Recipe: Crunchy Thai Cashew Quinoa Salad
I have to say, I had gotten sick of quinoa awhile ago. There are so many things I love about it; its high protein content, quick preparation time, subtle crunch, versatility. But it became a trend and when that happens we tend to overdose on it. Quinoa salads were everywhere I turned. I stumbled upon this recipe recently and after preparing and tasting it, I am inspired to love quinoa again. It’s nutritionally balanced, holds up really well throughout the week and includes some flavors that are my favorite. We love playing with Asian dishes at Nourish Northwest because of the complexity of flavors. Many Asian dishes hit on all of the five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami. This recipe hits them all: sweet from the honey, salty from the soy sauce, bitter from the cabbage, sour from the lime and umami from the combination of the flavors in the dressing. Enjoy!
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1-2 cups shredded red cabbage, depending on how much crunch you like
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ red onion, diced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup diced green onions
- ½ cup cashew halves or peanuts (honey-roasted is good)
- Optional: 1 cup edamame or chickpeas
- Fresh lime, for a bit of tang
- For the dressing:
- ¼ cup all natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten-free if desired
- 1 tablespoon honey (use agave if vegan)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Water to thin, if necessary
- To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with cold water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
- To make dressing: Add peanut butter and honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.
- Add as much or as little dressing as you’d like to the quinoa. I always start out with a little bit of dressing and usually add more to suit my taste preferences. Alternatively you can save the dressing for later and add when you are ready to eat; however the flavors of the dressing usually soak into the salad so I love adding it to the quinoa first.
- Next fold in red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.
The Best of Packaged Foods
Post by Paula Jahn, Co-owner and Registered Dietitian at Nourish Northwest
I quietly envy those homesteaders who have self-sustaining gardens, churn their own butter, and collect eggs every morning. I have frequently made my own bread, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, granola, etc., and it is immensely rewarding. But in reality, I don’t make the time to do these things every week. Nor do I expect my clients to.
As a whole foods cooking teacher and dietitian, I have mixed emotions about writing a post about processed foods. I encourage my clients to eat as close to a whole foods diet as possible. However, I try to not push an agenda on anyone and instead guide clients toward healthier choices by making suggestions that fit into the context of their individual circumstances. That sometimes means doing research on better fast food or processed food options. Many clients ask, “What’s the best yogurt to buy? Are there any healthy granolas out there?”
Below is my “best of” list* of the four most requested packaged food items from my clients. These items made the list because the quality varies so wildly within each category; a food on one end of the spectrum can have almost nothing in common with the same food on the other end. My general criteria for choosing a particular brand is to put the ingredients through “the kitchen test.” This means that a person with standard kitchen equipment, whole foods ingredients, and a little skill, could feasibly make the product.
Yogurt
Yogurt is a prime example of the wide range of quality you will find. It’s hard to believe that gummed-up, slimmed down, artificially flavored-colored-sweetened pudding is even called yogurt.
Selection criteria: Look for plain, whole milk yogurt. Most flavored yogurts have over 20 grams of added sugar per serving. That’s over 5 teaspoons for a 6 ounce container! It is much better to add your own natural sweetener like 1 teaspoon of honey, which only adds 5 grams of sugar. Flavor it with chopped fresh fruit or frozen berries. Yogurt made with organic and/or grass-fed milk will contain more omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients.
Examples: Trader Joe’s European Style Organic Whole Milk Yogurt, Maple Hill Creamery Yogurt, Strauss Family Creamery Plain Yogurt
Granola
Granola makes a satisfying breakfast either eaten alone or with a little yogurt (see above). It can be packed with funky oils and lots of added sugar in many forms. It is difficult to find a store bought granola that passes the kitchen test. Cottonseed oil and high fructose corn syrup are not easily available to the home cook.
Selection criteria: Since granola is so easy to make, the kitchen test is a big part of the criteria. It should have nuts, seeds, grains, a common natural sweetener and oil. Sugar is the big challenge, even with granolas with good ingredients. Look for granola that has 8 grams or less of sugar on the nutrition facts label.
