Meditteranean Quinoa Salad

Just a quick post to share a great recipe I found via Tastespotting. I recently bought 4 pouches of red quinoa via Amazon and was dragging my feet with finding recipes to use it in.

I saw this recipe and luckily had most of the ingredients on hand. I made it last night with a few modifications. I didn't have kalamata olives so I used capers in order to still get that brine-y, salty flavor. I also omitted the oregano because I normally don't enjoy dried oregano (it makes me think of pizza!).

The result was pretty great. It had tons of flavor and was pretty healthy to boot!

And now for my first food photo since returning to blogging....



So yeah, not great. But better than nothing. Expect more crappy iphone photos in the future! I'm working on a big post on all the amazing food I ate while in Philadelphia last week. Stay tuned!

Beans & Greens

Beans and greens. A classic combo that is a staple in the South. Most southerners tend to make their greens with ham hock, hog jaw, or some type of pork fat. I am certainly not opposed to this and will never pass up greens at my go-to local soul food restaurant, Kleer-Vu. But sometimes you wanna lighten up. Enter Isa Chandra Moskovitz and her amazing recipe for "Hottie Black Eyed Peas and Greens" from the Appetite for Reduction cookbook. This recipe made me a believer.

Basically, greens are steamed and simmered in a combo of veggie broth, tomato sauce, and hot sauce (hello Cholula!). Black eyed peas are added and smashed to thicken the sauce. The secret ingredient, however, is liquid smoke. I've never used liquid smoke before and now I know what I've been missing. It has the power to infuse anything you cook with smokey-bbq-ey goodness. I highly recommend this meal as a quick and healthy supper. Also great if you need to up your fiber intake (and who doesn't?). MAKE IT TONIGHT!

PS- Sorry for the lack of pictures. I'm still trying to get back into the blogging swing of things and haven't yet remembered to document my recent dishes.

Sushi Salad

Sometimes me and my boyfriend make sushi at home. We don't skimp though- we get the good stuff. Eel, smoked salmon, avocado, etc. But it's really hard for two people to use up all those ingredients in one go round and we're usually left with lots of seafood and veggies. Instead of making up another batch of sushi later in the week, I decided to try something new and make a salad with all the leftovers. And let me tell you it was good. So good that I ended a two year blogging hiatus to tell you about it. Here's what I used to make this magical salad:

-baby spinach
-carrots
-cucumber (peeled)
-smoked salmon
-imitation crab
-cilantro
-edamame
-green onions
-store bought ginger dressing

*Leftover sushi rice would be good too if you have it.

I highly suggest you try this salad or any variation of it. Hopefully I'll be sharing more recipes and food related information soon. If we're lucky, April will be chiming in as well.