BREAKFAST COOKIES

Sometimes, you're wandering along the road of life, minding your own business, when it suddenly becomes apparent that breakfast cookies are a real, actual, possible-to-create-in-this-particular-universe sort of a thing. And then you make them. And you eat them. And you tinker and bake and eat some more.

These particular breakfast cookies were purportedly inspired by the need to find a way to transmute the grain-and-veggie mixes I had been feeding my increasingly independent one-year-old into something he could hold in his own two hands (spoon feeding is for babies; big kids feed themselves cookies for breakfast).

Of course, secretly, the breakfast cookies are for me.

Did I mention that they taste like a perfect blend of chewy cookie and muffin but have crazy healthy ingredients and just a hint of banana-cinnamon-vanilla sweetness?

Make some and see.

Ingredients
2-3 oz baby spinach
2 ripe or overripe bananas
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup or slightly more creamy 100% peanut or almond butter
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 grain breakfast cereal*
1/2 cup cooked quinoa*
1/2 apple, peeled and diced**

Preheat oven to 350°.

Toss the spinach, bananas, cinnamon, vanilla, and peanut butter in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spoon out into a mixing bowl and add the grains and apple. Mix well to combine.

Spoon the dough onto a nonstick cookie sheet and pat to form cookies. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

Makes about 12 cookies.

*you can sub rolled oats (quick cook or regular) for either or both of these, or a different cooked grain like farro...just use whatever you have on hand. I liked this combination for the texture and protein.
**I like my cookies not too sweet. But if you like them on the sweeter side, consider subbing raisins or chocolate chips for the apple, and use bananas that are overripe.

Grilled Curry Yogurt Chicken

This recipe is simple enough for a midweek dinner and delicious enough for a dinner party; it works well as leftovers to top a salad for tomorrow's lunch or it can scale up easily to serve 8 or 16. Magic? Perhaps. Accio dinner.

Ingredients
Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp curry powder
2/3 tbsp garam masala
Squeeze or two of a lemon or lime
1 clove garlic, pressed
Sprinkle of salt

Pound 4 chicken breasts flat in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Add all the other ingredients, smush around, and let marinate in the fridge overnight.

Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush grill with oil. Grill chicken breasts 4 minutes on the first side, then turn. Grill 4 1/2 minutes more. Serve hot.

Dinner suggestions: Serve over rice, quinoa, or farro tossed with lime, lemon, and/or orange zest, chopped cilantro, and a pat of butter.

Leftovers for lunch: Toss leftover rice, quinoa, or farro with a little olive oil and some lemon or lime juice. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and layer on top of the grains. Top with baby greens tossed with olive oil, lime juice, and very coarsely chopped fresh cilantro.

Serves 4.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Kabocha and Pomegranate

After the husband reintroduced me to kabocha squash by way of a brilliant farroto he invented last month (coming soon to a blog near you), I became obsessed. (I say reintroduced because in retrospect, I have eaten it—and always loved it—in Japanese tempura, but never knew what kind of squash it was.) Roasted, kabocha tastes of toasted pumpkin seeds and squashy wonderment. You might think the latter is more of a delirious rant than an actual taste. Roast some yourself and see.

This recipe calls for enough kabocha to make about 2 cups cooked, plus 3-5 extra wedges for snacking, because I am a realist, and realists believe in accurately predicting the amount of a given ingredient that will make it past one's mouth and into the pot. Also because it allows you to have the following conversation:

You: Would you like a slice of kabocha?
Other person: Kabocha?
You: KABOCHA.
Other person: Is it good?
You: KABOCHA.
Other person: What?
You (mouth full): Mmrmph.

Ingredients
1 kabocha squash (weighing about a pound; or sub butternut squash)
Olive oil
1/2 cup quinoa
3 inches of a medium leek, white and light green parts, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz veggie and/or chicken broth
2 oz. baby spinach or arugula
Seeds of 1/2 pomegranate
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted in a pan until golden brown
Freshly ground white pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Rinse the kabocha squash and pat dry. Cut the top out as you would when carving a pumpkin, then slice in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds, then slice both halves into even wedges (roughly 3/4" wide at the thickest part).

