Mushroom Zucchini Quinoa Cakes

And...we're back! Our travels are done (for now at least), Caroline has moved into her new house, which I'm sure she's excited to tell you about, and I've decided that it's time to start cooking. I always go through a summer stretch of no cooking (pasta again! tomato salad again! stir fry again!), but I'm ready for some real meals. I've been working on some interesting new recipes that I'm hoping you'll enjoy. The first teaser: peanut butter and jelly will never be the same. The next: cinnamon swirl what?!

My husband can't imagine eating quinoa before these cakes entered our lives. I think I've mentioned this before, but he's not really a fan of the "new" super grain; I have to sneak it in when he's not paying attention. But hands down, this dish one of his our favorite ways to incorporate quinoa into a meal--he'll even eat them cold. I usually eat 2-3 cakes (ok, sometimes 4 if I'm really hungry) along with a green salad. If there's company coming, I add another side like Turkish Carrot Salad or fresh fruit.

Qunioa and Spring Vegetables

I had the day off yesterday. Completely off. It wasn't Saturday, so I didn't have to clean. It wasn't Sunday, so I didn't have to go to church. Yesterday was my day. And take a look at all the things I accomplished: got up (major accomplishment for a day off) made steel cut oats for breakfast, prepped the flower beds for more planting and moved some dirt to our future vegetable plot, made this quinoa dish for lunch, exercised, read outside in the sun, showered (yes, that's also an accomplishment), purged my email inbox, made dinner, went for a bike ride, finished doing laundry, watched the documentary Ingredients (which I highly recommend), and chatted with the husband.  The only thing I didn't do was make rhubarb crumb bars (coming soon, I hope) because rhubarb was nowhere to be found today.  All in all, I think I'd like to order 3 or 4 more such days, please.

Butternut and Quinoa Stew

Two points to the first person who can identify what's in the picture below (hint: reread the title of this post)...

And...you got it! Quinoa it is. Actually, it's the same quinoa that I bought when I made this recipe a shockingly long time ago. Like over a year ago. The thing is, the husband doesn't really love quinoa like he should, so I have to either bully him into eating it or disguise it. And this stew or soup or whatever you want to call it (by day two I renamed it "goulash"), happens to be very good at hiding quinoa.

Quinoa with Moroccan Squash and Carrot Stew

Remember how I accidentally bought about 5 pounds of quinoa a few weeks ago? Remember how it's been sitting around just waiting for something good to come along? To my dismay, I've recently discovered that finding decent quinoa recipes is not nearly as easy as it is with, say, pasta. For some reason the word "quinoa" in a recipe seems to bring out the strangest sides of people and their taste buds. I've tried a few truly unappetizing dishes that didn't make it to our blog by virtue of being too close to nastiness. But I've finally found something worth sharing. 

This dish is Moroccan. It is delicious. It is orange. I should have made it for Halloween. Translated from non-ESL student lingo (I'm currently experiencing end-of-semester-overload): This delicious dish, which I really should have made for Halloween due to its astonishingly orange color, hails from Morocco. Or at least the recipe claims it's Moroccan. Having only been to Morocco for a grand total of 10 hours, I'm really no expert on their cuisine, but it smelled very Middle Eastern, being full of Middle Eastern style spices. It goes quite well with the quinoa, but if you don't happen to have an oversized bag full of the magic grain in your cupboard, rice would probably do just fine as well. 

Check back on Monday for some last minute Thanksgiving recipes!


Quinoa with Moroccan Squash and Carrot Stew
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit January 2006
Pictures by Caroline

Serves 4-6

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups 1-inch cubes peeled butternut squash (from 1 1/2-pound squash)
• 2 cups 3/4-inch cubes peeled carrots
• 1 15 oz can chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
• 2 cups quinoa, well rinsed
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until soft, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Mix in paprika and next 8 ingredients (spices). 
2. Add 1 cup broth, tomatoes, and lemon juice. Bring to boil. Add squash and carrots. 
3. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20-25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of broth to a boil. Add quinoa and bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to medium low and simmer until liquid is absorbed, 15-20 minutes. Serve with stew on top. 

Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant-Tomato Ragu

Quinoa is commonly known as The Super Grain (even though it's actually more closely related to leafy greens than any grains). It has loads of protein, amino acids, magnesium, iron, etc. Yes, it's good for you. And I think it also happens to taste good, which is lucky for me since I accidentally bought $14 worth of on-sale quinoa from the bulk section of Sunflower Market. It just kept gushing out of the bin and into my bag...so brace yourself for more quinoa recipes in the next few weeks.

Today our quinoa is served in "cake" form with an eggplant-based sauce over the top. I loved them. My husband, who is not so keen on eggplant, also really liked them, but may have preferred zucchini as the main ingredient. Either way, they look lovely.