Good Eats:: Warm Asian-Style Quinoa

Photo from One Perfect Bite

I'm always exploring new and healthy, but delicious, foods to incorporate into our staple diet and quinoa is something I've been wanting to try for so long but was somewhat intimidated by because I know nothing about it! Is it like rice? Is it more like couscous? I didn't know. Plus, the few recipes I had seen used it in cold salads and for some reason that just wasn't working for me. I wanted something hot I could eat for dinner. When I discovered this great warm recipe that even my hubby's particular taste buds would enjoy, I was thrilled! (Thanks to One Perfect Bite for the original recipe! My slightly altered version is below.)

This recipe includes one of our fave veggies, edamame, often found in Asian dishes and with it's unique flavor I decided to pair it with another Asian dish we love, delicious Pork Potstickers, in case this new food introduction didn't quite work out. The combo was ideal. And the quinoa was awesome! I would even recommend the unique tarragon and lemon dressing on a fresh summer salad. 

We rounded out the meal with a sweet, bold and fruity Shiraz (Postcode Collection 09 Shiraz) to compliment the tart lemon and salty soy flavors from the two dishes. Bon Appetite!

What other warm quinoa dishes do you love? Share in the comments and we will feature our fave new recipe in a future Good Eats post.

Ingredients:

2.5 cups quinoa

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups shelled edamame

2 TBSP lemon zest

juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 TBSP tarragon, chopped

salt and pepper

1 small roasted red pepper, chopped 

1/2 cup toasted walnuts (coat pan in 1/2 tablespoon butter and toast walnuts on med-low heat for a few minutes - until you can smell them)

How I made it:

1. Follow package instructions to cook quinoa. Place in a serving bowl when cooked.

2. Cook edamame per package instructions (usually a few minutes boiling them or heating in microwave)

3. If you have a gas stove you can roast your red peppers fresh, or used jarred. Roast on open flame, watching carefully and turning as each side chars black on the outside, let cool and chop. Add to quinoa mix.

4. Mix lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, tarragon and salt and pepper. Toss over quinoa and stir to blend ingredients. Serve warm.

Recipe:: Pork Potstickers

This is a dish I've never made before but found to be a lot of fun to make and quite easy despite being a little time intensive. While it's not a whip-it-up-in-20-min meal, you can make a ton of them at once and freeze them to use for several meals or make them ahead of time for entertaining so they do prove to be time saving with some planning. They are delicious and totally worth the effort!

We enjoyed our first meal of Pork Potstickers paired with yummy Warm Asian-Style Quinoa (recipe found at this link) and it was excellent! Even my husband ate every last bite. We froze the extra Potstickers, but since they were so good we heated them up and ate them again the next day. AND we had them again a few days later with friends. We couldn't get enough of them! My adapted recipe is below. I actually made less filling than the original recipe calls for and it still yielded about 50 Potstickers.

Many thanks to Yumsugar for the original Potsticker recipe and wonderful photos and instructions. Definitely check out the Yumsugar post for help in making these your first time. Enjoy!

Pork Potstickers
Ingredients:
1 medium (or 1/2 a large) head of cabbage

1/4 cup salt (*for draining water from cabbage not the recipe*)

1 pound ground pork
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1-2 packs of round Gyoza Skin (aka wonton wrappers. Round is best, but you can use square. Find them in the fresh or frozen sections of most grocery stores.)
3-4 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

Here's how I made them:
1. Shred cabbage using a cheese grater into a large bowl or strainer. Use the smallest grater you have because the smaller the pieces the better. A food processor also works well.
2. Cover cabbage with 1/4 cup salt and let sit for up to half an hour to draw the water out of the cabbage. You'll be surprised how much water drains out!
3. If you are using a bowl, drain the excess water from the bowl and then squeeze a handful of cabbage at a time to remove the excess water. It should be like squeezing a sponge - that's how you'll know it's ready.
4. Mix your drained cabbage with the ground pork, minced garlic and soy sauce.
5. On a clean surface, take one wonton skin at a time and wet half of the edge. Place a tablespoon or smaller scoop of filling into the middle.
6. Watch this fantastic video on how to seal the edge of the potsticker from Yumsugar.

7. Cover large non-stick pan with enough olive oil to coat the surface and heat on medium heat until hot. Place potstickets standing up in pan so that they aren't overly crowded. They can touch but shouldn't be smooshed.
8. Once all the potstickers are set in the pan, pour 1/4 cup water into the bottom of the pan, cover and cook for 4 minutes. The water will be sizzling and steaming to cook the insides of the potstickers.
9. After 4 minutes, add another 1/4 cup of water, cover and cook for 2 minutes.
10. After the 2 minutes, remove the lid, cook off excess water and cook for 1-3 more minutes. We liked ours crispy so we cooked the bottoms a little longer. Check the bottom of one of the potstickets from the center of the pan to see if they are done since this is where they cook a little faster.
11. Serve with dipping sauce.

