Quinoa and Grilled Zucchini

 

What would I do without 101cookbooks?  Her recipes are awesome!  This one is no exception.  My husband tasted it and referred to it as "good stuff."  Coming from someone who loves meat and probably only pretends to enjoy the food I cook because it's the only option, I take this as quite a compliment.  The dressing is amazing...and could easily be used for a number of other purposes.  I have an abundant amount of cilantro right now (from both my garden and the CSA), so I used a lot of cilantro in it.  I also got like 5 pounds of zucchini from the CSA this week...I don't know what to do with it all!

• 1 large avocado, ripe
• juice of 1 1/2 limes 
• a large handful of cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 small container of Greek yogurt (about 1/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  
• 4 large eggs
• 3 large zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch thick coins
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• couple pinches of sea salt 
• 2 cups quinoa, cooked, room temperature
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (or pine nuts)
• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
• a bit of chopped cilantro for garnish

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1.  Prepare the cilantro-avocado dressing by blending the avocado, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, yogurt, water, and salt in a blender (hand blender in preferred). Set aside.

Yummy freshly blended cilantro-avocado dressing

2.  Hard boil the eggs. Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. Have a big bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking place them in the ice bath for three minutes or so - long enough to stop the cooking. Set aside.

3.  While the eggs are cooling start preparing the zucchini by tossing it with olive oil and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Prepare your grill (medium-high heat). If you are worried about the zucchini coins falling through the grill you can thread them onto kabob skewers (stab through the green skin). Grill until zucchini are tender and cooked through, roughly 5 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill and cut each zucchini coin into quarters.

Fresh zucchini tossed in olive oil with Himalayan pink sea salt

The zucchini that did not fall through the grill (I recommend skewering for sure!)

4. Crack and peel each egg, cut each egg into quarters lengthwise. Assemble the salad by tossing the quinoa with about 2/3 cups of the avocado vinaigrette. Top with the grilled zucchini, pine nuts, eggs, goat cheese, and a bit of chopped cilantro for garnish. 

Serves 4 to 6.

 

Health Benefits

Cilantro - I learned some random facts about cilantro from this months issue of Whole Living.

• Prized throughout history for its ability to aid digestion, coriander was a common treatment for diabetes prior to the development of insulin in 1922.
• Cilantro is one of 3,000 members of the carrot family.
• Scientific studies have found similarities between the fat molecules in cilantro and those in soaps, lotions....and bedbugs.  The aversion that some people have to cilantro, in other words, may may triggered by their unconscious association of its aroma with inedible, even poisonous, substances.

Additionally, I found this list of health benefits here:

• Powerful anti-inflammatory capacities that may help symptoms of arthritis
• Protective agents against bacterial infection from Salmonella in food products
• Acts to increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind), and reduces LDL cholesterol (the bad kind)
• Relief for stomach gas, prevention of flatulence and an overall digestive aid
• Wards off urinary tract infections
• Helps reduce feelings of nausea
• Eases hormonal mood swings associated with menstruation
• Has been shown to reduce menstrual cramping.
• Adds fiber to the digestive tract
• A source of iron, magnesium, and is helpful in fighting anemia
• Gives relief for diarrhea, especially if caused by microbial or fungal infections
• Helps promote healthy liver function.
• Reduces minor swelling
• Strong general antioxidant properties
• Disinfects and helps detoxify the body
• Stimulates the endocrine glands
• Helps with insulin secretion and lowers blood sugar
• Acts as a natural anti-septic and anti-fungal agent for skin disorders like fungal infections and eczema
• Contains immune-boosting properties
• Acts as an expectorant
• Helps ease conjunctivitis, as well as eye-aging, macular degeneration, and other stressors on the eyes.

Beet Green Chopped Salad

Finally a recipe with beets!  I feel obligated by the name of my blog to at least have a few beet recipes on here every once and a while.  I don't have a particular love for beets or anything...I just couldn't think of a better name and it seemed to fit with the vision I have for this blog.  Anyway, I got a bunch of beets in the CSA share this week and thought this recipe sounded good.  I always feel guilty throwing the beet greens away because I know they are so good for you, but I never know what to do with them.  

This recipe was really good!  While the amount of dressing was adequate, it might have been nice to have a little more.  If you enjoy dressings/condiments like I do, I would suggest increasing the amount of each ingredient in the dressing.  It was super tasty and I would have liked to have had more!

As a side note, I'm still getting the hang of taking pictures while I'm cooking.  It's quite inconvenient and I hate having to stop what I'm doing, wash my hands and try to take a lovely picture of something that may or may not look lovely.  A big reason I got a fancy new camera was to take pictures for my blog, but I'm still learning how to use it.  I hope the photography will improve with time!  Anyhow, on to the recipe:  

• 1 bunch of beets, including fresh looking greens
• olive oil and sea salt for roasting beets
• 4 scallions, white and light green parts
• 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Tahini dressing

• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tsp. honey (or agave nectar), depending on desired sweetness
• 3 Tbsp. water, or as needed
• hefty pinch of salt and pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped chives (I didn't have chives and it was just fine without them)

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1.  Preheat the oven to 450'.

Beets ready for roasting 

2.  Cut the greens from the beets at their stem. Rub a bit of olive oil on the skin of the beets, sprinkle with salt and wrap them all in a foil pack. Set on the middle oven rack and cook for 45-55 minutes until you can easily piece through with a knife. Set them aside to cool.

3.  While the beets roast, clean and dry the greens. Chop off and discard the long red stems. Chop the greens and put them in a large mixing bowl.  Also begin cooking the quinoa.  Rinse it well, bring it to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes and then let it sit with the top on for about 10 minutes before allowing it to cool off.

4.  To prepare the dressing, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, vinegar, honey and water. Mix in the garlic, hearty pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle in the olive oil while whisking. Add more water if you prefer it thinner. Mix in the chives. Adjust to your taste and set aside.   

5.  Once the beets are cool enough to touch, you should be able to just push the skin off with your fingers. Use a paring knife to help it along. Dice the peeled beets. Thinly slice the scallions. Add the beets, scallions, quinoa and avocado to the mixing bowl and toss with a generous amount of dressing (note: the salad will turn pink from the beets. If this bothers you, you can toss everything without the diced beets, and sprinkle them on top). Sprinkle in the sunflower seeds, give it one more toss.

Health Benefits

Beets-  These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.  More info here. 

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) -  Many of you may have heard of quinoa because recently it's been talked about a lot as being a superfood.  Quinoa is not a grain and is actually a seed related to the spinach family.   It actually cooks and tastes like a grain, making it an excellent replacement for grains that are difficult to digest (and it's gluten free!).  Quinoa is full of phytonutrients, antioxidants AND can even help balance your blood sugar.  Quinoa is a complete protein.  It contains all 9 essential amino acids that are required by the body as building blocks for muscles.  It also contains high levels of magnesium, which helps relax your muscles and blood vessels and effects blood pressure.  This also helps with migraine headaches.  Visit here or here for more info on this great food!