dressing that you get at Japanese restaurants. I looked around trying to find some similar recipes, and out of the few I rounded up, I created this yummy salad. Quite a bit more complex than the average sushi restaurant green salad.  This salad uses some of my favourite vegetables and incorporates some lovely sprouts! I've listed below what vegetables I've used to make this particular bowl, but feel free to use whichever vegetables you want. As for the main green, a crunchy lettuce, such as iceberg, as bland as it may be, goes perfectly with this zesty sauce.

Dressing

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing, slightly more than you will need for one head of iceberg

Ingredients

• 1 5-6" piece of ginger root, peeled 
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp white onion
• 1 small clove of garlic or 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1-3 Tbsp water
• 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
• 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste 
• 1 Tbsp honey

Preparation

1. Roughly chop the ginger root.
2. Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor, start with only 1 Tbsp of water, and add more to thin out the dressing if desired. 
3. Blend until smooth.
4. If you add too much water and want to make it a bit thicker, add some more ginger and tomato paste.
5. Taste, add a bit of salt or more soy sauce if needed.
6. Transfer dressing to a mason jar, and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Salad

Ingredients

• 1 head of iceberg lettuce, cut or ripped to size
• Handful of washed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup fresh sprouts
• 5 spears of asparagus, shaved or cut thinly
• 1/4 cucumber, julienned
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly 
• 1 medium carrot, shaved or julienned
• 2-3 green onions, greens chopped
• 
  
• 1 avocado, sliced or cubed
• toasted sesame seeds

Preparation

The first two ingredients in this salad are the most important. The crunch of the iceberg and the fresh citrus notes of the cilantro are a must. As for the rest of the ingredients, feel free to take some creative liberty when dressing your salad. 
Combine first set of ingredients in a bowl and mix. 
Add the avocado before dressing/serving and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

This salad is perfect along side a stir fry, some home-made sushi or spring rolls. Yum!

Summer Rolls

Also known as garden rolls or spring rolls, the un-fried variety, this appetiser is not only fun to make, but it's tasty too! This dish is great made ahead for parties, but the fresher the rolls the better. I've made the dish numerous times, both with family, or by myself while watching a corny movie or a cooking show. 
Garden rolls are all about what's inside, never use canned or frozen vegetables, all the vegetables should be fresh, but there are quite a few different varieties of vegetables that you can chose from. In the recipe below, I've included some of my favourites, but you can leave out ingredients that your supermarket doesn't have or that you dislike, or add in veggies you love. So you don't like tofu? Leave it out! Half the time I'm too lazy to prepare the tofu any ways,  but if you're marinating tofu for dinner, you might as well include it. Other popular ingredients include zucchini, red or green pepper, black or white fungus, lettuce, red cabbage....and the list goes on.
Perfect for the summer because there is no frying or baking involved, just cutting and rolling, but also great whenever you want to bring a a fresh note to a Thai meal or need an appetizer for a dinner party.

Serves: 8 rolls

 

Ingredients

8 sheets large rice paper rounds

fresh cilantro, Thai basil and/or mint
1 small green onion, just the greens, sliced lengthwise, 1-2mm thick
1/4 cuccombre, julienned
1 small carrot, fine julienne or shaved
2 large handfuls of bean sprouts
2 large handfuls of snow peas
half a package of enoki mushrooms
handful of greens (such as lettuce, or swiss chard greens used here)
1/4 yellow pepper, julienned
16 pieces of tofu (~1/4 of a brick), cut à l'alumette (about the size of your pinky finger), marinated 
Glass noodles, one small sachet, or 1 cup cooked.

Sauce to serve, such as sweet thai chilli or vegetarian hoisin sauce

Preparation

Marinate the tofu as needed, I followed the Marinated Tofu Recipe.
Wash all vegetables and cut appropriately.
Cook glass noodles until aldente, drain and set aside.
Wash counter or table and arrange all items around your work area.
Fill a large pan or dish with warm water to soak the rice paper.
One at a time, soak rice paper for about 15 seconds, then transfer to clean work area.
Layer on the vegetables, starting with the herbs and greens and finishing with the glass noodles, leaving at least an inch at each end.
To close, fold each end up over the vegetables, then fold over the one side. Be gentle, but firm enough that you create a tight roll. If you are right handed, and if you're vegetables lie vertically, close the bottom and top first then fold over the right side so you can roll to the left. Normally, this will let you achieve tighter rolls, alternatively, you can lie your veg horizontally and roll upwards.
Repeat as needed, you may wish to do more than one at a time.
Cover with seran wrap until ready to serve.

Enjoy with friends and family

Balsamic Glazed Radicchio

This slightly bitter friend is a great accompaniment to pasta, especially pasta primavera, or served with tapas. The best method of preparing radicchio so that its bitterness does not over power you palate is to soak it, but then again adding a glaze helps too.

Ingredients

2 grapefruit sized heads of radicchio 
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tbsp honey
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparation

Wash outside of radicchio and cut each into eight wedges. Place radicchio in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak a minimum of 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a anti-stick pan on medium-high heat, bring balsamic vinegar with honey to a boil, then reduce heat. 
Simmer on medium-low for around 15 minutes (or more) until the balsamic is reduced to a maple syrup like consistency. 
Remove from heat.
After radicchio has soaked, let dry on a cloth for 3-5 minutes.
Preheat grill.
When dry, brush wedges with olive oil. 
Put radicchio on the grill, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Be mindful not to overcrowd as the vegetable can become soggy. (If you don't want the tips burning, you can wrap the tops with tinfoil so that they are not on the direct heat.)
Grill for 5-10 minutes, such that the core is just soft.
Remove from heat and brush or pour on balsamic reduction.
Serve and enjoy!

Minestrone Soup

A great minestrone that anyone can appreciate. This Italian classic is very versatile and can include any of your favourite vegetables, beans or pasta noodles. This recipe goes well with fresh bread or biscuits. But beware, will all these vegetables, this soup is quite filling.

Serves: 8-10

For this batch, we didn't add the extra cup of  water at the end,
but in hindsight, we should have. Also, The pasta continues to
absorb the liquid while in the fridge, so you may have to add
more liquid and a bit more salt and pepper when reheating.
.... Also, we forgot the celery. Woops.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large carrot, diced

1 lg celery stalk, diced

1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1" pieces

1 large red potato, cubed

1 cup fresh (or frozen) green beans, cut into 1" segments 

2 cups roughly chopped kale

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups tomato purée (if not available, use more broth)

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups boiling water

1 16ox can mixed beans, with liquid

1 1/2 cup large shells, or 1 cup medium shells or other noodles

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried basil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. 

Add onion, garlic, celery, carrot and potato.While cooking add the dried spices. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and quite possibly starting to stick to the bottom of the pot.  

Add tomatoes, tomato purée, broth and half of the water. 

Turn heat to high, stir then bring to a boil. 

Add canned beans, green beans and zucchini and reduce to a simmer. Then, stir in pasta noodles and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes until all vegetables and noodles are tender. (If the pasta is a bit al dente, its all right,it will continue to cook off the heat.) 

Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Remove from heat. 

Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!