Quinoa- For Breakfast (Cosmo Hippie Chef Alert!)

25 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by cosmohippiechef in breakfast, quinoa, vegan

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For the last two weeks I have been doing a spring cleaning menu for Billy and I. Since we are trying to transition seasons I wanted to switch up our eating to get us out with the old and in with the new. We usually start our day with a pretty rich antioxidant protein shake and raw cereal, but the new menu has been raw juice (green apples, lemon, ginger, celery) and Quinoa Cereal. It always takes Billy just a few days to get used to something new, but now he loves this recipe. I think it will be our weekly morning cereal for spring and summer, and the cool thing is I will just switch the fruit for whatever is in season. Enjoy!

-Quinoa Cereal- I make a big batch of Quinoa (1c. soaked overnight in water and then cooked) and portion it out for the week, this is a individual serving.

1/2 cooked quinoa (I soak mine overnight, drain and cook. The ratio is 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa, but I go just a little less on the water since it has been soaking overnight.)

1/4 c. fresh organic blueberries

1/4 c. fresh pineapple, chopped

1 tsp. raw pumpkin seeds

1 T. walnuts, chopped

dash of cinnamon and nutmeg (freshly grated)

drizzle of agave or honey

*optional: 1/2 c. organic goat or Greek yogurt (this is how Billy likes it)

1. Scoop the quinoa into a bowl or container and put all the other ingredients on the top, it’s ready to eat.

2. I mentioned that I portion this all out for the week, when I do this it’s just the cooked quinoa and the cinnamon and nutmeg. Then every morning I take two containers out of the fridge and top it with the other ingredients.

Quinoa- Is highly appreciated for it nutritional value, and it’s protein content is very high. Quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods. It is a great source of dietary fiber, phosphorous and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten free and easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long duration manned spaceflights! (How cool is that?!)

*I obtained this info form Wikipedia

Cranberry Relish

08 Tuesday Feb 2011

Posted by cosmohippiechef in appetizer, vegan

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fruit, seasonal, vegan

I was introduced to this delicious recipe at a recent book club meeting from my fellow Slow Food Utah book club buddy Kate Holbrook. I asked her permission to share the recipe with all of you and she told me she got the recipe from a friend- who got it from a friend. Isn’t that the way it always go?! Let me tell you that this dish was a big hit, and the fact that it is easy makes it even better.

It is very hard to find fresh cranberries at the market this time of the year, probably because they are in season during the holidays. Normally I would not do a recipe like this with produce that is out of season but I was able to find frozen cranberries at the market. I feel good about buying these because they come from a Sustainable Farm in Oregon called Stahlbush Island Farms. These cranberries are flash frozen, so they are super fresh and there is nothing added to them- just cranberries! This company also uses their remaining fruit and vegetables material to produce green energy, naturally chic. Enjoy!

-Cranberry Relish-

10-12oz fresh cranberries

1 green onion, chopped (I forgot this time to get green onions, so I used 1/4 chopped purple onion)

1 medium jalapeno, chopped (seeded for those who can’t handle the heat)

3/4 c. sugar (I use sucant*)

1-2 T. cilantro leaves (I actually used more)

1/4 tsp. cumin (I used 1/2 tsp)

pinch of salt

block of cream cheese, or log of goat cheese

1. Blend all the ingredients (except the cheese) in a food processor until blended, but still chunky. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

2. Serve over cheese of your choice with a fresh sliced baguette or crackers.

*Sucant- Minimally processed sugar made by pressing the juice from the cane, clarifying, filtering and evaporating it, then crystallizing the resulting sugar. Sucant retains many of the minerals, vitamins and trace elements found in sugar cane.

Broccoli Chop Salad

21 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by cosmohippiechef in dressing, salad, vegan

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broccoli, cauliflower, fruit, vegan

This is what I made for my lunch this week, it’s light fresh and taste amazing. This recipe makes alot so make it the beginning of the week for something quick out of the fridge or make it for your next get together. P.S. My picture isn’t the best but don’t judge this book by it’s cover, try it you’ll love it.

-Broccoli Chop Salad- serves 6-8

2 heaping c. fresh broccoli

2 heaping c. fresh cauliflower

1 heaping c. fresh peas (FM) you could use frozen

1 c. chopped celery

2 medium granny smith apples, cored and diced

1/4 c. – 1/2 c. diced purple onion (depending on how much you like)

2/3 c. raw sunflower seeds

*optional ingredients:

1/4 c.- 1/2 c. blue cheese or Gorgonzola

1/2 c. raisins, dried cranberries or tart dried cherries

crispy bacon (I didn’t add the optional ingredients and for the bacon I use something called Organic Smoky Tempeh ‘tem-pay’ Strips. Tempeh is an Indonesian word meaning tender cooked legumes, this one is made with organic soybeans and organic brown rice. I know what your thinking but you fry it up like bacon and in this dish you can’t tell the difference. It’s also good in place of bacon on a BLT)

1. Usually I use all the ingredients raw but this time I decided to blanch the broccoli, cauliflower and peas one at a time for maybe one minute each and then quickly dropped them into a ice cold water mixture in the sink. You decide.

2. Whether your using the veggies raw or blanched chop the broccoli and the cauliflower into rough bite size pieces and toss into a big bowl.