Drizzle a cookie sheet with olive oil, and arrange the squash wedges on the sheet, turning them over as you go so that both sides are lightly coated with olive oil. (Note that if you overcrowd, they won't brown well, so try to leave a little space between them.) Roast for 15 minutes, flip, and roast 12-15 minutes more or until lightly browned and tender without being squishy. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa and let soak in cold water for 15 minutes.

Heat a pot over medium heat. When hot, add a glug of olive oil. Saute the leek with a pinch of salt until it softens, then add the garlic. Saute a minute more, add the quinoa, and stir a few times. Pour in the broth, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

While the quinoa is cooking, slice about 3/4 of the kabocha squash wedges out of their skin and cut into 1 inch pieces. (You also have time to seed the pomegranate and toast the pine nuts here if you want.) The rest of the squash is yours for the snacking.

When the quinoa is done, fold in the squash very gently (to avoid smushing it) and let heat through, then turn off the heat and cover the pot. Toss the baby greens with a little bit of olive oil and a spoonful of sherry vinegar so that the leaves are very lightly coated. Pour the quinoa-squash mixture over the greens, and let sit for 2 minutes to slightly wilt the leaves. Toss gently, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste, and serve topped with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side.

Goat Cheese and Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Apparently, the husband is the real cook of the household(s), because while I've been stuck in a repeat loop on old (and newer) favorites, he's been making up recipes left and right. Here's one that I've been promised upon my return to Kansas. (I asked for delivery, but apparently I'm outside the delivery radius. Hmph.)

Ingredients
4-6 Poblano peppers (use 4 if you want leftover stuffing to top with a fried egg the next day)
Olive oil
1 cup quinoa
1 large shallot, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
10 oz canned black beans, drained
4 oz mild, soft goat cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cook the quinoa per package instructions.

Create a 1-2" opening in the top of each pepper and remove the seeds. Brush peppers lightly with olive oil, then broil for 7 minutes on each side. Let cool.*

In a nonstick pan, sauté the shallot for about a minute, then add the jalapeno, bell pepper, and garlic and sauté, stirring, until the peppers soften. Add the black beans and allow to warm through. Stir in the cooked quinoa, let warm, then mix in the goat cheese in small pieces to allow it to melt evenly. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff the peppers with the quinoa-black bean mixture. Return to oven and broil an additional 8-10 minutes until heated through.

Serve warm. Pairs well with a Caprese salad.

 
The peppers reheat well in the microwave the next day. Or, reheat the leftover quinoa stuffing and top with a fried egg.

Serves 3-6.

*Helpful hint! If you store a rubber-handled saute pan in the oven because it's too big for the Kansas kitchen cupboards, you should remove the pan before you turn on the broiler. Even if you've been storing it there all summer and haven't turned on the oven yet and so you were thinking of it more as a cupboard than an oven. This PSA brought to you by Concerned Citizens for Oven Awareness.

Wilted Arugula Salad with Quinoa and Cherry Tomatoes

Here's an easy, delicious summertime salad that's perfect for a backyard picnic or summertime potluck.

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, rinsed, soaked for 20 minutes, and drained
4 big handfuls baby arugula
Olive oil
6-8 tbsp balsamic vinegar, reduced
(simmer uncovered over low heat until volume reduces by half)
1/2 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A little shaved Parmesan or a (mild, firm) goat's milk cheese* or a crumbly bleu cheese

Combine the quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water in a pot, cover, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and the little quinoa spirals have uncurled. Remove from heat.

