Big Quinoa Bowl

After reading Laurie's comment about the "Delicious Big Bowl - Quinoa Recipe" posted at 101cookbooks.com, my mouth watered and I decided to have a go at it for dinner last night. For those not familiar with my favorite whole grain, quinoa is amazing. Great texture, easy-going flavor, as quick cooking as white rice, and the only whole grain that is also a complete protein unto itself. It's pretty darned amazing.

We had no asparagus on hand, so I substituted fresh picked kale from our container garden. Which is a bonus, because our kale is growing particularly abundantly and yummily.

Then, I decided to switch in sweet potatoes for half of the white potatoes, figuring it would add some nice flavor and also good nutritional value for me and the little one. Also threw the kale and potatoes into one pan rather than going for the separated colors aesthetic of the original recipe.

Finally, the recipe mentioned a citrus dressing that the author had used, but I decided to wing it a bit here as well. I mixed my own concoction, using olive oil, apple cider vinegar, a dash of spicy chile oil, a wee bit of honey and lemon juice, and some wheat-free tamari. The result was damned good, if I do say so myself (and Bob agreed).

The final result: a very yummy meal, fast to cook and nutritious. One I will definitely be making again! Happily, Bob and I also seem to have fallen into the habit of cleaning up together right after our meals together. It's so much faster than I think it will be, and every night we go to bed with all the dishes done. Fabulous!

The original recipe:

Delicious Big Bowl - Quinoa Recipe

2 cups white quinoa, rinsed well
4 scant cups water
1 teaspoon salt
a few splashes of extra virgin olive oil
3 - 4 medium/large potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large yellow onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup toasted nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, etc)
1-2 cups lightly cooked asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch segments

another splash or two of good olive oil or citrus dressing

Bring the quinoa, water and salt to a boil in a large thick-bottomed pot. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa opens up revealing a little spiral and is soft and pleasant to chew. If there is any remaining liquid at this point, drain it off and set the quinoa aside.

Warm a splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the potatoes and a couple pinches of salt. Toss to coat the potatoes and cover for a few minutes to allow the insides of the potatoes to sweat and cook. Uncover, toss again, then cook a few minutes longer (uncovered) until the potatoes start to get some color. Continue tossing every few minutes to get more color and crispness. When they are cooked through and pleasantly crunchy, season to taste with salt and scoop out onto a plate. Set aside.

In the same skillet (no need to clean) warm another splash of oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes or until they soften up a bit.

Toss the quinoa with a splash of olive oil (I had leftover citrus parmesan dressing, so I used that). Serve each bowl of quinoa topped with potatoes, onions, nuts and asparagus. Alternately, you can toss everything together in one big bowl and serve it up family-style.

Serves 4 - 6.

Frugal Foody, More Saving

With our little boy scheduled to arrive in January, we are looking for additional ways to save money and continue our financial improvement (it pays to keep track - our net worth grew by more than $6,000 in the last month! I never would have guessed if I didn't know).

Bob and I really, really, really love to eat. Seriously. We love food. And food, well, it loves to eat our money. Some months we may have even been known to spend as much as $3000 on our groceries and restaurants combined. Which is, frankly, absurd.

We have a commitment now about eating out (we mostly don't do it, except for special occasions), and have been attempting to spend less at the grocery store as well. Thought I would share a few Web sites and ideas I have come across in my efforts to find resources and support:

Finding Great Recipes: This seems to be an important element of staying inspired by home cooked meals for me. Recent Web sites I've found to make my mouth water include:

• What I'm Eating
• 101 Cookbooks - specifically this egg salad sandwich!
• One Frugal Foodie
• Happy Foody: Links to a post about frugal organic shopping. Love, love this woman's recipes and approach. She's in the process of roaming around the country with her husband and young daughter in an RV...
• And finally, a mouthwatering picture of strawberries on my friend Laurie's Blog

Big Batches of Food: When we're being smart, we do things like make Bob's rice & beans (recipe forthcoming) in massive quantities, then have them for lunches, avoiding the daily dilemma of either preparing lunch or eating out (I'm often running a little late out the door - preparing daily often fails for me). Several Web sites I've perused of late take this recommendation one step further and recommend a monthly or every other weekly big food prep day that ends with freezing some of the food. We'll have to try that.

Where We Shop: Most of what's out there on the Internets about frugality and food is geared toward coupon clipping and shopping at Costco. We're pretty strongly committed to fresh produce and food that is local and organic when possible. We don't frequent farmer's markets as much as we should, because they are a great way to do this cost-effectively. However, we have found that Wilson Farms in Lexington, MA, offers very inexpensive, high quality produce at a fraction of the price that major grocery stores do (including everything from Shaw's to Whole Checkbook, er, I mean Foods). The trick is not to get sucked into buying their pricier specialty items like amazing cheeses and baked goods and exotic mushrooms. The other main staple of our shopping trips is Trader Joe's. Love that even their frozen meals are actually just real meals, but frozen. High quality, minimal selection (for me a big plus since most grocery stores overwhelm the hell out of me), and very inexpensive.

We've done a few comparison shops from time to time. What we purchase on a weekly basis for between $100 and $200 tends to cost between $200 and $400 when we head to conventional grocery stores (again, mainstream or organic in focus).

I think maybe in the coming weeks and months, I'll blog some recipes we're trying and how we're doing with our commitment to reduce food expenses.