Winter Quinoa Salad

A few months ago, I thought my life was falling apart. It started when the school district I work for decided not to extend their sponsorship for me. They retracted that decision a few weeks later and told me they would be happy to sponsor me again for the next three years.  

During the time when I was scrambling to find another teaching position at any school district that might be willing to sponsor me, DFJ and I started having conversations about getting married. Those heart-to-heart talks were full of love, honesty, awkwardness, and some scary truths. The truth is, we are not sure if we are fully ready for this. The love and commitment is there but not everything else that comes along with it. We are going to have to plan a wedding, get me a Greencard, move somewhere else when we get good job offers, buy a house someday and settle in a place we are going to live in forever, raise kids, AND we are seriously going to be together for the next 50 years… WHAT?!?!

We were perfectly happy the way things were, why do we need to shake it up by deciding to take the next step? The answer is simple, we can’t keep floating within arm’s reach of each other forever. At some point, we have to anchor down and if not now, then when? If we don’t choose each other, then who? The only truth that we know is that we don’t want to lose each other. So from there, we moved forward. Now, we are engaged… and every time I look at the ring on my finger, my heart feels full. I am not alone in this… at the end of the day, no matter what happens, we have each other and that is all that matters.

Today I am sharing a simple, all-in-one meal that says “I love you” one spoonful after another. Quinoa, roasted winter vegetables, and sautéed vegetables all mixed together in a big bowl. It is deliciously heart-warming and will keep you coming back for more.

I love the myriad of textures in this dish… there are fun quinoa pops, juicy mushrooms, crunchy bell peppers, soft cauliflower, and the mashed squash that brings everything together. Each ingredient plays its own role and you get the pure flavor of each ingredient in every bite.   

The preparation and cooking time is quite lengthy, but I will walk you through it so there’s not so much lag time while the squash and cauliflower are roasting and while the quinoa is cooking. There is a four-step process to making this dish: roasting the squash and cauliflower, cooking the quinoa, sautéing the other vegetables, and mixing everything together.  

Winter Quinoa Salad (Makes 6-8 servings)  

Roasted Squash and Cauliflower

 

 

1 small winter squash (I used a sugar pie pumpkin)
olive oil
salt
rosemary leaves

1 head cauliflower

olive oil
salt
½ teaspoon garam masala

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. You will need two roasting pans to roast the squash and cauliflower separately. Make sure the roasting pans that you use will fit in the oven side by side.

Carefully cut the squash in half. Remove the seeds and as much of the fibrous threads as you can. Pour a generous amount of olive oil into the squash halves and use your fingers to spread the oil all over. Sprinkle liberally with salt and scatter some rosemary leaves. Place the squash halves in a roasting pan. Set aside.

Using a knife, carefully remove the stalks that surround the cauliflower florets. Cut the cauliflower in half from head to stem. Lay each half flat side down on a cutting board and proceed to make half inch slices as if you're slicing bread. Move the sliced cauliflower to a separate roasting pan. Pour a long drizzle of olive oil, toss in 2 generous pinches of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon garam masala. Use your hands to toss everything together.

 Place the squash and cauliflower in the oven. Set your kitchen timer to 20 minutes and let the vegetables roast. Remove the cauliflower from the oven to stir for even cooking then place it back in the oven. Rotate the squash pan and close the oven door. Set your timer again for another 20 minutes. About 5 minutes before the timer goes off, check your cauliflower. They should start having brown blisters on top. You may remove them from the oven or give them a bit more time until the timer goes off. Take cauliflower out of the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Move the squash pan to the center of the oven and continue roasting for 15-20 more minutes. Turn off the oven and place the squash pan on a cooling rack.     

