Quinoa!

Today's post is about my new favorite food - quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah"). Quinoa is a pseudograin - that is, it's not a grass seed like true grains. It's a boonies-friendly food because it stores easily (dry, airtight container), super healthy (see below), and extremely versatile.

When I first started seeing recipes for quinoa, I thought that there was no way that my local grocery store would have something that exotic - I'd probably need a specialty food store to find it.  Then, lo and behold, on a shelf above the rice there it was in a little green box.  There are three types of quinoa in my grocery store (Safeway): regular, red and black.  While quinoa in general tends to be expensive than rice, the red and black varieties are more so.  I've also noticed that my local bulk grain supplier sells it by the pound ($6.15/lb, but I have an old price list), so I might try ordering from her in the future.

Like I mentioned before, quinoa is as easy to cook as rice and is just as (if not more) versatile. It's also very healthy - high in protein, iron, calcium and phosphorus as well as some important amino acids. It's definitely better for you that white rice, and (in my opinion) tastier.

You can find a million and one recipes for quinoa on the web, but let me share a couple of my favorites:

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

This first recipe comes from Gourmet magazine through Epicurious.com I've made it for a bunch of potluck lunches, and for a side dish at home and it's always a big hit.  I've edited the recipe only slightly - instead of cooking the quinoa to their directions (which seems a bit fussy), I just cook it according to the instructions on the box.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Rinse quinoa in cold water to remove bitter saponin coating. Cook quinoa according to package directions and allow to cool.

 

Whisk together the first five ingredients in a small bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Add to quinoa and toss until absorbed.  Mix in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Breakfast Quinoa

I started looking up recipes for breakfast quinoa a few months ago when I had some plain, leftover quinoa in the fridge. It turns out, there are about a million different ways to make it. While you can make breakfast quinoa without milk (see this recipe), I prefer a creamy breakfast porridge. There are a couple of ways I've done this: 

 

First, you can cook the quinoa in milk instead of water.  I find that this takes quite a bit of time and careful observation (case in point - I burnt it just the other day), but the taste is creamier.  I add about 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of ground cardamom to 1/2 c. (dry) quinoa. You can add whatever spices you like.

 

 

Second (especially for leftovers), you can warm up 1 cup of leftover quinoa in a pot with a few tablespoons of milk or cream.  It will get mostly absorbed by the quinoa and make a decent breakfast cereal.  Add same spices as above.

Once you have nice warm, spicy quinoa, you can go to town with additions.  Lately, I've been favoring a tablespoon of chopped nuts, some shredded coconut, and half a sliced banana.  Top with some plain yogurt... yum!  Or you could add flax seeds, dried cranberries and apricots, and a bit of maple syrup? How about a few chocolate chips and some chopped orange slices?  The possibilities are endless!

I've been musing over the possibilities of savory breakfast quinoa too - how about sauteeing some leftover quinoa with chopped onions and mushrooms, and adding some oregano, thyme and black pepper? Place a poached egg on top for a breakfast of champions!  

Dang, now I'm getting hungry...  Hope you love experimenting with quinoa!

Basic white sauce - A versatile staple for the boonies cook

A basic white sauce is a versatile addition to any cook's repertoire and can be easily modified to suit many of the ingredients that you have in your house. I admit, I mostly make white sauce to use in pasta dishes, but you can also use it on just about anything. 

A basic white sauce has four main ingredients: milk, garlic, butter and flour.

First, melt 2 tbsp. of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute 2 or 3 cloves of garlic (minced) until it becomes translucent and fragrant. Add 2 tbsp. flour and mix into a paste.  Add 1 cup of milk (a little at a time at first so your sauce doesn't become lumpy) and whisk. Heat the mixture (stirring constantly) until it starts to bubble, then turn the heat down to medium low and cook until the sauce thickens.

You can adjust the consistency of your white sauce by adding or subtracting butter and flour. Use 1 tbsp of butter and flour for a runnier sauce, or 3 tbsp butter and flour for a thicker sauce.



