Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

I love quinoa.  It's one of those things I ate before I knew it was good for me.  Once upon a time, a long time ago, I spent a year living in the third world.  We didn't have a lot of food, and the food we did have was rice.  I grew rapidly sick of rice, and I couldn't eat it for a VERY long time after returning to the states.  Even now, 19 years later, while I can eat it again, I don't ever really want to eat it.  I love stir fries and other Asian dishes though, so I was thrilled when I discovered quinoa.  It makes a wonderful stand in for rice.  It's super easy to cook and so versatile.  It's good hot or cold, sweet or savory.

Quinoa also happens to be fantastic for you.  It's an ancient grain (though it's not technically a grain either), and it was a staple of the South American indigenous diet.  It was called the gold of the Incas.  Quinoa is high in protein.  Not only that, but it's a complete protein, which means it supplies all nine essential amino acids.  It's got a whole slew of health benefits.  I'll spare you the continued rhapsodizing about the wonders of quinoa, but if you'd like, you can read more about it HERE.

Anyway, this breakfast porridge was my first attempt at making quinoa as a main dish instead of a side dish and sweet instead of savory.  Not surprisingly, I loved it, and I've been eating it ever since.  You can, of course, change the liquids and the dried fruits to suit your own particular taste.

Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (uncooked) quinoa
• 1 cup lite apple juice
• 1 cup lite soy milk
• Splash vanilla
• Dash cinnamon
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup dried blueberries

 Topping Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (If additional sweetener is desired.  I don't sweeten mine; I think the apple juice and dried fruit provide plenty of sweetness.)
• ¼ cup plain soy yogurt
• 1 tablespoon slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

 Directions:

1. Rinse and drain quinoa well.
2. Add quinoa, apple juice, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla to medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.
3. Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
4. Simmer for ten minutes.
5. Stir in cranberries and blueberries, cover.
6. Continue simmering for ten more minutes, until all water is absorbed and quinoa is firm.
7. While quinoa is simmering, toast nuts in oven at 350°, shaking every two minutes until evenly golden brown.  Time will depend on your oven and on how done you like the nuts.  I leave them in for about ten minutes.
8. Spoon portion into bowl (recipe should make approximately four servings).
9. Stir in maple syrup, if desired.
10.   Top with yogurt and then nuts.

Enjoy!

Spicy Dipping Sauce

Today I set about inventing a spicy dipping sauce to go with yesterday's Black Bean Taquitos.  This way Drew and I can have ours with a little more kick while the boy still has his bland enough to suit his palate.  It came together quickly and easily, and the taquitos reheated beautifully (in the oven at 350° for about 15 minutes) for lunch.

Spicy Taquito Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of Something Creamy.  The "something creamy" is entirely up to you.  Vegan choices are pureed tofu, thick cashew cream, plain soy yogurt, Vegenaise, etc.  Non vegan choices are sour cream, plain yogurt, mayonnaise, blahblah you get the picture here
• 1 TBSP salsa of choice
• 1 canned chipotle pepper + 1 TBSP of the adobo sauce
• Dash Cayenne
• 2 to 3 TBSP water
• Splash lemon juice

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth, creamy, and completely mixed.

Baked Black Bean Taquitos

Wow.

Several weeks ago, Drew took me on a date to the Chicago Diner.  I had been wanting to try it for a long time, but the non-vegetarians don't so much want to go out to eat vegetarian when that's what they get at home.  Anyway, off we went, and it was totally worth the wait.

Drew wanted to order black bean taquitos as an appetizer.  I protested, of course, because I can't stand black beans.  He ordered them anyway, and as it turns out, they were fantastic.  This is actually similar to what happened when we went with some friends to a popular pub.  The ONLY vegetarian item on the menu was a black bean burger, so I ordered it even though I knew I wouldn't like it, because I didn't have any choice.  It ended up being good.  Very very good.  I think it's time to face that fact that I've been in denial about black beans all these years and that I actually do like them.  I have no idea when or how this happened.