While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the quinoa. I found a really helpful tip from bon appétit on how to treat quinoa right. Here we go:

Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
generous pinch of salt

Rinse the quinoa using a fine mesh strainer. Just for extra safety, place a bowl right under the strainer to catch the grains that might escape through the mesh. Move the rinsed quinoa into a medium size pot, add 2 cups of water, and toss in a generous pinch of salt. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. When the water is boiling, partially cover the pot and lower the heat to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste your quinoa to check for doneness. It should be chewy but still have that nice pop. Drain the water when it is done cooking. Again make sure to use a fine mesh strainer to prevent spillage. Move the pot away from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork and put the cover back on until you are ready for the next step. 

While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetable sauté. The cooking time for each ingredient is very short, so make sure everything is chopped and ready to go before you begin. 

 

Vegetable Sauté

 

3 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
2.5 oz shiitake mushrooms, chopped finely
4 oz bell pepper (I used mini bells)
1/4 teaspoon sumac (if you don’t have sumac or harissa on hand, use cayenne and/or paprika)
1/4 teaspoon harissa
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, sauté the garlic until it turns golden, about a minute. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Toss in the bell peppers and cook for about 2 minutes. Season with sumac, harissa, and salt. Stir everything well together. Turn off the stove and move the pan away from heat.

Making the Salad

 

 

roasted squash

cooked quinoa
roasted cauliflower
sautéed vegatables
juice of half a large lemon
parsley leaves, to garnish
salt (to taste)  

Use an oven mitt and be careful not to burn yourself as you scoop out the squash flesh. Remove the fibrous threads that you were not able to get rid of before roasting the squash, they tend to give a bitter taste. Plop the mushy squash flesh into a big bowl and mash with a fork. Add all of the quinoa and mix it with the squash. Mix in the roasted cauliflower and sautéed vegetables. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon all over the salad and mix everything well together. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference… maybe add more lemon juice or salt. I found the flavors to be sufficient, but I encourage you to follow your own taste buds.

Allow the flavors to settle for at least an hour if you can help it. We ate this right away but later discovered that the leftovers had so much more flavor! This can be served at room temperature or warmed up in a skillet.

 This dish is definitely a good-mood food! Make it, I promise you will love it!

Orange-Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

Last Thursday, I opened an old February issue of bon appétit with a picture of the Best-Ever Brownies on the cover. It was calling my name, begging me to make it, and I was completely powerless.

 

I had a few hours to spare before going to a happy hour yoga class and it was time well-spent. What can be better than licking brownie batter off a whisk? The batter was so good… it was just like dark chocolate fondue.

Since I had a bag of Mandarin oranges lying on the counter, I took one orange and used the zest in the batter. My first idea was to add some fresh orange juice in the batter too, but since I had already planned on tweaking other parts of the recipe, I decided not to mess around too much. Instead, I opted to arrange orange slices on top of the batter for aesthetic purposes.  

Penances had to be paid before gorging on these brownies. I got to the happy hour yoga class with only a few minutes to spare and ended up in the teacher’s spot right in front of everyone because the class was so full. Good thing I remembered to wash the chocolate goo off my face from my whisk-licking adventure earlier. After yoga, I made myself a super healthy dinner: a stir fry of bell pepper, spinach, Swiss chard leaves, mushrooms, and a bit of leftover rice. DFJ was out for pizza and beer with his friend Ken. So I had to patiently wait for them to get home for a game of Settlers of Catan and brownie time.

A butt-kicking yoga class and a healthy dinner later, I finally got to taste the brownies. Oh my heavens they are good! Intense dark chocolate taste with hints of citrus and a touch of sweetness. This is the brownie for dark chocolate lovers! The orange slices and walnuts are just lovely. They add a nice flavor and texture… Think juicy orange bites and the soft walnut crunches embedded in soft and fudgy brownie slices. Decadence at its finest!

Orange-Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

Adapted from bon appétit, February 2011

10 tablespoons (1 and ¼ sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 orange
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
scant ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
orange slices from 1 Mandarin orange
 
Place an oven rack in the middle slot of the oven and then preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously coat a square baking pan with butter, on the bottom and along the sides.

