Friday, July 23, 2010

Sweet Potato & Pea Quinoa

At any given time, I have random cookbooks and food magazines stashed in strategic places around my house, you know, for easy access whenever I might be in the mood to browse them (which is a lot). I keep some in both bathrooms, some on my nightstand, some in the kitchen (obviously), and just about every other room in the house. I am somewhat of a neat freak, so it always looks clean and organized to the untrained eye, but I know where these treasures lie.

My current main level bathroom read is an issue of Vegetarian Times from sometime this spring, and I have re-read the article on incorporating frozen veggies into your meals at least thirty times. My husband is out of town this weekend on a guy's trip, so I had free reign in my kitchen tonight to make dinner sans meat (this does not happen very often. Most nights, my husband asks me not, "what's for dinner," but rather, "what meat is for dinner?"). So, with this freedom in mind today, I decided to make a version of one of the recipes from that VT article, called Gingery Quinoa Salad with Apples, Peas, and Coconut.

Now I say that I made a version of this (in typical Kelly fashion) omitting some ingredients and adding others (I've never really been a recipe follower). What came out of that pot turned out to be so good, my three year old commented at dinnertime, "Mommy, this is really yummy!" (after I had to bribe him to take the first bite).

And the funny thing about me and quinoa is that I seem to make a lot of it in the summertime, more than any other season and I don't know why? Something about the hot weather just makes me crave it. Weird.

Sweet Potato & Pea Quinoa

1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 of a medium white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 cup quinoa
3/4 cup chicken broth
salt, pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup unsweetened, shaved or shredded coconut

Toast almonds in a small saucepan over medium to low heat until browned (about 8-10 minutes). Shake the pan often to evenly brown all almond pieces. In a medium saucepan, heat coconut oil, then add onion, ginger, and sweet potato. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add quinoa, chicken broth, and a pinch of salt and pepper (be sure not to overdo the salt as the chicken broth is already quite high in sodium). Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15-20 minutes until quinoa is cooked through. Turn off the heat, add the frozen peas, coconut, and almonds, and stir to coat. Put cover back on the pot and let rest for about 5 minutes, until the peas are thawed. Serve warm, but is also good served at room temp or even chilled from the fridge.

Makes 3 servings.

1 comment:

  1. Made this for dinner last night - sooooo good!!! I love the flavor combinations! This will definitely become a regular. The only thing I added was some cayenne to give it an extra kick. A+!

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