Examples: Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain Granola (GF), Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin Whole Grain Cereal (8 g sugar comes only from raisins), Kind Peanut Butter Whole Grain Clusters
Bread
I used to emphasize looking for “100% Whole Grain” on the label of bread until I looked at the ingredient list. Even whole wheat flour spikes blood sugar, not to mention the added sugars in bread. There are few healthy breads on the market.
Selection Criteria: The best is to buy flourless, sprouted grain breads or European style rye bread. There are no added sugars to these types of bread. Better yet, sprouting grains or fermenting the dough makes the grains more digestible.
Examples: Any Food For Life bread product, any European style rye bread such as local Regular Portland Bread
Snack Bars
This category is the one I am most likely to say “Just make them,” or “Just eat real food, ” but that is not what this post is about.
Selection Criteria: Keep the sugars (unless from fruit) below 7 grams per bar. Aim for at least 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein per bar. Avoid agave nectar, corn sugars, artificial sweeteners and flavors.
Examples: Kind Nut Delight Snack Bar or Cashew and Ginger Spice, LaraBar Original Fruit and Nut Bar
*This list is not inclusive and reflects the opinion of the author.
Recipe: Kale and Citrus Salad
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
Are you sick of kale salad yet? We’re not! What’s not to love about it?? Not only is it full of nutrients and antioxidants and holds up well throughout the week, it is also the perfect mood booster for this winter weather. The almonds contain tryptophan, which is converted to the “feel good” neurotransmitter, seratonin. Both kale and citrus are good sources of folic acid, which is needed to covert the tryptophan into seratonin. High levels of seratonin are associated with enhanced mood, curbed food cravings and better sleep. Many more reasons to keep eating kale salads! If you are interested in learning more about the fascinating world of food and mood and some great mood boosting recipes, sign up for our cooking class on February 19th!
Kale and Citrus Salad
For the salad and toppings:
1 bunch kale (3/4 to 1 pound, with stems; You can use lacinato or green leaf)
3 blood oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds
1/2 cup roasted salted whole almonds, roughly chopped
For the dressing:
1 clementine or mandarin orange, juiced
1/2 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Wash kale leaves, remove stems and slice leaves into ribbons.
Make the dressing: Whisk the juices together (you should have about 1/4 cup total of juice, or a little less). Whisk in the maple syrup and olive oil. The dressing will be emulsified but still thin.
Toss the kale with about half the dressing and taste. Add the remaining dressing if desired, then toss with the oranges and almonds. Taste a bite; if it needs more salt, add it now, as well as fresh pepper if desired.
This salad keeps very well; the kale gets more tender as it sits in the dressing. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Recipe: Vegan Frittata Cakes
Post by Paula Jahn, Co-owner and Registered Dietitian at Nourish Northwest
I have been using flax eggs in vegan baking for years and eating tofu scrambles for even longer. In fact, we make a wonderful huevo-less rancheros in our brunch cooking class. But, for some reason, I’ve never thought to try to replicate other egg dishes with anything but tofu.
Enter, the chickpea-mushroom-cauliflower patty. They are like mini omelet pancake frittata things.
Chickpea flour rivals eggs for protein with 6 grams per quarter cup (compared to 7 grams for one egg).
Add some turmeric for a egg yolkish color and nutritional yeast for a slight cheesiness.
There’s something about the combination of grated cauliflower that gets slightly soft but still maintains texture and the mushrooms that really does mimic scrambled eggs.
Top with hot sauce, cashew sour cream or eat them plain!
Vegan Frittata Cakes
(Adapted from veganricha.com)
Makes 5 fat pancakes
Ingredients:
Dry:
1 cup chickpea flour
1 Tablespoon flaxmeal
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon each cumin, smoked paprika and turmeric
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a generous pinch(1/8 teaspoon of baking soda)
Wet:
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 rounded cup grated cauliflower
3-4 Shiitake mushrooms or other fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped (1/3-1/2 cup)
1-2 cloves garlic, grated with a Microplane
2 Tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
Method:
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Whisk well.
Add a cup of water and whisk to combine into a smooth, lump-free batter.
