Fried Quinoa

I've been craving quinoa this week. After cooking it, I usually add any combination of Himalayan pink sea salt, lemon juice and black or kidney beans. Yesterday I decided to jazz it up a little bit and make fried quinoa, similar to asian fried rice. I made fried brown rice in the past, so I just went off of memory. I don't own a wok, so I took a large skillet with olive oil and turned the heat up high. Once the oil was sizzling I added the cooked quinoa, sesame oil, and gluten-free soy sauce to taste. I cooked it long enough to warm up the quinoa and let the oil and sauce absorb, just a few minutes. I learned from my fried brown rice experience that frying the rice too long makes it hard. At the end I added some fresh baby spinach and leftover cooked chicken andouille sausage. It turned out great. Very flavorful, light yet filling. It was a nice treat since I really like Thai fried rice and this way I get the benefits of quinoa. 

"Healthy" Brownies

I purchased Giada De Laurentiis' cookbook Giada's Feel Good Food. Her brownie recipe which included spinach and blueberries stood out to me. She mentioned her inspiration for this recipe came from a visit to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital which makes total sense as I'm sure the kids would love a batch of brownies plus they have health benefits. My first thought was how great is it to have a chocolaty dessert with nutrition and antioxidants. Although it has more steps than I like, I needed to try these brownies out for myself. 

I found it to be moist and chocolaty. Not overly sweet with a strong dark chocolate flavor.

Recipe

Brownies

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 large eggs

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup light agave nectar (I used raw honey)

½ cup Blueberry and Spinach Puree (recipe below)

¼ cup brown rice flour

2 Tbsp. flax meal (I omitted since I didn't have ingredient)

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup rolled oats, ground in a food processor (I used sorghum flour since I didn't have ingredient)

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) (I omitted)

Blueberry and Spinach Puree

1 ½ cups raw baby spinach

¾ cup fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries

½ tsp. lemon juice

2-3 Tbsp. water

Instructions

Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray only the bottom (not the sides) of a 9-inch square baking pan. Make the Blueberry and Spinach Puree first (recipe below). Set aside. Melt the butter and chocolate chips together in a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, stir together the eggs, vanilla, sugar and Puree. Combine this mixture with the cooled chocolate mixture.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flours, Flax Meal, cocoa powder, oats and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and mix (do not over mix, similar to mixing pancake batter). Mix in the chopped walnuts, if using, then pour the entire mixture in to the baking pan. Bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting the brownies. Brownies will keep up to a week in the refrigerator, covered tightly.

Blueberry and Spinach Puree

Wash and dry the spinach thoroughly (even if it's triple-washed, bagged spinach). Bring the spinach and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer 10 minutes.

Rinse and drain blueberries. Place blueberries, cooked spinach and lemon juice in the work bowl of a food processor or blender. Process on high until smooth, stopping occasionally if necessary to scrape the bowl. Add the more water if necessary, to make a smooth puree.

A New Veggie

During one of my Whole Foods trips, I noticed white asparagus which I've never seen before. This week my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to try it. I googled it and learned it has the same nutritional benefits of green asparagus including vitamins A and C. It is white since it is not exposed to sunlight during growth which makes it more tender. White asparagus is also considered a delicacy in Europe. I roasted it in the oven at 350 degrees with olive oil, Himalayan sea salt and lemon juice for about 20 minutes. I found the flavor to be very similar to green asparagus. The white asparagus had a slightly more mild flavor and slightly sweet. I wish I also had green asparagus as I would have loved to do to a side by side flavor comparison. I would definitely try this again. I'm also excited to discover a new veggie.