Warm Quinoa Salad

I'm really enjoying black quinoa. I don't notice a difference in its flavor, but I love the color on a plate. Unfortunately, it is not photogenic, at least not for someone with my limited skills. Don't let this picture turn you off - this is a delicious dish.

It has Asian flavors of tamari (soy sauce), rice vinegar and roasted sesame oil. They completely mask the flavor of the quinoa, and make a yummy dish. I served it with fried tofu and sautéed Red Russian kale for a delicious high-protein dinner.

Larry says this was the best quinoa dish I've ever made. High recommendation - try it soon!

Warm Quinoa Salad
1/2 cup pinto beans
3/4 cup black quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp tamari
3 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Asian (roasted) sesame oil
1/2 tsp grated ginger root
1 scallion, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 tbsp almonds, toaste and chopped

Cook pinto beans in plenty of simmering water until tender, about one hour. Drain and set aside. (Can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.)

Rinse quinoa twice in hot water and once in cold to thoroughly remove the bitter saponins. Toast in a skillet over medium heat about 5 minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently.

Stir in water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover and simmer over low heat until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger root and scallion.

Put quinoa in a serving bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss well. Sprinkle with almonds, and serve.

Serves 2-3

Spiced Nuts

I experimented with Spiced Nuts this holiday season. I found that cooking them in the toaster oven is not a good idea (my squirrel friends are enjoying the burnt nuts), but that cooking them in a skillet with seasonings is easy and very flexible.

I was over-enthusiastic so I made both appetizer nuts and dessert nuts. (No one complained.) Both contain sugar, which as regular readers know is a no-no on this blog, but I used organic cane sugar and figured the holidays only come once a year so what the heck.

I used regular unblanched almonds for the Spicy Almonds and they held the spices well. For the Sugared Hazelnuts, I toasted them and rubbed off the skins in the time-honored manner, but I feel they would have held the seasonings just as well if I had left the skins on. I'll try that next year.

These nuts would be an excellent nibble at a New Year's celebration. Expect everyone to eat more of them than you could imagine.

Spicy Almonds

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp coarse salt

1 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp red pepper flakes

grated zest of 1 orange

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 cups almonds

Stir together the sugar, salt, cumin, pepper flakes and orange zest. Mash together with the back of a spoon.

In a large skillet, warm the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until sizzling - 1-2 minutes.

Stir in a tablespoon of the sugar mixture. Toss and stir the almonds until the sugar melts and starts to glaze the nuts. Add more sugar and repeat the process until you've used all the sugar, and it is all melted and coating the nuts.

Tip the nuts out onto a cookie sheet, spread them apart, and let them cool. When the almonds are cool to the touch, break them apart as needed and store in an airtight container. In theory they will last a couple of weeks at room temperature.

Sugared Hazelnuts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup shelled hazelnuts

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup sugar

Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the hazelnuts and cook until sizzling.

Stir together the cinnamon, cloves and sugar. Add to the skillet a tablespoon at a time, stirring to melt the sugar. Continue with all but a couple of teaspoons of the spice mixture. When the nuts are well glazed turn them onto a cookie sheet to cool.

When cool, break the nuts into a bowl. Stir in the remaining sugar mixture.

This Week's Granola

I think I ate commercial granola once, back in the 80s when there was something called Harvest Crunch which was supposed to be healthy but word was it was high fat and high calorie because of all the nuts and fruit.

As you can tell, it didn't impress me much. It tasted like sweet crunchy lumps. So I learned how to make my own. It's not difficult. Toast some grains and seeds and nuts, add some dried fruit, store in a jar.

By making it myself, I can ensure that all the ingredients are organic, and that they really are food. I use differing amounts of sweetener depending on how I feel. This one, which we're eating this week, has brown sugar and honey in addition to the fruit. The sugar and honey keep the grains soft and sweet - if you are trying to convert your family from sugary cereals, this will help. I use raw honey even though I'm not sure it has any live enzymes left after being baked for half an hour.

This is healthy food, and it is very nutrient-dense. The nuts, grains and seeds provide protein, cholesterol-lowering fiber, immune-boosting beta glucan, antioxidants, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, and more. The dates provide slow-burning sugar, antioxidants, fiber, B vitamins and other vitamins and minerals.