Today I set about attempting to create my own version of the black bean taquito.  Mine turned out remarkably similar, but they were far more healthy.  Chicago Diner's taquitos were deep fried; I'm not about to deep fry ANYTHING, no matter how good it may be.  I'm all about the health AND the taste over here, and I don't believe you have to sacrifice one for the other!  The filling is adapted from a recipe from Vegetarian Times.

I'm awfully proud of these; they turned out so yummy!

Baked Black Bean Taquitos

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or more if you're like me and subscribe to the "no such thing as too much garlic" school of thought!)
• 2 large leeks, finely chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 TBSP cumin

Directions:

1.  Place beans and five cups cold water in bowl.

2.  Soak at least five hours and as long as overnight.

3.  Drain, reserving soaking liquid.

4.  Spray large stock pot with olive oil or cooking spray and heat over medium-low heat.

5.  Add leeks and bell pepper, and sprinkle with salt. Cover, and cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.

6.  Add garlic and cook one minute.

7.  Stir in cumin, and cook one minute more.

8.  Add enough water to soaking liquid to make four cups, and add liquid and beans to the leek/garlic/pepper mixture. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and simmer one hour, or until beans are soft, adding water if necessary.

9.  Drain any excess water from beans; then put beans into a bowl and mash.  I used a regular old potato masher, but I suppose you could use an immersion blender or the food processor.  Mash them up until the texture suits you.  I left mine with a few whole beans, but that had more to do with the fact that I was tired of mashing than it did anything else.

Next you have to put together your taquitos.  I always have the best of intentions when it comes to tortillas, but I never seem to quite manage to make my own.  I did, however, use authentic stone ground, preservative free corn tortillas from the Hispanic market.  That counts.  Right?
 
1.  Preheat oven to 425°.
 
2.  Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels or a damp dish cloth and microwave for a minute and a half.
 
3.  Place a spoonful of the black bean filling into the middle of the tortilla.  If you're using cheese place it down before the beans or it will melt out all over everywhere.
 

 
4.  Roll it up like a little burrito, except do NOT tuck the ends.  Leave them open.
 

5.  Place it seam side down on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with olive oil or cooking spray.

6.  Finish rolling the rest of the taquitos and placing them on the baking sheet.  Mine made 18.  You could get more or less, depending on how much filling you used in each tortilla.

7.  Spray each of them with olive oil or cooking spray and bake for eight to ten minutes.

8.  Turn over and cook for an additional eight to ten minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

I had to cook mine for about 25 minutes total, but our oven isn't really the best, so just watch them.  You'll know when they're done.

Drew commented that he would like his a bit more spicy.  Yes!  Me too!  Yet, I don't spice things up very much, because the boy won't eat anything that he even suspects has a hint of spice.  My next mission is to come up with some sort of spicy dipping sauce, in order to solve this problem.  However, if you want to add some spice directly to your black bean filling, you can add a small, chopped jalapeño with your leeks and pepper at the beginning.  You can also add a couple of dashes of Mexican chili powder with the cumin.  A pinch or two of cayenne would work, as well.  Just play around with it.

Lastly, these were too full, and some of the tortillas kind of exploded in the oven.  Lesson learned.  Make them smaller, and make more.  It didn't compromise the taste at all though.  I'm calling these a success.  Anything that the picky picky child eats is pretty much a success!  Because of the high fiber count, these are quite filling, as well.  I ate three, with a modest sized salad, and I was a bit too full.  I should have had a smaller salad or only eaten two.

Enjoy!

How to Bake Tofu

Yes, seriously; it's a baked tofu tutorial.  It's really easy, but there are about a bazillion different opinions on how it should be done.  Just Google "how to bake tofu", and you'll see what I mean.  I'm fond of tofu, and I'm not terribly picky, but Drew likes his "chewy like they make it at the Thai restaurant".  This is easier said than done when you're working with packaged white tofu, as opposed to the home made yellow stuff that they're using at the Thai restaurant.

