Friday, March 12, 2010

Tabouli Style Quinoa and Veggie Salad


As you may notice this is another recipe from last weekend. It feels so good to cross a few items off my to do list. I am one of those people that don’t like to be behind schedule. Needless to say I will be very happy when I have all my back log of recipes posted so that I am just trying to keep current.

This is quick healthy salad that we like to have on top of baby spinach or with falafel. It is a versatile salad that is great packed for lunch. If I am making this for lunch for the week I will often double this recipe. In the past I made this with olive oil, but as part of the no oil dietary change that doesn’t happen here any longer. If you still eat oil whisk the vinaigrette before adding it to the salad. Since we gave up oil a while ago I don’t miss it anymore. The salad is so flavorful on its own the oil isn’t necessary. Here is what I did.

Tabouli Style Quinoa and Veggie Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic, smashed, peeled and finely minced
½ teaspoon coriander seed, toasted and ground
1 seedless cucumber, finely minced
½ cup grape tomatoes, finely minced
1 cup cilantro, finely minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine the quinoa and water in a covered pot and bring to boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed (approximately 20 minutes). Allow to stand for an additional 10 minutes, with the pot still covered so the quinoa will continue to steam. Then fluff the quinoa with a fork and move to half sheet pan to cool.

Once the quinoa is cool add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Refrigerate for a few hours so the flavors will absorb into the quinoa. Taste for seasoning and adjust before serving.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 183.14
Calories From Fat (14%) - 25.58

Total Fat - 2.87g
Saturated Fat - 0.32g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 15.87mg
Potassium-  495.06mg
Total Carbohydrates - 33.74g
Fiber - 4.59g
Sugar - 1.91g
Protein - 7.08g

Comments:

This salad is quick, easy and stores well. I think it gets better while it sits overnight in the frig. It is also good stuffed into a pita with some hummus. This is one of my go to grain and veggie salads.

Unrelated note:

I have an experiment in the dehydrator now. I finally decided to try to attempt to make something similar to Mary’s crackers. The commercial version is baked but I wanted to try dehydrating them because of the flax seeds. I also used milled flaxseed (no whole ones) so that the omega 3 fatty acids can be absorbed. I have no idea how this first batch will turn out. Keep your fingers crossed that it goes well. As soon as I have a reasonable facsimile of the original I will share it with all of you.

I assume since you are reading my blog you are interested in eating for health. Here is a link I came across a few days ago by a scientist whose work I find interesting. I think some of you may want to check it out. It outlines very specifically what to consume to reduce your probability of cancer. Some of the food (fish and olive oil) I don’t agree with, but overall I think it is a good summary.

Tomorrow we are planning to do a little outlet shopping with our friend Louis. We haven’t been to Lancaster in a couple of years so that is the plan at the moment. We will most likely have dinner out before heading home. I am mentioning this so you know why I won’t be too chatty tomorrow. I will try to get at least one post in though.

For now I am off to return to “project purge” to make room for whatever we may buy tomorrow.  Very logical right? ;-)  I hope to be back later today with another recipe.

14 comments:

  1. •The daily consumption of 40 grams of dark chocolate


    done

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  2. Michelle,

    LOL, leave it to you to focus on that one! You are too funny. The flavonoids in chocolate are healthy but I don't have it everyday. ;-) It is a nice thought though isn't it?

    Alicia

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  3. Wow, Vulcan Mind-Meld thing going on! I have a very similar recipe that I was reminded of by my eye doctor on Wednesday (I give him vegan recipes every year, and this was one I'd given him a couple years ago), and I so wanted to make it this weekend but lack the cilantro! Darn. And now your post has just intensified my craving. I think you and my eye doc should email me some cilantro, since this is all your fault! LOl

    I use red quinoa in mine, and I stopped adding the oil to my recipe too when I quit my oil addiction ;-), and didn't miss it in the least. Glad to hear your experience was the same!

    By the way, speaking of cilantro, do you have a quick method of mincing it? I normally don't mind manually chopping stuff at all, but I find cutting up all that cilantro very tedious and time-consuming. Using my food processor just turned it to mush, so if you have a better idea I'd love to hear it!

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  4. Lalo,

    You are too funny, as usual.

    I take the cilantrol and roll it into a tight ball or log and then mince it with my chef knife. It goes really fast, under a minute probably. Just make certain you make a tight bundle of the herb and it is easy to get minced finely. If that doesn't make sense let me know.

    Ali

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  5. Thanks, Ali, I can picture that perfectly and will try it next time. (You just forgot to remind me not to chop my fingertips off in the process. You KNOW how I am!) ;-)

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  6. Lalo,

    Glad it made sense. I cut most herbs that way unless I want a chiffonade, or they are woody.

    I have had my share of knife accidents as well. Last year I had a bad one and Ian was teasing me. Apparently you can't work in a commercial kitchen without accidents. He made me feel much better about my "boo boo".

    Alicia

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  7. Quinoa with falafel-sounds like a great combo.
    Thanks for the link, interesting.
    I hope you have a wonderful time shopping tommorrow! :)

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  8. Have fun tomorrow! Hope you've made enough space for the new purchases LOL!

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  9. Janet,

    Thanks! I thought you might want to check out the link.

    Heather,

    Sadly, I have made room and fear I will fill some of it up with purchases tomorrow. And I wonder why I need to a purge periodically. Yeesh! ;-)

    Alicia

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  10. I love tabouli so much. I think I would it everyday in the summer time if I could! I have never tried quinoa, what is it like? Is it toothsome?

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  11. Brandi,

    Quinoa is nice to use because it contains a lot of protein. The texture is closer to rice (but a much smaller grain), it isn't as chewy as bulgur. I hope that helps.

    Alicia

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  12. This is a great alternative to the traditional bulgher wheat version. It looks pretty.

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  13. Rose,

    Thanks! I like to take familar flavors and change the ingredients to make things a tad more healthy. We gobbled this up in two days.

    Alicia

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  14. I took this recipe to a potluck. It was a huge hit. Thanks!

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