Mexican Quinoa Salad

Mexican Quinoa Salad

I love food with lots of colors and lots of flavor. I have been trying to make some meals ahead for the week so that I have easy, healthy options to take for lunch at work, and this is my favorite so far!!! 

Ingredients: 

1 cup dry quinoa

1 cup frozen corn 

1 bunch fresh cilantro, torn 

1 bunch green onions 

1/2 medium red onion

1 tomato

1 bell pepper 

1 jalapeno pepper, if desired 

1 lime

1-2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed) 

Seasonings al gusto: salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic

First cook the quinoa according to the directions (I did 1 cup dry quinoa with 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth, cooked on the stove-top until all the liquid has been absorbed.) 

While the quinoa is cooking you can chop up all those other colorful ingredients into small pieces.

The in a large bowl mix the quinoa, beans, and everything else! Squeeze the juice of 1 lime and add seasonings as well. I just put it in the fridge overnight to let the corn defrost and it was ready to go! 

This tasted so fresh and summery wrapped in a tortilla with a little bit of cheese. It's a super easy salad that would also work great for a summer potluck. 

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

There's nothing particularly patriotic about these... 

Except that they are a deliciously chocolaty cookie that you can have ready in under 15. 

I picked up a few jars of the Chocolate Peanut Butter spread from Grocery Outlet. And I thought hmmm.... if you use peanut butter for peanut butter cookies, why not try this for chocolate peanut butter cookies?!?!?! 

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies 

1 Cup chocolate peanut butter (or sub regular peanut butter) 

1/2 unrefined sugar 

1 egg 

Either extra sugar or chia seeds to coat 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Mix the first 3 ingredients in a bowl and then attempt to shape into balls (it's tough) and roll in sugar or chia seeds. 

You can't lick the bowl because there is a raw egg, but you can lick the measuring cup!!! 

Place them on a greased cookie sheet, press down a criss-cross with a fork and then bake for 10-12 minutes. 

They will harden as they cool - trust me. Or you can do like I do and try to eat one too quickly: it will crumble, but then it's OK to eat because it was a dud anyway. There are still 11 more cookies. And it's gluten free! 

We have a feast in the making for this afternoon - BBQing with some hot buns, fresh salad from our CSA, chips with homemade mango salsa and guac, corn-on-the-cob (or "corn" as Ross insists; that's how corn comes), and watermelon, possibly blended with rum. And vodka. It's actually very likely. And these cookies! 

Happy 4th of July!!!

Dessert for Breakfast

Chocolate Banana Buckwheat Bake 

This was inspired by Edible Perspective, but I didn't have all the same ingredients, so I made it up. I would highly recommend visiting Ashley's blog, however, she has so many variations on this baby! 

As we were grocery shopping this week I found buckwheat flour for only $3.29 - which surprised me as some flours from Bob's Red Mill run nearly $7-$10 for the same amount. Buckwheat flour is gluten-free despite "wheat" in the name, so this recipe is perfect for my gf friends! 

source

I also picked up flaxseed meal. I've heard that many people add some to their morning cereal or yogurt, or into breads for added nutrition. The side of the bag of flour says FLAX stands for:

 Fiber: lowers harmful LDL, raises good HDL, and keeps you regular: so don't use too much! 

Lignans: natural antioxidants found in flaxseeds to fight cancer.

Alpha-linolenic Acid: aka omega-3s.  

eXcellent choice for your health! 

And Ross thought he was just getting dessert for breakfast?!?! Mwuahahaha!

For 2 Chocolate Banana Buckwheat Bakes you need: 

1/2 cup Buckwheat flour 

3 Tbsp cooked wheatberries (leave them out to stay gluten free) 

2 Tbsp flax seeds 

2 Tbsp flaxseed meal 

2 Tbsp rice milk (or any type of milk) 

1 egg

1 mashed banana 

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup 

2 Tbsp cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp chopped nuts (optional) 

Mix all the dry, then add all the wet. I used 2 small lightly greased Pyrex bowls to cook these in the microwave for 1:40 - and you're done!

Before and After shots - I couldn't believe this steaming hot beauty came right out of the microwave! 

The bakes slide right out of the bowls. I flipped them over onto a plate, but you can eat them right out of the bowl = fewer dishes. I would have done that but for pictures.

They were wonderfully fluffy, and a beautiful combination of chocolate and bananas. They go great with milk. 

Topped with almond butter and walnuts, since I decided I didn't feel like chopping walnuts to mix in. I would have served them with banana slices as well, but Ross already had a banana in the morning so I skipped it. 

This is the almond butter that I used - MaraNatha Almond Butter. I saw this at our Food Coop and couldn't believe almond butter was going for $18!!!!!! Insane - right? Well, don't fret, because I didn't buy it there. I saw it ON SALE at Fred Meyer a couple days later for under $5. Whew - and it is SO good. 

I mixed it in with my homemade yogurt + granola + wheatberry + frozen blueberry breakfast bowl yesterday morning - it was amazing! And I stay very satisfied until lunch. 

I bought some almond butter from Trader Joe's before, but all the oil was on top and it was impossible to stir. So tough in fact that I knocked it over and spilled all the oil everywhere, and had even drier almond butter to deal with! This is much better. 

Do you ever play around with recipes, or do you follow them to a "T"?