Place sugar in a small mixing bowl. Zest the entire orange right over the sugar. Use your fingertips to thoroughly massage the zest into the sugar to allow better infusion. Set aside.

Have the rest of the ingredients ready to go before browning the butter. Once the butter is browned, the whole mixing process goes pretty fast.

Melt the butter in a medium size pot over medium heat. The butter will very soon start bubbling and foaming. Continue to cook until the bubbling and foaming dies down and the bottom of the pot is covered with browned bits of butter. This process takes 5 minutes, give or take. Stir well, turn off the heat, and move the pot away from the heat. Right away, add the zested sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons of water, vanilla, and a heaping ¼ teaspoon of salt. Whisk everything together until blended. The mixture will look grainy. Allow the mixture to cool slightly for about 5 minutes then add the eggs into the still hot mixture one at a time. Whisk well after each addition until the mixture thickens and looks smooth.

If your pot is large enough to hold the flour after it is added in, you can continue mixing the batter in it. If not, move the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in the flour until just blended, then whisk everything well for 60 strokes. The batter will get thicker and thicker, you may want to switch from a whisk to a flexible spatula. Stir in the walnuts.  

Slowly move the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the orange slices on top. Bake the brownies for 25-28 minutes. The brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. After baking, cool the pan on a rack. Allow the brownies to cool completely before serving.

 

In my opinion, these brownies are actually even better the next day… somehow, letting them sit overnight allows the flavors to seep in and soften them some more. Mmmm!        

Rolled Cabbage

After being sick for a couple of days, DFJ and I were finally able to go to the gym and work out yesterday. We lasted a little over half an hour doing the bare minimum and were spent. I was seriously contemplating skipping this week’s Food Matter’s Project, Rolled Cabbage, chosen by Keely Marie. However, after seeing all the delicious creations that other FMP members cooked up, I was determined to give it a go. So, I spent a good hour in the kitchen making my own version of the cabbage rolls. DFJ cooked something alongside me and we snacked on what he made while I was working away on the rolls. You guys, this is a great recipe! Perhaps a bit time-consuming, but totally worth it.  

I have only had stuffed cabbage twice in my life. The first time was at Sally’s and I remember going crazy about it with all the meat and rice goodness in the cabbage rolls. The second time was at my friend, Lori’s, when she invited me over for dinner at her house on my birthday. That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I was new in town then and had just moved here for my job, friendless and awkward. It would have been a very lonely birthday for me if not for that dinner invitation. She served delicious cabbage rolls for dinner and they were amazing! Her version also had meat and rice in it. After those two good experiences with cabbage rolls, why have I not thought of making them at home? Maybe I was afraid that it would be too much work or maybe I just haven’t come across a recipe for one… That’s all in the past now, thanks to Keely for introducing me to this Mark Bittman recipe that I never even noticed as I was leafing through my book!

 

My bok choy rolls are filled with mashed sweet potatoes with an onion-mushroom-garlic sauté mixed in. They were delicious over a bed of spiced tomatoes! I will have to revisit my adapted version of this recipe again in the near future and tweak it some more. Although they were good, without any meat, grains, beans, or legumes, they just did not seem very satisfying. That’s definitely something I will keep in mind for later.

 

Please head over to Keely Marie’s website for the original Mark Bittman recipe and check out the Rolled Cabbage page on the FMP website to see what the other members came up with!

An Engagement Celebration

Valentine’s Day was close to perfect, save for a minor hiccup that happened sometime between the end of a good work day and DFJ asking me to marry him. Yes, you read that right… we are engaged!

The proposal did not go quite the way he planned it to…

Nervous/Scared DFJ + Impatient Me = Heartbreaking Argument

So, we went on a walk to get some air and I ranted about the possibility of a breakup and gave DFJ a lecture on how no one is ever ready for anything and how jumping into the unknown is just a part of life… all the while crying and looking like a mess. We somehow ended up at our special bridge, which is the bridge that we ran to the first day we met at running club and the same bridge that we have trotted on so many times after that. When we got to the bridge, he stopped me from walking and made me look at the new moon. He asked me to smile the way the moon was smiling and I remember looking up at it but unable to smile because my heart was breaking.

