discovering quinoa and broccolini

Since entering the blogosphere, I have not only discovered an array of delicious food blogs (which I spend way too much time looking at) but I have also been introduced to new ingredients.

Heidi's recipes at 101 Cookbooks display the variety of whole foods that are out there, and make them seem less scary to novices like me. One such ingredient she introduced me to was quinoa (said "keen wa"). After reading her descriptions of quinoa, I knew I had try out this superfood for myself. You can find it in the bulk bins in the supermarket now, and its roughly the same price you would pay for rice. My husband even loved it - he doesn't cope with new things that well, so I always take a big risk trying out new healthy foods!


I was also a broccolini virgin when I made this recipe. I found some at our local farmers market and decided to give it a go. The whole food can be used, with the stems taking on a delicious nutty flavour after roasting or frying. I'm trying to be a locavore - buying and eating food that is local and seasonal, and locally grown broccolini definitely fits in to that category. If you can use tomatoes from your own garden for this recipe, and make your own pesto - even better!

Italian Inspired Quinoa
You can easily adapt this recipe to be vegetarian by omitting the chicken and adding in extra veges. For a dairy free version, leave out the feta cheese and use dairy free pesto or something like basil oil. You really can adapt it to whatever ingredients you have lying around.
Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
a pinch of salt
1/2 brown onion, finely diced
2 cups quinoa, rinsed through a strainer*
2 chicken thighs, diced
1 bunch of broccolini, cut into chunky pieces
feta cheese, cubed (use as much as preferred, I used about 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup pesto
6 to 8 roasted tomatoes** (or store-bought sundried tomatoes)

1. To cook quinoa, place in a saucepan with 4 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain any extra liquid and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to the boil with a pinch of salt. Add broccolini and cook for around 5 minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain and set aside.

3. Heat oil and in a large pan and add the onion, cooking for a few minutes until softened. Add the diced chicken and cook, turning occasionally until browned and cooked through completely.

4. Stir in the quinoa and cook until hot and starting to fry. Add broccolini and feta cheese and heated through.

5. Remove from heat and evenly stir through the pesto. Serve in a large bowl topped with the roasted tomatoes.


*Rinsing quinoa is important because it has a bitter coating that needs to be removed.

**To roast tomatoes, heat oven to 180C, halve tomatoes and place on a baking dish. Mix together a glug of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar and a couple of pinches of salt. Pour this over the tomatoes and toss to evenly coat them. Ensure they end up with the cut side facing up. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until they are shrunken and caramelised.

Recipe adapted from "Heather's Quinoa" at 101 Cookbooks.

homegrown new potatoes

We were having friends over for dinner, so we decided to show off a bit by serving them new potatoes from our own garden. The varieties are jersey benne and urenika (purple ones). I thought I had already pulled out the whole urenika plant, I was quite surprised when these babies turned up among the jersey bennes. We ate them pure - boiled with butter. We were so proud.

apple pancakes

Who knew that pancakes could be made with apples? What a brilliant idea - talk about a yum way to get your five plus a day! When I saw them over at Smitten Kitchen, I just knew I had to have them. They have been on my mind ever since (kinda weird and obsessive I know). So when I finally got a night off exam study, I didn't hesitate to whip up a batch. And eat them. Yum!


Apple Pancakes

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3 granny smith apples, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs well, add the milk and vanilla and beat together.

2. Sift in the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the grated apple, nutmeg or cinnamon to the bowl and stir to combine.

3. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-low heat and spray lightly with oil. Place spoonfuls of the batter into the pan, flattening them out slightly to ensure even cooking. When lightly browned underneath, flip and continue cooking for another few minutes until cooked through.

4. Serve warm with a dusting of icing sugar or drizzle of maple syrup. Or both!

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

spring in auckland

Signs of life on the plum tree.

white chocolate and orange blondies

I made these delicious blondies for an event I organised at my church - a screening of the movie Black Gold about the coffee trade, and a discussion about Fair Trade and what we action we can take. These blondies, along with the brownies I also made, received lots of positive comments on the night so I decided the recipe was worth sharing. They are really yummy and the orange zest really gives them a lift. Of course, you could also use dark chocolate instead of white.


White Chocolate and Orange Blondies
Serves 20 approx

200g butter
200g white chocolate
zest of 1 orange
145g plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
360g caster sugar
4 large eggs

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line a 25cm square tin with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate (either in the microwave, or over a pot of water on the stove) and mix until smooth. Add the orange zest, and stir together.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate and butter mixture. Stir together well.

4. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

5. Pour into the baking tray, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes approx. Cool in tray, then cut into small squares.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe for "Blooming Brilliant Brownies."