Grilled Mushroom and Quinoa Salad with Cucumber-Onion

For years I have resisted Quinoa.  And for what reason I do not know. The internet had been alive with it but I refused to budge.

"Quinoa ( /ˈkiːnwɑː/ or /kɨˈnoʊ.ə/, Spanish: quinua, from Quechua: kinwa), a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds.It has a high protein content and it is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is also a source of calcium, and thus is useful for vegans and those who are lactose intolrant."

Brown Rice -- Check.
Daliya -- Check.
Flax Seed -- check.
Quinoa -- Ummm...

And then one day I got a frozen box of cooked quinoa from Trader Joe's, the kind which says defrost and cook in microwave for 12.5 minutes. It was a disaster. Really. I don't know how I could have gone wrong with those instructions, there were barely any. But it was so bad that D refused to eat any of it.So there went my Quinoa dream.

Then again one fine day while on vacation in Cape Cod, I spotted a Trader Joe's. Of course I had to go in. More important than disturbing the colony of whales and ogling at them I tell you.Since I couldn't buy anything frozen, I bought a whole packet of uncooked quinoa and carried it all the way back home where it sat in the pantry for almost two months. Until today that is.

Watching the opening ceremony of the London Olympics seemed a befitting time to try a new grain. The opulence of one could mask the other's failure, I assumed.

The idea of a quinoa salad with cucumber came from here also the instruction to cook it right. I also decided to pair the quinoa salad with a grilled mushroom and sweet pepper on the side. The idea of the marinade for the vegetables came from Progna's blog.

This is what went in the marinade:

1/4cup Olive Oil
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp whole black pepper coarsely crushed
3 clove of garlic coarsely pounded
1 tsp Red Chili flakes
2 tsp Brown Sugar
Salt
1/4 tsp or more Lime zest

The baby portabella were rinsed, dried and tossed in the marinade along with some sweet peppers. After an hour soaking up the marinade the vegetables were set on the outside grill to char and cook. Alternately you can also roast them in the oven.

Now comes making the Quinoa Salad:

Meanwhile 1 cup of Quinoa was soaked in water for 5 minutes.

On the stove was set to boil a pan with 3 cups of salted water. When the water comes to a boil, drain the quinoa on a strainer and add to the pan. Lower heat to medium and cook for 12-15 minutes. Little thread like thingy will come out from the seeds when they are cooked and the tiny seeds will turn translucent. Once done, drain the Quinoa, put it back in the pan and let it sit for 5 minutes. I also rinsed it in cold water while draining and then fluffed it with a fork.

Chop cucumber, red onion and green chili and in a bowl toss them with olive oil, salt and lime juice.Add some finely chopped coriander leaves. Gradually add the cooked quinoa to this bowl and toss. Taste and adjust for seasoning as you go.

The Quinoa Salad was darn good by itself  and we had it with the grilled mushroom and sweet pepper.

Faster, Higher, Stronger....the amazing power of the Human Bean. Go Olympics.

Now when I had started this post I thought I would send it to Jaya's "Healthy Food--Whole Grain" event. But Quinoa is technically a seed and not a grain so I am not sure if it deserves an entry.

Burrito Bowl -- speaks of Summer

I don't know if a Burrito Bowl has anything to do with summer at all. I just wrote that.

I wrote that because I love the seasons in the East Coast and I have come to deeply appreciate the earth's tilt at a current angle of 23.44 degrees.

I love seasons as much as I do the park system here.

And I am not even going into the National Park Service. Not even the Sate Parks. The mere county parks scattered all around with their abundant greenery, springing with life as soon as winter folds away its last London Fog jacket astounds me.

I almost go berserk and on weekends we walk along simple trails amidst trees which hover above us with familiar green canopies and unknown scents.

The littlest one plonks down besides the lake dipping twigs and pebbles in the clear, sparkling water. "Is there someone down below shining a flashlight?", she asks, surprised by the tiny waves glittering in the sunlight.

Then they grumble and are tired and want a park with slide and swings. And right in the trees is a clearing with tire swings and an ancient slide.

We don't always plan a picnic and carry a small snack.This time it was only butter-jelly sandwiches, croissant from Dunkin', oranges and juice which though sparse and minimal seems to be just right for the setting.

Later in the evening I make a Fish Burrito Bowl at home. A friend had recently introduced me to the Burrito Bowl at Chipotle and I am now a fan.Sadly the family is not big on Mexican food and my Chipotle Burrito Bowl craving is not shared by anyone else.

So I decide to make one with more Indian touches than Mexican spices and am inspired by Indosungod's Fish Burrito Bowl. I loosely follow this Copy Cat recipe but mostly do my own thing First is the Cilantro-Lime Rice. I cook Brown Rice with lots of Lime juice, Cilantro and salt. 

Second is the Black Beans. instead of Black beans, I use Black Eyed peas which had been cooked and frozen the week before. I saute the cooked beans in Olive Oil with minced garlic, chopped rounds of green chili, cumin powder and ancho chili pepper powder. 

Now instead of adobo chicken I add fish. Salmon. That has been rubbed with ginger-garlic paste, fish masala, salt, olive oil and baked at 400F. 

I skip the corn salsa and stick with the pico de gallo, fresh with cherry tomatoes, red onion, crushed garlic and lime juice. I add a touch of rock salt and squeeze a bit of lime juice.

Instead of the sour cream I strain greek yogurt and add a dollop.It is an easy meal to assemble and I am happy with the minimal work.

Tomorrow there will be more parks.

 I am taking a short break for the long weekend and will see you next week

Spring Mix-Roasted Sweet Pepper-Mango Salad

I think I should come out clean and let you know that most days I do not cook elaborate meals. I have neither the time nor the energy for it. It also helps that I am kind of lazy.

But then again I am a believer in home cooked food with a certain aura of health around it. Ask my friends, at times my healthy cooking spree drives them 56 miles away from my home. But I stick to it with the same earnestness that SRK has for his six-packs or Salman for his shirts. This, my earnestness, means I need to do some preps like cooking ahead or making masala pastes, baking fish instead of maacher jhol or serving a salad that gets done in the oven 90% of the time.

Fridays becomes a tad challenging to eat an interesting dinner within my vegetarian boundaries. More so if I decide to not eat alu-posto, musurir dal and bhaat.

Recently the bag of mini sweet peppers that I have been picking up from Costco or Wegmans have helped somewhat in that direction. Roasted with a splash of olive oil and sprinkle of black pepper they taste divine. Some Feta drives it up a whole notch.

Today I made a salad with a boring box of spring mix, the roasted sweet pepper and some mangoes. It really, really was divine and I don't say such stuff often. The husband who on spotting a salad always asks "Ar ki ache?" (What else is there?) was almost happy to have just the salad and nothing else. Given that the sweet peppers roast themselves in the oven and the organic greens come right out of a box this is the kind of meals I love to cook. That way I get far more time to take pictures than actually cooking it.

I got a batch of six mangoes yesterday but they were not really sweet. A sprinkle of brown sugar and some paprika made them eminently edible though.

The peppers roasted in my toaster oven at 350F for 20-25 mins are delicious by themselves. Some feta and lime juice can only make it better.

The final salad was as good as it was pretty.Try it out and am sure you will like it.Happy Friday Everyone.