Toss the arugula in a bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil (enough to lightly coat the leaves). Pour in the quinoa and let sit over the arugula for about a minute, so that the leaves wilt slightly around the edges. Toss gently to combine, then drizzle with the balsamic reduction and toss again. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, then add the tomatoes. Toss once. Scatter with a little cheese before serving.

Serves 4-6.

*speaking of which, if you're in the Sacramento or Bay Area, Quatro Pepe is well worth seeking out.

Easy Quinoa Salad

An easy, healthy, and delicious springtime side dish that complements just about anything.

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 tbsp chopped red spring onion (or sub shallot)
1 tbsp chopped green garlic (or sub 1 clove garlic, pressed)
1/2 cup quinoa
3/4 cups chicken and/or veggie broth
4 oz baby arugula
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the quinoa well in a mesh strainer and let soak in cold water for 15-30 minutes, then rinse and drain well. (This removes the bitter saponins so the quinoa tastes sweeter. A lot of the quinoa sold in supermarkets is now prewashed so that you can skip this step, but some of the fair-trade quinoa still seems to taste better if you have time to soak it first. The liquid measurements here assume you've soaked the quinoa—if not, cook according to the package directions.)

Heat olive oil in a smallish pot over medium heat. Add the onion and green garlic and saute, stirring, until they soften (about 2-3 minutes). Add the quinoa, stir, and then add the broth. Cover, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the quinoa has unspiraled and the liquid is absorbed. Uncover and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, heat a small pot over medium-low heat. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer very gently until the liquid is reduced by half (don't stand over the pot or you'll get a nose full of vinegar). Remove from the heat.

Toss the arugula with a spoonful of good-quality olive oil. Add the quinoa and toss together (the arugula will wilt a bit from the warmth of the quinoa). Drizzle with balsamic reduction, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, toss once more, and serve.

Serves 2.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes

English, I'm afraid, is not something that happens after you eat this salad.

Foodie coma of happiness, yes. Just not the writing thing. Please excuse. Make this. Tastebud zingy whatnot blissful mm. You'll see.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 lb small globe or cherry tomatoes, cut in half crosswise

Kosher salt

1 cup red and/or white quinoa, soaked for 10-20 minutes in cold water and drained well

4 oz baby arugula 

Handful purslane (optional—a good use for it if you've planted some to have on hand)

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar, simmered until volume is reduced by half

Freshly ground black pepper

10-20 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

 

For cherry tomatoes: Preheat oven to 300°. Toss tomatoes gently in a bowl with a little olive oil and a pinch or two of salt. Pour onto a nonstick baking sheet, spread into a single layer, and turn face up. Roast for 30-35 minutes.

For small globe tomatoes:  Preheat oven to 325°. Turn tomatoes face up on a nonstick baking sheet, and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast for 30 minutes, then sprinkle with salt and turn the oven down to 300°. Cook for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the quinoa with a little less than 1 1/4 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes. If there is a little extra liquid at the bottom at the end, simply uncover the pan, turn the heat up to medium, and simmer for another minute or two until liquid evaporates. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.

Drizzle the greens lightly with olive oil, toss, and sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt. Add the quinoa and toss gently (the heat of the quinoa will wilt the greens very slightly). Serve onto plates. Top with roasted tomatoes (warm or room temperature), drizzle with balsamic reduction, and sprinkle with basil and black pepper.

 

Serves 2-4. Pair with a small plate of crackers and good cheese and a glass of your favorite wine for an absolutely mouthwatering picnic. And note that while the tomatoes take awhile to roast, this is a surprisingly easy meal to assemble.

Mostly Plants in a Hurry: Quinoa Salad

Let's face it. Quinoa, when eaten plain, gets a little too quinoa-y about halfway through the plate. Salad, meanwhile, just goes on and on, leaf after increasingly boring leaf. But when you put the two together...

...there's no other word for it. Magic.

