Great grains... and OH Farro!

Dear Quinoa,

It's not you, it's me. I will always think you are a great grain. You make a delicious meal with roasted veggies, have protein and fiber, and are so much more exciting than rice. You can even be red or white. But... I have to be honest.... I've met someone else. His name is Farro, and I can't get enough of him. I'm sorry, but Farro is my new favorite grain....

Vegan Spinach Quiches

I loved the look & idea of these mini-quiches I saw on Finding Vegan. These little quiches came out great- a delicious quinoa crust and a hearty filling. Yum all around. They are easy to make, and relatively quick - about 30 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes in the oven. These are also good for lunches or storing in the freezer for an easy meal later in the week.

Adapted from this recipe from the Healthy Hipster.

Ingredients:
Crust:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seeds (I used whole flax seeds and ground them in a food processor for a few minutes)
• 2 Tbsp ground oats/oat flour, or flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp Spike or other seasoning

Filling:

• 1 10 oz package of frozen spinach
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 heaping Tbsp Dijon mustard
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 package extra firm tofu

Steps:
For the crust:

1. Cook the quinoa according to package instructions (will take about 10-15 minutes). Add the seasoning to the cooked quinoa, along with sea salt to taste.
2. Add about 1/2 cup (enough to cover the flax seeds) of water to a small bowl with the ground flax seeds. Allow the seeds to soak in the water for 5-10 minutes to thicken. 
3. Grind the oats in a food processor, or use whole wheat flour or ground oats instead, and add to the cooked quinoa. (I actually added about a spoonful of extra whole oats as well, just for a little additional texture, which I think came out well). After the flax seeds have soaked, add those as well and mix. 
4. Grease a muffin pan well, and add a large spoonful of the quinoa mix to each of the 12 muffin spots. Press along the outside of the muffin mold to form a crust. (The quinoa mix will be a little sticky, so it's easiest to use a spoon).

For the filling:

1. Drain the tofu well, pressing out any excess water. Slice and put into food processor along with the spices and all other filling ingredients besides the spinach. Mix until smooth.
2. Allow the spinach to thaw (or cook in microwave for a few minutes). Press out as much liquid as you can, making sure the spinach is not watery. Add the spinach to the food processor and briefly blend.
3. Add about 1/4 cup of the filling to each crust.

Cook at 350 F for about 30-35 minutes. Allow the mini-quiches to cool for about 5 minutes prior to removing from the pan. Serve warm & enjoy!

Notes: Based on this recipe, I just might start adding flax seeds to my quinoa dishes now. Is it weird that I like the smell of flax seeds??! In any case, I really liked the resulting flavor of the crust. Speaking of flavor, as with most recipes calling for it, I cut down the nutritional yeast in these quite a bit (from 1/4 cup to 2 Tbsp) - and this worked perfectly for me, as someone who doesn't like overwhelming nutritional yeast taste. I think 2 Tbsp is my limit... any more, and it would have been too much for me. 

A word on filling the quiches: make sure you press the filling into the crust- how you put it in is pretty much how it will come out, so you want the filling and the crust neatly pressed against the muffin mold. I didn't do this so well, which wasn't a big deal - it still tasted good! But if you are serving for others, you want to aim for a neat little pie. 

Additions & substitutions: Next time, I'm definitely adding some thinly sliced mushrooms to these- I think they would be a perfect addition here. I also think broccoli would go really well in these - there are so many variations here that would work well - tomatoes, asparagus, peppers (if you like 'em), artichoke hearts.... vegify the quiches to your heart's desire!

Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables

Adapted from: Spa Cuisine at Home, Chef Nadine

If you haven't ever heard of quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa), go out and buy some now. It's awesome. Quinoa is so healthy, full of fiber and protein, and is not like any other grain. It's not quite cous-cous, not quite rice... it's better. It lends itself well to being the base for many recipes, and is very filling but still very healthy. Most grocery stores today should have it, but Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are a sure bet. I was first introduced to this wonder-grain in a cooking class I took through the Boston Center for Adult Education, called "Spa Cuisine at Home." Not sure if they still offer this class, but it was wonderful and I got so many great recipes and techniques. I've edited the original recipe a bit over time, but no matter how you vary your quinoa dish it's easy to work with.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 and 1/4 cups of vegetable stock
• 1 cup of water
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Optional; can use vegan Parm. for vegan, although I haven't tried)
• 1-2 cups of broccoli
• 1-2 cups of cauliflower (or full head of cauliflower)
• 1/2 cup of yellow onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Chop broccoli and cauliflower into small pieces and spread over a cookie sheet greased with olive oil. To avoid florets getting over crisped, you can loosely cover the pan with tin foil for the first 15-20min of cooking. Set timer to 45 minutes to roast the veggies.
2. Chop the onion and garlic. Heat olive oil in a pot and add the onion, saute for about 1-2 minutes and then add the garlic and cook for about 1 more minute.
3. Add the quinoa, water, and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 14 minutes- you will see a white line in the quinoa grains - until the liquid is gone.
4. Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, mixing, and then add the roasted veggies. Serve hot.

Notes: There are TONS of variations of this dish! Sometimes I add fresh chopped spinach to it too. The original recipe calls for arugula, shitake mushrooms, and carrots instead of broccoli & cauliflower (also good, but I love the flavor the roasted broccoli and cauliflower gives to the quinoa). Another good variation is to serve cold and add peas, olives, chopped fresh asparagus, and some dill & parsley for a summer version (leave out the Parm cheese though).

Also note that you can use 2 and 1/4 cups of vegetable stock (as opposed to part water); I just prefer to water down the stock as they are often chock full of sodium. Also, note that it's a good idea to rinse the quinoa before use.

*See my post of other grains for more healthy dishes like this!