Beans, greens & grains...Oh my!

For a Veggie/Vegan friendly variation use vegetable stock and and your favorite meat-free sausage.

Serves 4

1 tbs oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup quinoa, dry
3-4 cups chicken stock (depending on how soupy you like it)
5 leaves swiss chard, roughly chopped
1/2 cup red kidney beans, canned
1 scallion, chopped
4 sausage links (one per person)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in pot and add garlic, cook for about a minute then add quinoa and stir over heat for another minute. Add one cup of chicken stock, bring to boil then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in swiss chard until gently wilted and mixed with the quinoa. Next add beans, scallions and 2-3 more cups of chicken stock, depending on the consistency you like. More broth equals more soup and less broth makes for more of a stew like consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for another 5-10 minutes or until beans are warmed through. Remove from heat and squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice and give it one last stir.
In a pan cook the sausages until they are nicely browned then remove from heat and slice into pieces and serve over stew.

For this recipe I used Bilinski's pesto romano chicken sausages, but of course you can use whatever sausages you like.

Potage

Not sure what the weathers like where you are today but here in NYC it's another cold and grey day. You know the kind that makes you long for something hearty and warm in your belly.
Not feeling like doing much of anything, especially not grocery shopping, I made do with whatever I already had in the fridge and pantry. Served by itself or with a leafy green salad and chicken sausage (which is how I had it) it was just what the Dr. ordered!

Quinoa Potage
4 small new potatoes, diced
3 cups of chicken broth (or bullion)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 large leeks (or 2 small), chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
½ cup quinoa
1 medium zucchini, diced
2 large white mushroom caps, diced
Salt and pepper

Bring 1 cup of broth to a boil add all of the diced potatoes along with a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer for five minutes. Then with a slotted spoon remove half of the potatoes and set aside. Keep the remaining potatoes and broth boiling for another five minutes. Remove from heat and blend the contents of this pot so that you have a smooth opaque liquid. Set aside.

Heat one teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large sized pot. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes until translucent. Next add the leeks and again cook for a couple of minutes until they have softened a little and become green. Now add the garlic, bay leaf, carrot, celery, ½ cup of quinoa, ¼ teaspoon of salt and couple of grinds from your pepper mill. Give this a couple of minutes to cook together and stir it a couple of times.
Next add the blended potato broth liquid followed by the two cups of plain broth. Lastly toss in the reserved par-boiled diced potatoes that you saved in the beginning along with the diced zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

4 out of "5 a day" ain't bad

Quinoa, isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you have a hangover. The hangover comes courtesy of Jules rockin' birthday party last night. As you can see in the photos above there was a little bit of drinking going on.
But when you wake up at noon and look in your cupboard to find a whole lot of nothing you quickly accept your reality and make the best of it. I rooted through my fridge and grabbed whatever vegetables I had, which were some cherry tomatoes, an eggplant a stalk of celery and a carrot. In my opinion roasting is by far the best tasting way to cook vegetables. This dish tastes quite rich. The eggplant becomes almost buttery and the quinoa adds a creamy nutty flavor.

Serves 2

olive oil
1 eggplant cut into 3/4" cubes
1/2 a pint of cherry tomatoes
3 tbs chopped shallots
2 pieces crushed garlic
1/2 cup of chopped carrots
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup of water

Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl toss tomatoes and eggplant in a liberal amount of olive and season with salt (at your discretion). Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes.

Add some olive oil to a pot and sauté the shallots for a couple of minutes, then add garlic, carrots, celery, 1 tsp of salt and a couple grinds of pepper. Cook for about three minutes. Stir in quinoa and allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes before adding water. Add water, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until all water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. When done, the quinoa appears translucent and the germ ring will be visible.

Quinoa is rich in Amino acids (protein), and the protein it supplies is a complete protein. Most grains need to be paired with beans in order to form a complete protein. Although quinoa is technically not a grain, it's a seed, it can be used a substitute in pretty much any recipe that calls for grains. It's also a good source of magnesium, calcium and iron.