Potsticker Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tsp ginger, minced
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 scallions, chopped

Here's how I made it:
1. Mince your fresh garlic or ginger if not already from a jar. (We prefer fresh because it's cheep and I mince my own in batches and store covered in olive oil in the fridge for later use.)
2. Use enough soy sauce to cover minced ingredients.
3. Add crushed red pepper to taste. We like things spicy.
4. Add some scallions for extra flavor.

Music Monday:: Helio Sequence

It's been an entire week since I've blogged...where does the time go? Since it's Music Monday I decided to kick off this fresh week of posts with another inspirational tune that relates to some upcoming posts. My husband and I could not get enough of The Helio Sequence (*free* mp3 downloads on their site) on our latest road trip to Yosemite (pics coming soon!). Partly because it's one of the few bands where I actually uploaded the entire album to my phone because it's just that good....I definitely recommend buying the entire album...but also because this  song in particular has a great upbeat summer vibe, perfect for cruising through beautiful mountain views with all the windows down on a hot summer day. Love it!

Beyond the catchy indie vibe of Helio, I love this band because they're lyrics actually matter. Can't Say No responds to the consumptive nature of America and is totally relevant to the latest Going Green posts I'm working on this week so stay tuned and, as always, ENJOY!

Music Monday:: Esperanza Spalding

I am in love with this year's Grammy Winner for Best New Artist. I'm so happy she won. My husband discovered her a while ago and we love this song, Prescious, from her first album. The first time I heard it I thought he was playing Erykah Badu. They both have that beautiful, airy yet stong soulful voice that I love in a female vocalist. Enjoy!

Good Eats:: Kale Chips

I recently saw this new idea for Kale and I'm so glad I tried it! Kale is one of those veggies that's super good for you but I'm still learning how to eat it. It's easy to use it in many of the same ways you use spinach, but this is by far the best way I've eaten Kale yet. And it was really easy to do.

Here's how I made them:

1. Trim your kale from the center rib using a sharp knife. I used two large leaves to get this snack size bowl full. Perfect for two.

2. Cut into about 2 inch size pieces since they will curl up and get a little smaller after baking. Ripping the pieces doesn't work well with Kale since it's pretty durable. 

3. Spread pieces on baking sheet and drizzle about 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil. Stir them around well to make sure both sides are covered. Generously salt with coarse sea salt.

4. Bake for 15 minutes at 300. Remove from oven, let cool, serve and enjoy!

Kale chips definitely have a unique flavor so your non-veggie lovers may be skeptical at first but the crunchiness and saltiness sort of melt in your mouth and grow on you. They are such a healthy alternative that if the Kale flavor is still too strong I'd encourage you to try them with additional seasoning such as crushed red pepper to spice them up.

Project Update:: Antique Window Turned Table

The window has legs! Now it just needs glass so we can actually use it. But that is a project in itself coming up next week after we have the glass panes cut and get the other supplies. The staining process was a lot of fun. To see the bare wood I worked so hard to sand down turn this beautiful, rich walnut color was worth all the hard work. After adding some decorative bling to the legs with the door hinges it's really starting to look the way I pictured it. Check out how far it's come from the original window and come back next week for the unveiling of the final table and the d-i-y instructions!

What's Stewing?:: Spicy Turkey Chili

I know it's a bit warm for chili this time of year...okay, it's way hot out for chili, but it's soooo good that we eat it year-round. And on my journey of What's Stewing? I couldn't wait to share this fave with you. It's healthy, it's easy to make, and it goes perfectly with my favorite in season item: avocados! Yes, avocados are a little secret of mine I use as a substitute for sour cream. They add the same cool, creamy texture but are a healthy, guilt-free fat.

Chili is a spicy stew and one of the more common stew dishes. My dish includes your basics - beans, garlic, tomatoes, onions, cumin - but with a healthy twist using ground turkey instead of beef. It also has a rich, flavorful spice from the beer and hot peppers without being overpowering. It'll warm you up but won't make you sweat or burn your mouth so you can enjoy as much as you want. 


Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
salt & pepper
3 TBSP olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can kidney beans
1 can white beans
1 can light beer

1 brown onion

4 or more hot peppers, diced (I usually use 1 habenero, 1-2 jalapeño, and 2-3 types of chili peppers)

2 sweet peppers, diced (red/orange/yellow/green)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 small can of tomato sauce

salt and pepper
(*buy organic canned veggies and tomato sauce to avoid HFCS and added sodium)
avocado
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
rice


Here's how I make it:
1. Cook the ground turkey seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika and cumin in a pan until fully cooked.
2. Bake your beans in beer. Read my post of beer soaked beans for cooking instructions. You can make these ahead of time.
3. Heat olive oil and minced garlic in large pot. Add onion and peppers. Cook covered until veggies are slightly cooked and onion is transparent. Add diced tomatoes with juice and sauce and bring to a slow boil for a few minutes. Add cooked ground turkey and beans with the beer. Lower heat and cook for a few more minutes so all ingredients are hot. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Serve over rice with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and/or avocado.


More What's Stewing? to come so be sure to follow us and enjoy! Share your creations or twists on our recipes for a chance to be featured on our blog.