Quinoa Salad with Apple Cider Vinegar

Quinoa is a super versatile food, it's also tasty, healthy, and an ancient grain, meaning it hasn't been tampered with the way some other grains have been.  Two years ago I planted some quinoa seeds in my backyard, but as soon as they sprouted, the bunnies cleared all the sprouts.  I'd like to plant quinoa again, because it has amazing flowers and because I like using it in various ways.

This is a very simple quinoa salad.  It can be adjusted by using various ingredients.  What makes it yummy is the basic salad dressing, which is oil and apple cider vinegar.

To start, cook some quinoa, I usually use one cup, and it makes enough for three meals.  While the quinoa is cooking, heat some butter in a pan.  Wash and cut up a zucchini, and add to the butter.  Wash the kale, tear the leaves into pieces, discard the hard stems, and add to the pan.  Cut up a head of broccoli and add it to the mix.

Cut up a tomato.  I like plum tomatoes for stuff like this, because they aren't as juicy/seedy.

Once the quinoa is done, put it in a bowl, add the veg, season with salt and pepper, mix it all up.  Pour a bit of apple cider vinegar and olive oil or grape seed oil over top, mix it in.  Cut up some feta, and sprinkle over top.  One of the grocery stores I go to sells Macedonian feta, which I prefer to the various Greek fetas.  It's creamier and not as salty, almost like something between goat's cheese and Greek feta.

I've made this salad with peppers, onions, spinach, mushrooms, olives, sunflower seeds.  You can use whatever you have on hand.  A lot of the recipes I come up with are based on ingredients I have or need to use up.  This salad is yummy warm or cold, and perfect for lunches and picnics.

Light Summer Breakfast

Warm weather usually makes me crave lighter foods.  I love cottage cheese, sweet or savoury; it makes a perfect first or second breakfast.  Here it's just cottage cheese with raw local honey, wild blueberries, and a slice of whole rye bread (the dark moist kind made with whole grains of rye).  This particular whole rye bread is made with hazelnuts and seeds, and is called muesli.  Sometimes I get sunflower, but  the plain one is my favourite.

Cauliflower Pasta

This pasta is so easy and quick to make, it's delicious, and inexpensive even when cauliflowers are pricy.

All you'll need is
-a cauliflower, cut into florets
-butter
-garlic
-egg noodles (or pasta of your choice); if you've been reading my blog, you'll know I love egg noodles
-about 250 ml of heavy cream
-chili peppers, crushed (adjust amount to your taste buds)
-fresh or dry thyme
-1tbsp of breadcrumbs
-s&p

Cook the cauliflower in a pot of salted water for about 10 minutes, you don't want it to be overcooked.  Drain or remove with a slotted spoon, but save the water.  In a pan melt the butter and add garlic for a few minutes.  Depending on your taste buds and the garlic you're using, you may need one clove or a few cloves.  Add bread crumbs, chili, thyme and cauliflower to the pan.  Add about 5 tbsps of the reserved water, stir, and simmer.  After about 10 minutes, take the pan off the heat, beat in the egg and add the cream.  You can cook the pasta in the remaining cauliflower water.  You always want pasta to be al dente, as in not cooked all the way through, because it absorbs the sauce once mixed, and continues to get softer.  Drain pasta, put in a dish, pour the sauce over, and enjoy.

Another variation is to cook the cauliflower as above.  Melt the butter and add garlic.  Then add the cauliflower to the pan.  Cook you pasta in the cauliflower water.  Once done, drain and pour the pasta into the pan with the cauliflower.  Season with s&p, put on plates, and top with Parmesan.

Grilled Cheese +

Greetings Y'All!

It has been far too long.  I have over 400 photos of foods I've made since my last post over six months ago.  I've been so busy and tired, that even though I took loads of pics, I didn't have the time to write and post stuff.  I'm still busy with school and various other courses, plus gardening--I finally have a proper veg garden, not just a patch any more--and just day-to-day stuff.

Anyway, I should be doing homework, but I decided that today is the day I get back to this blog.  Maybe it was this amazing sandwich I made for a late lunch.

Here it is, so easy, quick, filling, and delicious.  And you know I don't make unhealthy stuff.

Cut up some onion--I used half for this one sandwich--and sauté in butter with s&p, and maple syrup.  You want enough maple syrup to make sure all the onion bits are in it.  

Let it all simmer until it gets thick, like a jam.  BTW, you could use this as a condiment on all kinds of stuff.

In another pan make your grilled cheese sandwich.  I used 2 small buttered sourdough rye slices with old cheddar.  Once it's done, put it on a plate and use the same pan to fry an egg.  

