Tasty Tuesday – Quinoa Tabbouleh

Hello, hello!

Happy Tuesday!

Have you recovered from the long weekend?

Oh my, I could use another day off just to recupe!

Three day weekends AND birthdays have the tendency to be a bit much, as far as my tummy is concerned. But, you only turn 21 my age once so…..sometimes, you’ve just got to overindulge.

source

As much fun as I had, I’m really glad to get back to my regular eating habits. 🙂

I’m so stoked about this salad I made during my Sunday food prep!

And, I’m stoked that’s it’s Tasty Tuesday and I get to share it with you!

(Make sure you head over to visit Lena – she’s got an amazing sweet potato-squash soup recipe today! Can you believe Fall is just around the corner?!)

Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern dish usually made with tomatoes, parsley or mint, onion, and seasoned with olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

I’ve made couscous tabbouleh before and have had tabbouleh made with bulgur. This time, I found a recipe that uses quinoa!

For those not in the know, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is basically a superfood that’s jam-packed with protein.

It is also gluten-free and high in calcium and fiber, which makes it perfect for vegetarians and vegans, those who are lactose intolerant, and those who have a gluten sensitivity.

Plus, it’s delicious and works well with so many different flavors! #winning

I found the recipe in an old Cooking Light magazine (October 1999, to be precise) and knew I had to have it.

Garden fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet raisins, fresh lemon juice……can’t you hear it calling your name?

Quinoa Tabbouleh
serves 5 (1 cup servings)
adapted from Cooking Light magazine

1 3/4 cups water (or as dictated by package directions)
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 cup coarsely chopped seeded tomato
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or mint or a combination, if you prefer
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped seedless cucumber (you can use seeded, I prefer the seedless)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1 decent sized lemon)
2 tablespoons(ish) chopped red onion
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Let cool slightly.

2. Stir in tomato and remaining ingredients. Cover, let stand 1 hour (this allows the flavors to really come together). Serve chilled or at room temperature.

3. Fork, nom, dance!

Talk to me: Do you love Middle Eastern food? What’s your favorite quinoa recipe?

– jennifer

Weekend happenings. Crockpot Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

Hello!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a mighty fine weekend!

I headed into the weekend with this beautiful sunset.

I mean, really, how can this NOT make you just happy to be alive? So beautiful.

Then, Saturday morning, I felt like I was being stalked while I was eating my cereal.

Um, rude much?

Oh, and I made cookies! Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal cookies!

Click the photo to get the recipe on my Facebook page!

So. Freakin. Good.

Yes, they’re all gone. I couldn’t help myself. I had to make sure the recipe was worth sharing. I did it for you.

Sunday was all kinds of lazy.

Yes, I have more animals but Ginny seemed to be the only one who wanted to be photographed.

She’s a camera hog.

Sunday was SO lazy, I didn’t feel like cooking.

So, I made the crockpot do the work for me.

Om nom nom.

Crockpot Vegetable and Chickpea Curry
makes 6 servings
unless you’re in my house and then you can probably get 8 or 9 servings out of it

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup (1/4-inch thick) slices carrot
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 serrano chili, seeded and minced
3 cups cooked chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), or 2 (15-ounce) cans drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled baking potato (about 1 large)
1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper
1 cup (1-inch green beans)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14 ounces) vegetable broth
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup light coconut milk
6 lemon wedges

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add curry powder and next 4 ingredients; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

2. Place onion mixture in a 5-quart crockpot. Stir in chickpeas and next 8 ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours or until vegetables are tender. (You could definitely cook this on LOW for 8-10 hours.) Add spinach and coconut milk; stir until spinach wilts. *I recommend adding the coconut milk and THEN the spinach. Yes, it will look like you’ve lost your mind and it will never, ever, ever all fit in there but, trust me, it will. Serve with lemon wedges.

Calories 276; Fat 7.2g (sat 1.9g, mono 2.3g, poly 1.3g); Protein 10g; Carbs 44.7g; Fiber 10.6g; Sodium 623mg
Recipe from Cooking Light

Questions:

1. Do you have pets? Do they stalk you while you’re eating?

2. Did you have a lazy weekend?

– jennifer

A pair of Boston hopefuls and Vegetable and Chickpea stew

After the marathon on Saturday, we kicked the heat up in the hotel and rested and ate and rehydrated and stretched. Shortly after we made it back to the room, I heard a strange sound outside. I peeked out the window and saw … HAIL! It was seriously, not kidding HAILING! I felt so bad for all those people – runners, fans, volunteers – still out on the course! Yuck! Luckily, the hail only lasted about a minute. And then, Mother Nature showed off her sense of humor.

Except we weren’t laughing. Well, okay, we laughed. It was over, we were no longer wet and cold, and tired people tend to be a little slap-happy. 🙂

Sunday was travel day back from Salt Lake City. Boy, were we wiped out! The flights took a lot out of us and we were both just happy to be back in Florida where the temperature was a balmy 75 degrees. Lovely!

Dinner was steak, baby bell peppers and asparagus all expertly grilled by my sailor. We even opened a really awesome bottle of wine to celebrate.

There may or may not be any left. 🙂

So, perhaps it was a decision slightly fueled by wine, but mostly because I’m a sucker who’s always up for a challenge, but I’ve registered for the Tupelo Marathon in September. On my birthday. With Carla. Trying to qualify for Boston 2014. #Bostonhopeful That means training starts next week. *sigh* No rest for the weary. Want to know what else it means? Carla and I have different qualifying times. I have to run even faster to keep up with her. *sigh* Me and my bull-headedness. So, there it is – a goal in writing. For all the world to see. Now I’m really locked in. 🙂

OH! Carla got the blogging bug so go check her out at Will Run 4 Ice Cream. Do it.

FOOD! (something ALL marathoners think about) 🙂

It’s meatless Monday! Do you do meatless Monday? It’s fun because vegetables are delicious and it’s alliteration. Nerd alert! 🙂 Alliteration is fun! And so was this meal. Well, I thought it was. It was met with raised eyebrows and complaints about the lack of meat. Oh well. They survived. 😉 Really, it was delicious!! Om nom nom!

Vegetables and Chickpeas over Couscous
Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups reduced-sodium, defatted chicken broth (use vegetable broth if preferred)
1/2 cup golden raisins
6 cups hot cooked couscous

1. Measure out the salt, curry powder, cumin, coriander, and ginger into a small bowl.

2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Saute the onions until they begin to change color. Stir in the spices and garlic and cook for 2 minutes longer.

3. Add the remaining ingredients except the raisins and couscous. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables become tender. Stir in the raisins and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve over the couscous.

Per serving:
Calories 383; Protein 15g; Fat 4g (saturated 1g); Carbohydrates 74g; Fiber 8g; Sodium 766mg

Recipe from 1,000 Lowfat Recipes

– jennifer