Homemade granola is a great way to start the day. I eat mine with plain yogurt (unsweetened, made by St. Benoit Creamery from the milk of grass-fed Jersey cows in Sonoma County), brewers yeast (good source of B vitamins), ground flaxseeds (omega-3 fatty acids) and almond milk. Larry prefers his straight with milk. There's no bad way to eat granola.

Nutty Granola
4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup chopped pistachios
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange blossom honey
1/2 cup dried figs
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup deglet noor dates
1/2 cup dried pears
1/2 cup dried mangoes

In at large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, oil and honey. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 325°F for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's lightly golden.

Meanwhile, cut the dried fruit into bite-sized pieces. Stir it into the cooked oats. Let cool completely. Store in large glass jars at room temperature for up to a few weeks (but it won't last that long).

Watercress and Tangerine Salad

The watercress is flourishing on our patio. The banana plant collapsed in the icy weather, the bird baths froze over, and the watercress kept on growing.

It will die out in the heat of summer, but for now we have spicy homegrown greens for our salads.

The other night I tossed some watercress with a tangerine for a great combination of heat and sweet.

Watercress and Tangerine Salad
6 almonds
1 tangerine
2 cups watercress
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
salt

Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Toss with salt and let cool.

Peel and section the tangerine.

Rinse and dry the watercress. Remove any thick stems.

Combine the almonds, tangerine and watercress. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Add to the salad and toss gently. Season to taste.

Serves 2

The hummingbird was unamused when the fountain froze over.
The watercress seemed to enjoy the frosty weather.

Avocado and Strawberry Salad

It was too hot to cook the other night, so I rooted around in the fridge. Strawberries and butter lettuce from Finley Farm, avocado from Jorge --  that's the making of a great hot-weather supper.

I used equal quantities of oil and vinegar because I wanted a tart dressing to off-set the incredibly sweet berries. The goat cheese toasts mellowed the tartness and gave a rich earthiness that matched well with the toasted almonds.

Best of all, it went together in a flash

Avocado and Strawberry Salad
lettuce for 2 people
1 ripe avocado
1 cup strawberries
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup almonds
2 oz goat cheese
crushed peppercorns
6 slices baguette


Wash the lettuce and tear into bite-sized pieces. Peel and dice avocado. Remove the stem from the strawberries and halve them. Toss lettuce, avocado and strawberries together.

Toast the almonds in a dry frypan on the stove. When they smell toasted, remove from heat and chop coarsely.

Lightly toast the baguette slices in the toaster oven or under the broiler. Turn the slices over. Cut the goat cheese into 6 and pat it into rounds. Roll the edges of the rounds into the crushed peppercorns (this is messy, but worth it.) Put the goat cheese on the baguettes and warm in the toaster oven.

Combine the oil and vinegar. Season with a little salt and pepper and toss with the salad.

Arrange on a serving plate, sprinkle the almonds over top, and arrange the goat cheese toasts around the edges.

Serves 2

Salted Almonds

We toasted absent friends on Christmas Day with glasses of sparkling white burgundy.

We enjoyed the wine so much that tonight we'll be welcoming in the New Year with it.

It's a dry crisp, yet slightly floral bubbly. Excellent accompaniments are creamy, fruity, and salty. At Christmas we had strawberries and St. André (a triple creme French cheese that should only be eaten in small amounts) and salted almonds. Tonight we'll show more restraint and just nibble on these delicious nuts.

(Almonds are an excellent source of healthy fats -- they actually help lower cholesterol. They're also a good source of heart-friendly magnesium and potassium, which will counter-balance some of the extra salt we're adding for flavor.)

These are similar to the tamari almonds available at health food stores, but the extra salt on the outside gives them an added flavor burst. I use whole almonds and don't bother to blanch them - the skins are extra fiber, and they look pretty. Because I use an egg white to glue the salt to the outside, I store the nuts in the fridge for a week or the freezer for longer. They're quick to pull out and warm whenever a salty snack is needed.

Salted Almonds
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
10 grinds fresh pepper
1 egg white
12 oz bag almonds (scant 3 cups)

Whisk the first four ingredients together. Add the almonds and soak 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain into another bowl, reserving the liquid, and spread the nuts on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 250°F for 10 minutes. Stir. Drizzle the warm nuts with the reserved liquid and mix it in. Spread the nuts out again and continue baking until they're dry -- another 15 minutes or so -- turning halfway through.

Let cool before storing in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Reheat in a 200° toaster oven -- 3-4 minutes for refrigerated nuts, 6-7 for frozen -- and serve warm.

Makes 3 cups.