Ingredients
1/2 cup quinoa (white and/or red), rinsed well* (or sub 1 1/2 cups leftover cooked quinoa)
2/3 cups broth
1 or 2 medium or hardboiled eggs, sliced (or sub 6 quail eggs, boiled for just under 3 minutes)
2 handfuls chopped mizuna (or sub spinach or mixed baby greens)
2 handfuls baby arugula (or sub chopped arugula)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tsp whole grain mustard
1 1/2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A little grated carrot or beet (optional)

Drain the quinoa well. Combine with the broth in a pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff and decant into a dish to cool (stick it in the fridge to cool faster, or make it a little bit ahead of time...you just want it to be warm or room temperature rather than hot).

Meanwhile, boil the egg(s), if you're not using leftovers from some earlier egg-cooking extravaganza.

Whisk the olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl, then stir in the mustard, parsley, a couple pinches of salt, and pepper to taste. 

Pour half the dressing over the mixed greens and toss to coat evenly. Add the quinoa, drizzle the rest of the dressing over it, and toss well. (If it seems a little dry, you can add a bit more olive oil.) Arrange on plates, garnish with egg and a little grated carrot and/or beet if desired, and serve.

Serves 2 for a light lunch, or pair with fresh bread and some chickpea spread or cheese for a complete dinner.

*If you have time, soak in cold water for 15 minutes to remove any lingering saponins (they're what make quinoa bitter). Supposedly, nowadays quinoa already has the saponins mostly removed, which makes soaking unnecessary, but I still tend to do it if I have a few extra minutes -- it seems to make the quinoa a little sweeter and more tender. If you do this, you can reduce the liquid slightly to 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp.

Eggplant and Tomato with Fried Basil and Quinoa

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away from our stove, fried basil met a balsamic reduction. It was, of course, love at first sight, but their affair began in difficult times: In the absence of grocery shopping, the protein choices had dwindled to quinoa or lentils. Eggplants and tomatoes from the produce box shifted anxiously on the counter, unsure of how to play together. A lone garlic clove stood watch in the fridge, while two tired and hungry cooks waited impatiently for inspiration, or a lost and unsuspecting pizza delivery guy. Whichever came first.


Then we made this. It had no right to be either delicious or filling, but it was both, and we'd make it again in a heartbeat.

Ingredients
1 cup mixed red and white quinoa (you'll have a bit extra for leftovers)
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 small japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 tbsp veggie broth
Black mustard seeds
20 leaves fresh sweet basil, chiffonade
1 medium heirloom tomato, thickly sliced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the quinoa and then let soak in cold water for 15-20 minutes. Drain well.

Combine the quinoa and broth in a small pot, bring to a boil, and turn down the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small pot over medium heat until it simmers, then turn down the heat and simmer gently until the volume is reduce by half. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add a generous glug of olive oil and the smashed garlic clove, and let it cook for a minute to flavor the oil. Add the eggplant and toss to coat lightly with oil. Sprinkle in a light scattering of mustard seeds and a pinch or two of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant begins to brown.

Add the veggie broth and cover the pan, turning down the heat to medium-low. Let steam for 2-4 minutes. The eggplant should have mostly cooked through. Uncover, let any remaining liquid evaporate, and push the eggplant to one side of the pan. In the other side, heat about a teaspoon of olive oil (turn the heat back up to medium), and then toss in two-thirds of the basil. Fry for about a minute, then stir to combine with the eggplant. Add the tomato slices, gently stir a couple of times, sprinkle with salt, and turn off the heat.

Mix about two-thirds of the quinoa with a little olive oil, a teaspoon of balsamic reduction, a pinch of salt, and some freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. Divide into dishes. Serve the eggplant-tomato mixture on top, and drizzle with balsamic reduction before serving.

Serves 2, and pairs well with (I can't believe I'm saying this) roasted beets.

Roasted Kale and Quinoa

Something about the crispness of roasted kale goes perfectly with light and fluffy quinoa. This has become our go-to pairing with our Co-op's house-made, local lamb sausages for a quick and easy (but absolutely mouthwatering) late-night dinner, but it would also go well with chicken or fish or a simple chickpea recipe.

