Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Quinoa and Sweet Potatos

From Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook

Ingredients

Basic Recipe
¾ cup quinoa, rinsed in fine-meshed strainer
1 tbls olive oil
1 cup onions, diced
½ tsp sea salt
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 2/3 cup water (or substitute low sodium broth)

Version One (my own modification, you can create many from this point)
¼ cup dried mushrooms, chopped
3 green garlic, chopped (or 3 cloves garlic and 3 scallion onions)
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Another Version
2 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed and finely chopped
2 tbls toasted pine nuts (2-3 minutes in a small dry pan on medium high heat)
¼ cup currents
1 tbls minced scallions
1 tbls lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions

1) In a covered saucepan, warm oil and sauté onions and salt over low heat, stirring now and then until onions are transparent, about 8 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, whites of green garlic or garlic cloves, dried mushrooms, broth and quinoa, cover and bring to simmer. Lower heat and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender and the liquid has been absorbed. If the quinoa is still not done when the liquid is gone, add water until desired consistency.

2) Remove from heat. Stir in pine nuts and green part of green garlic (or scallion onions) and salt and pepper to taste.


Still more options, get creative!

1) Add minced fresh chilies and or garlic along with the onions.
2) Stir in chopped fresh parsley, basil, cilantro and/or scallions or chives before serving.
3) Garnish with toasted almonds or sesame seeds
4) Add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice or a drizzle of soy sauce
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What's the Deal with Farmers Markets

Looking for something fun to do? Need a little variety in your meals? Want to find some foods that actually taste great and are good for you? Looking for a unique breakfast or lunch option? If any of these are true for you, make a trip to a local farmers market on the weekend. (For you Austinites, try the Austin Farmers Market on Saturday morning at 4th and Guadalupe.)

So why is it healthy to buy food from a local farmers market? Here are MY top five reasons:

5. Tastes great! Produce and meats from local sustainable farms and ranches have more flavor than their more conventional alternatives. If it's from a small local farm, chances are very high that it is going to be organic, whether certified or not. Some are what I call ‘beyond organic as the farmers' standards are usually higher than the US Government's definition of organic.

4. Seasonality - Throughout the year our food cravings change for many reasons, one of which is the season. Since we can get almost everything we want year round, it takes a little effort to get back to the seasonal eating our bodies were engineered for. Walking through a farmers market is a great way to reconnect, to your community as well as your body.

3. More nutrients - Buying produce from small sustainable farms is going to give you the biggest bang for the buck in nutrients. That leaves larger organic farms coming in second and conventionally grown alternatives third.

2. Less pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and no GMO - We are continually exposed to toxins every day, from our food, as well as water, lotions, soaps, etc. It all adds up and keeps our body working overtime, not to mention keeping us in a state of dis-ease. Buying produce and meat from the farmers market is one way to lessen the load.

1. Whole foods - what you find at the farmers market is more of the foods that our bodies recognize as food, and therefore can easily digest and give our bodies a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals. Taking a break from the artificial ingredients and highly processed foods we have grown to love because of their convenience is a healthy habit to incorporate into our routine.

Just can’t get there no matter how hard you try? There are many CSA and delivery options. Email me and I’ll help you find the one that is right for you. dianaoconnell@yahoo.com



My top 5, being a short summary, touches on some much larger topics, and barely even eludes to food politics. Any thoughts on what was left out?
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