http://galitl.tumblr.com/post/8643248937/michal-meier

COOL.

Quinoa experiments, finally

I found a recipe online, modified it, and ate!

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved 1/2 cup quinoa 1/2 cup lentils salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 teaspoons curry powder (i hate curry powder, so I didn't include it) 1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut (sweetened was cheaper) 1/4 cup chopped pecans 1/4 cup finely diced red onion (I used more than 1/4 cup, and it was yellow onion) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Pour the pineapple juice into a measuring pitcher, and add enough water to make 2 cups. Set the pineapple chunks aside. Pour the pineapple juice into a saucepan, and stir in the quinoa and lentils. Season with salt, black pepper, and curry powder. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils and quinoa have absorbed the water, about 30 minutes. Stir in the coconut, and simmer for 5 minutes more.

2.

Stir in the pineapple chunks, pecans, and onion; cook briefly to reheat. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve. The second time I made this, I added a little more pineapple. Still good!

I promise

I promise that I will cook quinoa in my rice cooker before the end of the semester. and i'll report on it!

what goes with quinoa?

Falafel and Indian Food

I really want to make falafel. I tried once before a while back, when I had a surplus of garbanzo beans and no desire to eat them..but it was a failed fry-fest. And a pain in the ass to clean up.
My next falafel quest will hopefully be with a little less oil, a few other people, and a lot more success! Maybe make a nice platter out of it with tahini, tomatoes, cucumber, etc etc. yum.

To avoid grease-land, I've found a few recipes that bake them instead. Seem to have good reviews.
Next cooking-adventure party, perhaps?

1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans (dried beans are better)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Put in a medium sized bowl and smash with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into small balls, about 1 1/2″ in diameter and slightly flatten. Place onto an oiled baking pan.

Bake for 15 minutes on each side, until nicely browned (since it’s baked, only the part actually touching the pan will be browned and crispy).

The other thing I've been wanting to make/eat lately is Indian food. I love Indian food. Probably will involve coconut, spiceyness, and lentils (surprise!) More on that later.

Eggplant sautee w/ Black Beans

I've never really understood why we don't see more eggplant used for vegetarian-sandwich choices, when there's all kinds of mushroom-based options floating around.

Forget about the mushroom. When it comes to "meatiness", it's all about the eggplant.
Why exactly is eggplant so awesome? No idea (for one thing, it's not a fungus).
Maybe it' s just my association with fried goodness in eggplant Parmesian (back when I could/would actually eat it) that really makes it appealing; but really it's just so darn satisfying that I can't pass it up when I'm looking to make something tomato-ey and hearty. So that's basically what I did. Freakin awesome.



I don't really measure when I cook...so here are the estimates. (It makes a lot, about 4-6 servings)

1 large onion (I love onions, okay!)
3 cloves garlic (or lots of garlic powder)
olive oil to cover bottom of pan
1 small eggplant
handful of asparagus, cut into small pieces
small zucchini
handful of spinach

1 tsp paprika
1 Tbs basil, oregano, thyme (season to taste i guess)
pinch of crushed red pepper
salt/pepper to taste
can of diced tomatoes

Get pan hot, cover bottom w/ olive oil. Put in garlic and chopped onions, and let sit until onions get soft. add chopped asparagus and cubed eggplant, let that cook for a while (asparagus takes a little while). Add some salt to help it along.
Add zucchini and seasonings. Don't be shy w/ the garlic people!
Let that simmer on low for a while, then add the canned tomatoes. Once everything looks cooked (around 3-5 minutes), add the spinach and turn it off. Squeeze a little bit of lemon to bring it all together.

I added black beans to this and put it over rice. So good.

Lentil Dish

I was looking for something to do with lentils other than a soup, so I found this recipe online for lentil salad:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/mediterranean-lentil-salad/Detail.aspx

It says that you should cook the lentils with the carrots and onions at the very beginning, but I would recommend cooking the lentils and other stuff separately, and then combining them all together at the end to make the salad. Sadly it just turned out as a soup for me, although the dish was still tasty.

Roc Restaurants

Here's a list of Vegan-friendly restaurants, though not sure how comprehensive it is