Add the vegetables and vinegar and mix to combine.
Drop a ladle full of the batter on a greased hot pan, preferably cast iron.
Cook for at least 4-5 minutes, until golden brown on bottom and bubbly on top.
Flip and cook for another 5-6 minutes.
Serve hot with sauce of choice.
The Art of Simplicity
Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
This post is inspired by my long-time quest to find the perfect recipe for tomato sauce. I am Italian and I have always felt like I should have an incredible sauce recipe in my repertoire. But my grandma was an amazing baker, not the best cook and never passed a sauce recipe down to me. I have tried many different sauces, stewing them for hours and adding tons of different herbs. I have pureed them, left them chunky and used a food mill to achieve my desired texture. I have added varied amounts of garlic, onions, salt, sugar and oil, and an occasional splash of vinegar. I have never been satisfied with my result.
Recently, I was given the The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. I had heard about her famous Tomato Sauce III and wanted to give it a try. To quote an article in the New Yorker about Marcella: “She begins the recipe by saying, “This is the simplest of all sauces to make, and none has a purer, more irresistibly tomato taste. I have known people to skip the pasta and eat the sauce directly out of the pot with a spoon.” All you do is put the tomatoes in the pan, add a medium-sized onion cut in half and the butter, and simmer for forty-five minutes.” Butter, a half an onion and tomatoes. That’s it. But what about the garlic? No oregano or basil? Only 45 minutes? This just seemed to simple to be good.
Once I tasted my first bite of this I leaned a very important lesson, which was that cooking does not have to be complicated to be delicious. This was the best sauce I had ever tasted. This is such an important reminder to me, as a cooking teacher. Learning new techniques and ingredients is so fun and exciting to me, that my recipes often end up being very involved or have a long list of hard to find ingredients. Complicated recipes are great, but they have their time and place and what we find most clients asking for is simple weeknight recipes. Paula and I always struggle with this when creating menus, fearful that we will be sacrificing flavor for simplicity. This sauce is a reminder that that doesn’t have to be so. Keeping simplicity and flavor in mind, here are some of my favorite weeknight go-to’s:
Eggs
Eggs are easy, so versatile and very nutritious. I could even expand this category to be breakfast for dinner. Breakfasts are usually quick and simple and there is nothing wrong with eating a bowl of oatmeal, whole grain pancakes or scrambled eggs in the evening.
Lentils
Lentils are a quick, hearty source of protein and fiber, making them very satisfying. Unlike many legumes, lentils cook up in just 20 minutes. I like a big bowl of lentils with some avocado, feta cheese and a squeeze of lemon.
Soy curls
These are one of my favorite sources of protein. Minimally processed and easy to rehydrate, soy curls take on any flavor and have a nice, chewy texture. I always keep a jar of these on the counter. They last a long time and are ready to use after soaking them in water for about 10 minutes. I like to sautee them with coconut oil, tamari and mirin and serve over a bed of sauteed kale. Yum!
Polenta
Polenta is so simple and so delicious. I like to keep whole ground cornmeal polenta as well as a couple of tubes of polenta in my cabinet at all times. If you want the creamy version, just cook with water, stirring often for twenty minutes or so. You can add cheese and/or butter in at the end if you like. The polenta in tubes is ready to slice and bake for a crispier version of the grain.
Soup
There are so many flavor and styles of soup I love that are very simple but there is one go-to soup I make when I really have bare bones ingredients. 1 quart of chicken broth, 1/2 bunch kale, fresh ginger and garlic and a source of protein (beans, soy curls, chicken). You can of course spruce this up quite a bit if you like, but these are all ingredients that I usually have on hand.
Roasted Veggies
All you need for this one is some vegetables, salt and oil. Roast winter veggies for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. So delicious, so simple and hands down my favorite way to eat a vegetable.
Sandwiches
Yes, you can eat a PB&J for dinner. Or a grilled cheese, or a BLT. Sandwiches tend to be pretty balanced, containing a source of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fat. Assembling a sandwich certainly counts as cooking in my book.
I hope this makes cooking a little less intimidating to the beginner or busy cook!