Tabouli Quinoa Salad

 I was making the stuffed flat breads for dinner last night and wanted some kind of salad to go with it. In my usual fashion I looked int the fridge to see what needed using up.
There was a lonely bowl of cooked quinoa...leftover from some meal a few days ago.
This being the summer season, I had some beautiful red tomatoes and a cucumber as well.
Inspiration hit me, how would it be to make the traditional Middle Eastern tabouli with quinoa to replace the the cracked bulgur wheat ??

It was an amazing success.

Here's the recipe.

Tabouli  Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

2-3 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 cup peeled and chopped cucumber
1 sprig chopped fresh mint
1/4- 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion.

1/4 cup vinaigrette dressing ( use whatever you have around or make your own).

1) Prepare all the vegetables.
2) Toss into cooked quinoa.
3) Mix the dressing into the salad and add salt and pepper to taste.

This is before I mixed it all together. I would have taken more photos if I had know how well this would turn out.

In my quickie version, I didn't use the garlic, onions or all that parsley but it was still so good. Bob couldn't stop eating it.

Tomato Season !!

I just bought these beautiful yellow organic tomatoes at my farmer's market this morning.
I already have a pan in the oven to make my fabulous and easy roasted tomato sauce.

I will make tomato juice out of some. If you haven't had homemade tomato juice, you don't know what you are missing. It's so easy. We love that there is no peeling involved !! Here is the recipe.

1) Core and cut your tomatoes into halves or quarters.

2) Bring the tomatoes to a gentle boil in a large pot, stirring often in the beginning to prevent burning. Simmer about 20-30 minutes depending on how many tomatoes you are cooking. The tomatoes should be soft.

3) Now it's time to extract the juice and leave the skin and seeds behind. There are several ways to do this. You may use a chinoise.

Or a food mill.

Or even a large strainer and a spoon.
Since I have a chinoise I used that. It works like a dream.

4) Once you have actually made the juice you have several options. A) You may refrigerate it and drink it within two weeks. B) You may can it, following safe canning procedures.
or C) Freeze it in jars or freezer bags like I do.

5) Treat friends or house guests with a glass of homemade tomato juice.

Dutch Baby

I know, what an odd name and no I don't know why it is called that. I can tell you that is a great dish to make for a weekend brunch or breakfast treat. It's much like a giant popover, you can top it with fresh fruit and whipped cream or applesauce and yogurt like we do.

Dutch Baby

Ingredients:

1/3 c. butter
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. flour

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2) Get out your eggs, flour and milk, your blender or food processor and your measuring cups. Things move quickly after step #3 so it's best to be prepared.
3) Put the butter in a 3 to 4 quart glass baking dish and set it into a 425 degree oven.

4) Put eggs in blender  and whirl at high speed for 1 minute.
5) With motor running, gradually pour in milk. Most blenders have a hole in the top for just this purpose.

6) Slowly add flour; continue whirling for 30 seconds.

(With a rotary beater, beat eggs until light and lemon colored; gradually beat in milk, then flour.)
7) Remove pan from oven with the butter melted and pour batter into the hot melted butter.

8) Return the pan to the oven and bake until puffy and well browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

9) While the dutch baby is baking you can prepare your toppings. I like to warm up some apple sauce, serving it with plain yogurt and maple syrup. That was how it was originally served to us. It would be great with fresh cut up fruit or whatever strikes your fancy.

10) It will puff up while baking then sink when you serve it. This recipe makes two to four servings depending on what else is on the menu.

 Do serve it hot from the oven !!

Cashew Cardamom Fudge

I love cardamom, it's a fairly unusual spice used in most Indian and Middle Eastern cooking, mostly in desserts and a major component of Chai.

Cardamom comes in pods, seeds or powdered.

You may have seen those weird white sticky puddings in Indian lunch buffets. Most people won't try them but if they have cardamom, I usually love them. That's what drew me to this recipe. I found it in my local paper's food section and was intrigued. The Indian name is Soy Paneer Kaju Barfi, yes "barfi", that doesn't bode well does it ??
Turns out that barfi is condensed milk that is cooked with sugar until it forms a solid, who would have know ;-)

I used my recent yoga club potluck as a chance to try this out.

Cashew Cardamom Fudge

Ingredients

8 ounces of super firm tofu
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
1 can ( 14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

1) Line an 8 inch glass baking dish with parchment so that it goes up one side.

2) Press the tofu to remove some of the moisture, then grate it into a bowl, using the smaller holes of your grater.

I was surprised by how easily it grated, extra firm tofu !!

3) Using a small or regular sized food processor, grind the cashews to a fine texture.

4) Add to the tofu and mix together.
5) Use a saute pan to cook your fudge, pour in the can of sweetened condensed milk and your tofu cashew mixture.

6) Stir together over medium heat, cook for 15 minutes. You need to increase your stirring as the mixture heats up to prevent it from burning, don't walk away ;-)

7) The mixture should not really boil, although it will bubble and will eventually hold together and look like very thick cooked oatmeal. It will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, that's how you will know it is done.

8) Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cardamom. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading it if need be with a spatula.

9) Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and press gently into the fudge. Chill for several hours, the resting time allows the flavor to develop.

10) The flap of parchment with help you to remove the fudge when you are ready to cut it. You can slice it into triangles or diamond shapes which are traditional. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

I guess my yoga club enjoyed it because when I offered to send the leftovers home with them everyone accepted !!

Next time I am going to try adding shredded coconut and maybe some rosewater ( another one of those exotic flavors I love ).

Whole Wheat Flatbread Stuffed with Potatoes, Spinach and Peas.

Last month we attended a 50th birthday dinner with an amazing spread cooked by the birthday girl herself ( with help from her husband). These stuffed flatbreads were my favorite dish of the evening. You can make them as complicated or as simple as you like depending on how much time you want to spend making them. They are great leftovers for lunches !!

The Flatbread

You can buy whole wheat flatbread or tortillas to save time. I think they would be just as good as the ones I made.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon  salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing 
• 3/4 cup warm water

1) Stir together in a large bowl the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt.
2) Stir in the oil and water until combined.

3) Turn the dough onto a clean surface, (I like to use waxed paper on my kitchen table). Knead the dough for five minutes until smooth.

4) Cover and let rest for 30 minutes while you are making the filling.

The Filling

• 3 cups steamed potatoes chunks
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 3/4 cup fresh steamed or frozen peas 

Cumin seeds.

1) Saute the cumin seeds in the olive oil for about 30 seconds, then add the chopped onion and curry powder. Cook until the onions soften.
2) Add the chopped baby spinach and stir until just wilted, this will deglaze the pan as well.
3) In a large bowl mash the potatoes add the steamed fresh peas or defrosted frozen peas and the spinach onion spice mixture. Mix together.

Putting it all together.

1) Divide dough into six balls and roll out into 8-inch rounds.

2) Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and cook rounds until slightly puffed and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

This was taken before I flipped it over.

3) Flip and spread half of each round with filling.

4) Gently fold over other half and cook until golden, 2 minutes.
5) Flip and cook 2 minutes more. Brush with olive oil.

I kept the completed ones warm on my griddle, you can also do it in the oven set low.

 6) Serve flatbreads cut in half, with chutney, yogurt and hot pepper jelly !!