Top the ready grilled cheese sandwich with the onion jam, add a slice of ham or bacon, or sausage (which is what I used), or some other tasty pork meat, and add the egg.  

You could just leave it with the onions, but I had a late lunch, so I was hungry.  I'm not hungry any more, but if I had another one of these sandwiches in front of me, I'd eat it.  The maple syrup with the onions was amazing, and its sweetness was yummy enough that I didn't crave dessert.  If you know me, you know that I always want dessert.  Pair this gem with a tasty beer and you're good to take on the world.  I had a glass of Hacker-Pschorr (German).

Cheers!

Peach Custard Cream Pie

I want pie all the time.  When it comes to deciding on flavour, custard wins most of the time.  I've made peach pie before using various recipes, but this one I made up, because I had cream and frozen peaches I needed to use up.  I made a graham crumb crust, which is even quicker, and less messy, than a buttery crust.

Here it goes:
Preheat oven to 350.
Make graham crust according to box directions, usually about 1.25 C crumbs to 1/2 C melted butter.
Don't pre-bake.
Defrost and drain peaches, or use fresh ones, then fill the crust.

Mix a bit of flour, 2-3 tbsps, with 2/3 cup sugar, then add 1 cup cream and 1 egg.  Whisk.

Pour mixture over peaches:

Bake for 45 minutes.

I didn't completely drain my thawed out peaches, so the bit of liquid made the custard creamy.  It was delicious, just not as firm as it would have been without any liquid.  Creamy custard is perfect with peaches.

Enjoy!

Pickled Pumpkin

My other gran (not the one I always mention) used to pickle pumpkin.  I don't know her recipe, but I made up my own.  I didn't measure, just eyeballed amounts.  Here is what I used:

- large Cinderella pumpkin (Rouge Vif d’Etampes)

I used the one on the left for pickling, the one on the right to make pumpkin butter.

- apple cider vinegar
- white vinegar (for a few jars, just so I can compare the taste)

There were a lot of pumpkin cubes, so I made the brine in 3 batches, and for one of them I used white vinegar, which isn't as acidic as apple cider vinegar, so don't use as much water with it.

- filtered water
- sugar
- bay leaf
- cloves
- black peppercorns

Directions:
- peel and cube the pumpkin, be ready for some serious exfoliation of your skin
- bring to boil all ingredients, except pumpkin, and boil for a few minutes
- place the cubed pumpkin into the boiling mixture and boil for about 5 minutes, don't over do it, or the pumpkin will cook and start to fall apart
- place into hot clean jars and can as you would any food in a jar, boiling for 10 minutes.

I tasted the brine and it was yummy.  I hope this turns out as good as I remember it, it's been over two decades since I've last tasted my gran's pickled pumpkin.

Apple Custard Pie with Oatmeal Walnut Crumb Topping

I've never cared much for apple pie, regardless of quality and price range.  I had some apples and cream that needed to be used up, and a frozen dough disk, from when I made a couple of extras.  After contemplating, I decided to make an apple pie based on what I had in my pantry.  I did make an apple pie once before and didn't like it.  I love this pie.  Apple pie wasn't the problem, I just never had this apple pie.  Here's what you'll need:

Filling Ingredients:
- 3-4 peeled and thinly sliced apples (I used Gala, because it's what I had)
- 1/2 cup of 35% cream
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp demerara rum (or bourbon)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon

Topping Ingredients:
- 5 walnuts (it's all I had)
- 1/3 cup not instant oatmeal
- 1/4 cup cold butter
- 1/3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt

Directions:
Set oven to 375 degrees

- Whisk together: cream, rum, egg, sugar, and cinnamon
- Add sliced apples, the thinner the more surface for coating, and mix together
- Pour into unbaked crust

For Crumb Topping:
- Place walnuts, oatmeal, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor, and pulse just to mix
- Cut in butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs
- Sprinkle on top of filling

Bake pie at 375 for an hour.  Tastes delicious hot or at room temperature.  It would work cold as well.  I had two and a half slices already, and I'm debating if I should have another.

This is a trick I use when I roll out the pie crust dough.  Place the dough disk between 2 sheets of parchment paper, that way there is no sticking and mess on the counter.  This is great especially in small working spaces, like my kitchen.  Once you have the right size, peel off one side, and flip into the pie plate, press gently into the plate, and then peel off the remaining paper.

Use a fork to create a few vent holes:

Thinly sliced peeled apples:

Apples stirred into the custard mixture:

Pour the mixture into the unbaked crust:

Sprinkle with walnut oatmeal crumbs:

Bake at 375 for an hour, et voila:

Tastiest apple pie my taste buds have ever experienced:

 I am super pleased with this recipe.  Enjoy!