Everything that happened after that was a blur… I was a jumble of emotions and shivering cold. DFJ asked me to marry him and my initial response was, “Are you joking?”… I really thought he was but then he fumbled through his shoe pocket, pulled out a Hope Trollbead (which kind of looks like a ring) for my charm bracelet, knelt down and said some very nice things about exploring the world together (and if you’ve been reading this blog you know we have hiked, camped, rafted, kayaked, and cross-country skied all over the Northwest). I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing but I said yes! Of course, yes! And heck, yes! He then told me that we would pick out the engagement ring the next day. At that point, what just happened did not sink in right away… my brain was numb with cold and I was upset-confused-happy at the same time.

We ran home to fight off the cold while I clutched on the Hope bead for dear life. The whole time we were laughing and talking about what just happened, like little kids who just got away from doing something naughty.

As soon as we got back into our warm haven, champagne was popped open and some beers were consumed while we made a fancy dinner to celebrate the next chapter in our relationship.

We looked at rings the next day at a local jeweler and found a style that I liked. But we waited to see what Portland had in store since we were going there for the weekend. I am glad that we waited because we found the perfect ring at a charming jewelry shop downtown. The husband-wife owners, David and Ronnie, of Malka Diamonds and Jewelry were very nice and helpful. We had the best time learning about diamonds and shopping for something that holds so much significance. I love my ring and can’t stop staring at it and imagining the good things that are yet to come!

 

The whole weekend was a sweet celebration of everything that just happened. During this time, the fact that we are now engaged slowly sunk in. I feel like I am in love with my DFJ all over again!   

We stayed at an Airbnb close to the Alberta neighborhood and got a nice feel of what it’s like to actually live in Portland. Our lovely hostess, Michelle, owns The Peoples Yoga and I got the chance to go to a great class at the Killingsworth studio (one of the perks for staying at her house).    

Here’s a rundown of the restaurants we went to:

Yakuza (NE 30^th Ave and Killingsworth) – Amazing Kobe burgers and very good sushi! I love the dim, sexy, cozy interior, and the picnic bench style tables.  

Aviary (Alberta) – Fancy-schmancy… we only ordered one dish, a drink, and a dessert because everything is muy expensive… but everything we had was pretty darn good!  

Extracto Coffee Roasters (Killingsworth) – Great neighborhood coffee shop with delicious coffee and yummy treats from local bakeries around Portland.

Cha’ba Thai (Alberta) – I had one of the best curries in this restaurant. We ordered a beef and squash curry… the beef was perfectly tender and the curry was so well-flavored! I also loved the colorful plates!   

Sizzle Pie (Industrial District) – Great pizza by the slice in downtown Portland. It was the perfect spot to grab a bite right before we went to DFJ’s rock concert (Coheed and Cambria and Between the Buried and Me).

McMenamin’s Kennedy School (NE 33^rd Ave) – Think: Old elementary school converted into a community center/hotel with a theater, a brewery, bars, a restaurant, a gym, a soaking pool, and function rooms. Pretty awesome!!! We had some good beers and a grilled cheese sandwich after the concert at The Boiler Room Bar.

TheWaffle Window (Alberta) – Super cute waffle shop on Alberta with delicious waffles!

 

 

Wolf and Bear’s (Mississippi Ave) – A food truck tucked in an alley somewhere on historic Mississippi Avenue. They make really delicious falafels with local and organic ingredients!

 

 

El Inka (48 NE Division, Gresham) – An unpretentious Peruvian restaurant in a small strip mall with great food. Everything we ate reminded me of the food that my mom cooked when I was growing up. Simple, homey, and delicious!

 

We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to so many more to come!

Cheers to us!