Now to get creative!

To make a cheese sauce for broccoli or cauliflower, add 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese to the thickened sauce and whisk until it melts.

For an interesting pasta dish, add 1 tsp. grated lemon rind and 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, pepper, and 1/4 c. parmesan cheese. Mix with cooked pasta, spinach, and chopped tomatoes in a casserole and bake 20 minutes in the oven.

To make clam sauce, substitute 1/4 c. of clam juice for 1/4 c. of milk, add a drained can of baby clams. Mix with cooked spaghetti or linguine.

To make homemade mac and cheese: add 1/2 tsp dry mustard with the flour and 1/4 tsp. paprika and 1/4 c. parmesan cheese with the milk.  Mix with cooked macaroni, cubed ham, 2 c. spinach leaves, and 1 c. cubed cheddar cheese in a casserole.  Top with 1/2 c. grated cheese and 1/4 c. breadcrumbs.  Bake 20 minutes.  [this is a great way to use up leftovers from a Sunday ham - it's one of my hubby's favorite meals]

To make a delicious mushroom sauce, saute sliced mushrooms and garlic with the butter until they soften, add 1 tbsp thyme and some cubed blue cheese to the thickened sauce.

The possibilities are nearly endless!  What is your favorite addition to white sauce?

Spaghetti and meat sauce

This first recipe is a no-brainer for me as far as cooking in the boonies goes. Most of the ingredients are things you probably keep in your cupboards anyway, and you can make several substitutions based on what you have on hand.

This recipe is heavily adapted from the recipe in the Four Roses Cookbook (1960's version). It's been a family staple since I was little. The base of this recipe includes ground meat, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and spices. You can use almost anything for the meat - beef, pork, turkey, or even moose or venison if that is what you have. Canned tomatoes can be diced or whole - I prefer to add my own spices, so I always just buy plain, unspiced tomatoes and sauce. This year, I'd like to get a greenhouse going so I can grow and can my own tomatoes.

The additions to this recipe include almost any vegetable that is in your fridge. This is a great recipe for getting rid of "almost-gone" veggies. You know - the ones that are kind of brown, wrinkled or wilty? In a sauce, you never notice that they're not perfect.

To start with, mince up a generous amount of garlic (I use 3 or 4 cloves) and chop up an onion. Chop up any other veggies that you plan to include (mushrooms, celery, carrots, bell peppers, etc..). You probably want 1-2 cups of veggies in addition to the onion. If you don't have anything fresh, you can use a drained can of mushrooms, or some frozen zucchini, or nothing at all (if you want a plain sauce).

Brown the meat until there's no more pink showing, then drain any excess fat. Add the onion, garlic and veggies and stir fry until everything begins to soften (it doesn't have to be totally brown - things will continue to cook in the sauce). Now add a large can of tomatoes, a small can of tomato sauce, and a small can of tomato paste and stir. You can also add about 1/2 c. red wine, water, or broth if it seems too thick.

Add the spices to taste and allow the whole thing to simmer while you boil a pot of spaghetti. A large pot of this sauce will make at least 6 servings, probably more.

See below for detailed recipe and instructions.

500 g (1 pound) ground meat, thawed. (Beef, pork, moose, turkey, or ??)
1 large onion
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups of chopped fresh, canned or frozen veggies (mushrooms, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, etc.)
1 28 oz. can of tomatoes, whole or diced.
1 small can of plain tomato sauce
1 small can of plain tomato paste
1/2 cup of red wine, beef broth, or water
1 tbsp. dry or 1/4 c. fresh basil
2 tbsp. dry or 1/3 c. fresh oregano
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
salt and pepper to taste.

Brown meat and drain off excess fat.

Add garlic, onions and veggies and cook until veggies begin to soften and onions are translucent.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and liquid and stir until combined.

Add spices, tasting as you go. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Allow to simmer while you bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions.

Serve with parmesan cheese. If you have picky kids who don't like veggies, use a blender to liquify the sauce so the kids can't see the veggies. They'll never know ;)