Pumpkin & Pomegranate

I am not certain how much longer I can label my dishes with “Mexican” or “Indian-inspired”, etc. because it is really really boring. i toyed with calling this “Frida’s Quinoa Salad” but then I figured people would think that Frida Kahlo was making quinoa salad. She was a wonderful cook, but I highly doubt she had access to quinoa. Then again I suppose it is possible that Mexico had some shipped over from Peru, but it isn’t exactly a traditional Mexican food. Anyway, the point is that I like a lot of “ethnic” food, and I like to make fusion dishes. I of course adore traditional dishes as well, but I also like doing things like adding  curry powder to my sweet potatoes, or just messing with different flavors from around the world. I do so love my spices. Oddly enough i just did a little search for traditional Peruvian quinoa recipes and there is a quinoa salad that isn’t all that different. In any event, this was delicious for dinner last night, and it was delicious for breakfast this morning :-) I served it with a spinach& mushroom frittata, which was definitely more of an Italian flavor. Then again I used dried shiitake mushrooms and leftover dried chanterelles so it was more of a mish-mash. Typical American melting-pot gal that I am. Currently I am trying to clean out my freezer and pantry of things that have been there too long so I can make room for Summer produce (I tend to pre-cook the stuff I cannot eat quickly from my CSA box and then freeze it for later).

Tomorrow I am going to be doing some gluten free (but grain full) baking for another vegan bake sale at Sidecar for Pig’s Peace. Washington’s only all-vegan store. I picked a recipe from the Flying Apron cookbook because i need something tried and true, and this time I wanted to do gluten free. i have noticed that usually there is perhaps one gluten free item at the vegan bake sale, and there are usually a couple of people who cannot have gluten at all and it makes me a little sad. So I bought the book specifically to bake something that I know will turn out well. Plus it is a great book, and when I do have a grainy treat I head on over to Flying Apron because they at least are gluten free, vegan, and use alternative sweeteners. I tend to prefer the items made with maple syrup, fruit juice, and brown rice syrup over the sugar cane. I still really try to avoid agave at all costs, and reserve that tiny amount that I do eat for when I am really wanting Ice Cream, and then I get some Coconut Bliss or So delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Again, treats, not “moderation”. TREAT. Then again i do have to say that I much preferred my mango sorbet to the new So Delicious coconut water mango sorbet. Theirs has fruit juice to sweeten it which is completely unnecessary. Plus when you blend frozen mango chunks with some So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk you get flavor AND fiber, and it is really, really amazing. I did add a wee bit of Pom Wonderful juice to the mix, but not to sweeten it, just to add some pomegranate goodness. It was less than 1/4 C. per person of juice, and wasn’t concentrated. Plus, again…mango fiber.

Ok, enough already…yummy quinoa salad recipe!

Mexican Quinoa salad

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
• 4 C. Water or vegetable broth
• 1.5 tsp. Sea salt
• 2 tsp. Oregano
• 1.5 T. Cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Jalapeno Powder (or chopped fresh pepper, I didn’t have any fresh)
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Green Bell Peppers, diced
• 1.5 C. Grape Tomatoes, sliced lengthwise
• 2 Avocados, diced
• 1.5 C. Cooked Black Beans
• 1 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Juice of 1.5 Medium Sized Lime
• 1-2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
• Freshly chopped Cilantro (optional)
• 2 Green Onions, sliced

Method:

1. Combine the quinoa, water, salt, and spices (if using fresh jalapeño wait to add it in with the fresh ingredients later). Bring to a boil and then simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
2. Once the quinoa has cooled, remove the bay leaves and toss with forks to fluff it a little. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes, avocado, black beans, green onion, and fresh pepper if you like.
3. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, lime juice, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
4. Toss the entire salad together with the dressing, and cilantro if desired.