3. Next add the peas, then the chopped apples, celery and purple onion. Toss all together lightly.

4. If using the optional ingredients add them now, wait to toss with the dressing.

-Dressing-

1 c. mayo, (I use veganaise…LOVE it! I’ve never tried this but you could add plain yogurt)

1/4 c. rice wine vinegar

2 tsp. agave

salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix all together in a bowl with a whisk or fork.

2. Pour half over the veggie mixture and toss lightly, add the rest of the dressing and the sunflower seeds. Toss to coat. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving, good for 4-5 days. Enjoy.

Friut Salad

21 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by cosmohippiechef in salad

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fruit, seasonal

So my recipes and meals tend to change with the season due to whats available and what the weather is doing. Since it’s getting warm we are feeling like something a little lighter, we won’t forget about our hot cereal and chiliquiles we’ll just put those recipes on the shelf until it gets cold again. I was able to get strawberries and fresh mint at the Farmer’s Market, the rest I got at Whole Food’s. I’m sure in a few weeks there will be more fruit available, so just use what you like or what you can get you hands on.

-Fruit Salad- serves 2

Small pint strawberries, cut to your liking (FM)

2 apples, diced

2 banana’s, sliced

1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 pint raspberries

2-4 T. fresh mint (FM)
4 tsp. pumpkin seeds

4 T. unsweetened coconut

2 c. plain organic yogurt

1 c. granola (I used a pumpkin flax granola)

1. Cut up all the fruit and mint except the banana’s and raspberries. Place this mixture into two bowls.

2. Add the sliced banana’s to each bowl, divide the remaining ingredients (pumpkin seeds, coconut, and yogurt) between the bowls. Finish them off the the granola and raspberries. Enjoy

FM- Farmer’s Market

Sunday, Sunday- 10 Grain Hot Cereal

09 Thursday Jul 2009

Posted by cosmohippiechef in breakfast, Drinks, vegan

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fruit, juicing, oats, vegan

I don’t know about you but I’m a very routine person, to my own default at times. I’m aware of it enough to know when it is time to shake things up. But Sunday’s is one of those days that our routine makes us feel complete. Food plays a big part of this, at our house we go through food phases that turn into routines for awhile. Recently we used to do fajitas night every Thursday and even my clients would ask ‘ you guys having fajitas tonight, it’s Thursday?’ So for the past couple month’s our Sunday breakfast is a steaming sweet bowl of 10 grain hot cereal, fresh squeezed orange/grapefruit/carrot juice, and of course a luscious chai latte. I think the reason our weekend breakfasts are so vital is because we don’t see each other during the week for that meal, so we really look forward to that time together. When we were dating we would pack up a breakfast picnic and go to the park, but now that we have our own house we enjoy our comfy couch or the deck in our back yard. I hope this recipe feels with you warmth and and love. Enjoy.

*Whole grains in your diet may reduce your risk of certain chronic diseases. Certain cancers especially gastrointestinal cancer. Heart disease: antioxidant’s contained in whole grains may work with fiber and other compounds to reduce your overall risk.

-Hot Cereal-

I buy Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal

1. We follow the directions on the back, but we split it in half. They suggest using water but we use soy milk or soy delicious coconut milk.

2. When it is done cooking we scoop into two bowls and top with sliced almonds, walnuts and a drizzle of agave syrup.* Agave syrup if you don’t know about it is like honey but it is a low glycemic sweetener. That means it won’t raise your blood sugar it is natural and is 25% sweeter than sugar. It can also be used in place of sugar when baking, for every 1 cup of sugar in a recipe you only need 1/3 cup of agave. AWESOME, give it a try.

-Orange/Grapefruit/Carrot Juice-

This makes a fair amount of juice for two but I bet you could get 4 small servings.

8 oranges, peeled

4 grapefruit, peeled

6 carrots

1. We have a juicer so we juice all of these together and divide between glasses. If you have a good blender you could try it that way. You would probably want to strain it first and then divide between glasses.

Monday Again! I think I missed last Monday?! :)- The Green Drink

30 Tuesday Jun 2009

Posted by cosmohippiechef in Drinks

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fruit, juicing, kale, vegan, vegetables

Well I’ve been trying to think of a good excuse for missing a week of blogging and I don’t have one. So instead of talking about last week let’s just look at the week to come. For the last year I’ve been starting each morning with what I like to call ‘ the green drink ‘. Now let’s get something straight I know this may sound like a lot of work but the way I feel every morning after drinking this mixture is well worth it. I feel like no matter what I had the day before I’m starting my day off right. Juicing is a great way to get extra fruits and vegetables in our bodies without having to wreck our jaws gnawing on loads of veggies! Before I had a juicer I would put everything (minus the wheat grass) in the blender with a splash of water and blend away. Next I would strain it through a strainer into a bowl. Drink to a new day.

-The Green Drink-

3 to 4 stalks of celery
1/2 cucumber
1 apple cored
1 inch ginger peeled
1 lemon peeled
1 lime peeled
half a bunch parsley
handful of spinach or swiss chard
wheat grass ( if you have a juicer)

Juice all together, if using blender refer to blog above.

* Juicing is thought to to provide even better mineral absorption compared to intact fruit or vegetable because juicing liberates the minerals into a highly bio available medium and separates the minerals some of the fiber constituents, which can interfere with absorption. The green leafy vegetables are the best source of many of the minerals, especially calcium, and this source is made more available by juicing.