Quinoa salads

I've been reading and hearing about quinoa for years, but never actually tasted it until last week. I saw a bag of organic quinoa at the grocery store and bought it on a whim. I like couscous, so I figured I would like this, too. I like it even more!

For my first foray into quinoa, I decided to make a cold salad. It was light and summery and a perfect accompaniment to our meat main course -- although it could certainly stand alone as a main course in and of itself. I pulled this together from ingredients I had on hand, and I'm sure would taste just as good with whatever summer vegetables you have around. This would probably be even more delicious with roasted red peppers!

The organic quinoa I purchased was already pre-rinsed and ready to go, but if yours is not, be sure to rinse, drain, repeat several times until the bitter outer skin washes off. The "one cup" referred to in the recipe below is the uncooked amount. 

Summer Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, prepared according to package instructions

1 green bell pepper, minced

1 red bell pepper, minced

1 can cooked black beans, well rinsed

2-4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

Prepare quinoa according to package directions; set aside. Saute green and red peppers in 2 tbsp or less olive oil. When peppers are soft, add black beans and combine. Heat until warmed through. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, bean and pepper mixture, lemon juice, remaining olive oil, salt and pepper; mix until combined. Refrigerate until cold. Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

A note on the olive oil: You probably do not need an additional 2 tbsp when mixing the salad, but I didn't measure when I made it. One glug from the bottle was fine  : ) 

Ooh, and regarding the pork chops... I do love a good pork chop, and they can often be had at a bargain when you buy those big packages of them. Since it's just me and my husband, I freeze them in packages of two. Although the chops in the photo above look fried, they are not. I bread them, spray them with olive oil (I love my Misto!) and stick them under the broiler. Flip, spray again, broil a few more minutes. Delicious and much healthier than pan frying!

Homemade Key Lime Pie

Copyright Bloom Creatives 2008. All rights reserved.

One of the easiest, most delicious desserts you can make is key lime pie. (By make I mean actually breaking out the mixer, not taking the box out of the freezer and letting it defrost.) 

Although not traditionally a holiday dish in most areas of the country, it is the perfect light finish to a heavy holiday meal: not to sweet, not too tart, airy and lovely. The semi-homemade version uses minimal ingredients - semi-homemade meaning using a ready-made graham cracker crust instead of making your own, but you are more than welcome to do that, too. Make sure that you use key lime juice, not regular lime juice. If you're ambitious you can squeeze the juice out of the itsy-bitsy limes yourself, but I would recommend using something like Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice instead.

Ingedients:

1 9" pre-made graham cracker pie crust

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup key lime juice

3 egg yolks

1 pint heavy cream or creme fraiche

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1 tsp sugar (optional)

Mix together condensed milk, key lime juice and egg yolks (discard whites). Pour mixture into pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Just prior to serving, whip heavy cream or creme fraiche in mixer. If you prefer sweeter cream, add vanilla and sugar. Top pie with whipped cream and serve.

Some notes: 

Technically, you do not have to bake this pie. The chemical reaction between the key lime juice and the egg yolks actually "cooks" the eggs, killing any salmonella, etc. However, I find that the short bake gives the pie a thicker consistency that I prefer.

Although my mother, the whipped cream purist, would wholeheartedly disagree, I would recommend sweetening the cream. Using the amounts of vanilla and sugar I have listed sweetens the cream just enough to offset the tartness of the lime custard, but is not sweet enough to be cloying.

There you go - a delicious, light end to a heavy holiday meal!

Slow-Cooked Cranberry Pork Roast

As a Taurus, one of my astrological traits is a love of all things sensual - especially food. Rich, delicious, flavorful dishes that fill the tummy, winter dishes that are usually shelved through the heat of sumer - I can not wait to start cooking these again once the weather starts to cool. Stews and roasts are a particular favorite, and a crock pot or slow cooker are the perfect way to guarantee moist, tender meats and perfectly seasoned veggies with little effort on your part.

One of my favorite slow cooker dinners is Cranberry Pork Roast. Served with red cabbage and brown rice, it is a fabulous dinner and enough to feed the whole family.

1 (3 to 4 lb) boneless pork loin roast
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c apple juice
2 apples, cored, peeled and coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Place roast in slow cooker; rub all over with the minced garlic. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours. Pork should be about 160° when fully cooked. Serve with rice.
Serves 4 to 6.