Ingredients
1/2 cup red quinoa (firmer and nuttier)
1/2 cup white quinoa (lighter and fluffier)
Olive oil
1/2 med to large yellow onion, chopped
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 bunch red kale, cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch pieces, rinsed very well, and dried
Kosher salt

Combine the red and white quinoa in a sieve and rinse, then soak in cold water for 10-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat a glug of olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Meanwhile, rinse and drain the quinoa well, then add it to the onion and sauté for a few moments more. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Drizzle a baking pan with olive oil, add the kale, drizzle with more olive oil, and toss to coat well. When there are about 15 minutes left on the quinoa, slide the kale into the oven and roast for 15-18 minutes until the pieces turn crispy and the stems are soft (you'll want to remove it from the oven once in the middle and turn the pieces over so they crisp evenly. If it's spread out in a single layer, it will cook more quickly than this, and if it's more than three layers deep, you might need a few extra minutes).

Sprinkle the kale with kosher salt, and serve over the quinoa.

Serves 3-4 (but note that once you're properly addicted to roasted kale, 1 bunch serves 2 people at most).

Grilled Veggies and Chicken over Quinoa

Hey guess what? It's summer. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but it's clearly high time we put things on skewers and grilled them.

Also, just in case you've been pining for new ways to express your support for the blog, voila: Visit this website, and click "Like" near the top of the page. And as always, you can Follow the blog by clicking the button to the right, either to actually follow via Google or as just a virtual wave to say hi and that you enjoy it here.

Incidentally, I'm completely delighted by the wave of new readers (hello!) as well as by those of you who have been regulars for awhile now and keep coming back. I kept thinking, when I started this, that either nobody was ever going to read it, or that to get readers, I'd have to do one of those advertising thingies (so that someone somewhere would put up a link to my blog in exchange for me advertising Rice-A-Roni or whatever at the top of the page...which struck me as slightly ridiculous for a blog that's purportedly about whole foods). So, let me just take a moment and thank you all so much for reading and cooking along with me. Without you, I would've gone back to easy microwave dinners sometime last October and thought back nostalgically from time to time to the few months I actually did what I wanted to do with food and cooking.

But that wasn't the point. The point was skewers. This combination is delicious, and I like that the meat ends up being a complement to the meal rather than the main focus.

 
Ingredients
Chicken
2 pastured chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
Zest and juice of 1/2 Eureka lemon
1 tbsp chopped green garlic (or sub 1-2 cloves garlic, pressed)
1-2 sprigs rosemary, chopped
Ñora pepper (if you have it)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced in half again lengthwise and then quartered into wedges (you want squares that are about as big as the chicken pieces)
1 bell pepper, cut into squares (same as above)
Olive oil



Veggies
Olive oil
1 tbsp chopped green garlic (or sub 1-2 cloves garlic, pressed)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
Ñora pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 portobello mushrooms, brushed clean and stems cut off
Summer squash (.25 lbs or a bit less), thickly sliced (about 1/2" thick -- cut pattypans crosswise into circles; zucchinis lengthwise into long strips)



Quinoa
1/2 cup red quinoa
1/2 cup white quinoa
1 cup veggie or chicken broth
A little less than 1/2 cup water
4-6 sorrel leaves, thinly sliced crosswise into ribbons (optional)



Whisk together a glug or two of olive oil with the lemon juice, and then stir in the zest, garlic, rosemary, ñora, salt, and black pepper. Pour over the chicken, toss to coat evenly, and let marinate for an hour or two in the fridge.

About half an hour before you want to take the chicken out, rinse the quinoa and then soak in room temperature water for about ten minutes. Next, whisk together the ingredients for the veggie marinade, and brush over the vegetables (including the onion and pepper). Make sure to let a little marinade soak down into the gills of the portobellos.