Through much trial and error, I finally managed to produce baked tofu that suits everyone in the house.  This is how we eat it all the time now. 

First you need a block of extra firm tofu that has been frozen/thawed/pressed and drained.  Then you cut the tofu into whatever shape suits you.  Make cutlets for sandwiches, sticks for dipping or "wings", cubes for salad toppings or stir fries, etc.  I made mine into cubes, because I'm going to serve them on top of Sesame Peanut Noodles.  When choosing the size of your cut, keep in mind that they shrink up considerably during the baking process.

Next, mix up your marinade of choice.  Go easy on the sodium though.  I learned the hard way that too much of a salty ingredient makes the tofu inedible, because it really soaks up the marinade.  This can be tailored to meet your personal taste.  Use your imagination, or keep it really simple.  The marinade for this batch is a bit of garlic, ginger, chili, a couple of shakes of seasoned rice vinegar, a couple of shakes of soy sauce, and about a cup of water. 

Place the tofu in the marinade and leave it for at least two hours.  Gently shake it about or flip the tofu every so often so that all of the pieces get equal marinade time.  If you can, leave it over night.  The longer it sits in the marinade, the richer the flavor will be.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or a silpat and spray liberally with olive oil or cooking spray.  Lay the tofu pieces out flat and bake them for 20 minutes, then flip them over.  Yes, one piece at a time.  Yes, I know this is a pain in the butt.  Yes, it is required! 

After flipping, return to oven and bake for 20 minutes more.  After the second 20 minutes, remove from oven and flip again.  Continue cooking and flipping, every TEN minutes, until tofu pieces are as done as you like them.  I cook ours for about an hour, sometimes just a bit more, to get the texture that Drew likes.  If it were just me, I'd call it good at about 45 minutes or so.  Just taste them, because it's a matter of personal preference as to when they're done.

Enjoy!

Pinch Your Pennies - Home Dehydration

We use a lot of dried fruit around here (apples, bananas, pineapple, mango, guava, pears).  I use it in my oatmeal, in my granola, in my granola bars, just as a snack, etc.  I use a fair amount of dehydrated vegetables, as well (sweet potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, red pepper).  They crisp up into nice "chips" for dipping into hummus or salsa.  It's convenient; it's healthy; it's easy, and it's really quite good for you.

I'll spare you a repeat of my rant on why you shouldn't buy dehydrated fruits in the grocery stores, and just link to it instead.  That way, if you've seen it once, you don't have to see it again.  Along with all of the health reasons you shouldn't buy pre-packaged dehydrated fruits, there's the cost reason as well.  One pound of  banana chips costs $2.70 at my local grocery store.  I can buy 22 pounds of baby bananas at the local Hispanic market for $5.00!  At the same grocery store, a ten ounce bag of dehydrated apple slices costs almost $3.00.  I just paid 59¢ a pound for red delicious apples.  I don't suppose I need to point out that the savings here is HUGE!

You don't need special equipment to dehydrate; you can do it in your oven at a very low temperature.  I even know one guy who dehydrates his fruit in a cardboard box on the dash of his car during the summer months.  I, however, use a simple, no frills, food dehydrator.  It was $40.00 at Target, and it's paid for itself many many times over since I bought it.

The prep can be a tiny bit time consuming, but the end result is more than worth it, and it's not like it's hard or anything.  You just wash up the produce you want to dehydrate, and you cut it into uniform slices.  The thinner they are, the quicker they dehydrate.  If they're thicker, they take longer, but they're also crispier.

My mother-in-law gave me this handy dandy apple slicer and corer gizmo, and it's turned out to be invaluable!  I slice my apples much thinner after the initial cut, but having it already cored is great!

Then you just load up the dehydrator trays and turn it on.  Piece of cake!

In about two days, I'll have a nice big bowlful of dehydrated apple chips.  Then I'll start on the bananas.  I've discovered that there's just no such thing as too many dehydrated banana chips!  Yum.

Store them in an airtight container, and they'll keep pretty much indefinitely.