Take a couple pieces of the onion and pepper and chop them (I use any pieces that ended up too small or weirdly shaped for the skewers). Rinse and drain the quinoa. Heat a smallish pot over medium heat, and add a glug of olive oil, followed by the onion and pepper. Saute until soft. Stir in the quinoa, saute for another minute, and then add the broth and water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill on high. Push the chicken onto skewers, separating each piece with a pepper on one side and an onion on the other. Grill the skewers, mushrooms, and squash slices, turning to let all sides cook evenly.

Just before serving, stir the sorrel into the quinoa. Use as a bed for the chicken and veggies.

Serves 3.

Quinoa with Fresh Favas and Crispy Kale

We've been getting fresh fava beans in our CSA box. I'm still not sure if they're amazingly delicious, or if you just end up thinking they're amazingly delicious to justify all the effort that goes into preparing them. But either way, I suppose, you end up enjoying your dinner. This recipe only calls for a few, so it doesn't actually take too long, and although I think that perhaps you're supposed to do some complicated blanching thing with favas after getting them out of their outer pods, I am impatient and just used my fingernail to peel off their outer skin and it seemed to work fine. 

Ingredients
1/2 cup white quinoa
1/2 cup red quinoa
1 cup veggie or chicken broth
1-2 shallots, quartered lengthwise and sliced
3 stalks green garlic (bottom half only), sliced crosswise
One or two handfuls of fresh fava beans, shelled
Salt
1/2 bunch dino kale, sliced crosswise into strips


Rinse the quinoa well in a sieve, then set in a bowl of room-temperature water and let soak for 10-20 minutes. Rinse once more, and drain well.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Heat a little olive oil in a pot over medium heat. When hot, add the shallot, green garlic, and a pinch of salt, and saute for a 2-3 minutes until soft.

Add the quinoa and cook for another minute, stirring, then add the broth and just barely under 1/2 cup of water. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to let simmer 10 minutes.


Add the fava beans, stir once, replace the cover, and simmer for another ten minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the kale with a little olive oil, spread on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 6-10 minutes until crispy, stirring once.

Fluff the quinoa, and serve with small crispy pieces of roasted kale over the top.

Serves 2-3 as a side dish.

Quinoa with Carrots and Pepper

This made a nice, simple, protein-laden backdrop to the other things we were cooking tonight (collard greens with applewood smoked bacon, above, and grilled vegetables. You can use the quinoa like a bed of rice and let them mix together a bit). If you wanted to make it more flavorful, you could use broth instead of water, and/or saute the vegetables separately and add them to the cooked quinoa at the end. 

Ingredients
Olive oil
1/4 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
4 scallions, sliced (white and light green parts) or 1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 carrot, diced
2 handfuls Eden Organic canned chickpeas
Pinch or two of salt
1 scant tsp finely chopped oregano
1 cup red quinoa
1 1/4 cups water
2 tbsp toasted sliced almonds (Trader Joe's does this for you, if you like having them on hand...they keep forever in the freezer)
Small tab (about 1/2 tsp) pasture butter

Rinse the quinoa, then soak it in cold water for 30 minutes (or hot water for 10, if you forget to do this ahead of time and are impatient for dinner. Hypothetically speaking). This helps remove the saponin, which coats the quinoa grains and can make them taste bitter, and also makes the quinoa cook more quickly later on.

Heat the olive oil in a smallish pot over medium heat. Add the pepper, garlic, and scallions, and saute for a couple of minutes, then add the carrot, chickpeas, salt, and half the oregano and saute for another minute or two. Add the quinoa, stir a few times, then add the water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low or just above low and simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa is done (if there is extra liquid left at the end, uncover pot and cook for a minute over medium heat to let it evaporate). Add remaining oregano and stir. Add almonds, switch off heat, stir in the butter, and serve.

Serves 3 (or 2 with some leftovers)