The Lovely Quinoa

Yesterday was really cold and REALLY rainy and REALLY cold...did I say it was cold? Well it was. So cold in fact, I had both heaters on PLUS I had to turn on the elements on the stove to heat up the place. It was freezing! I wasn't feeling too well, thanks to my stupid decision to go for a nice stroll at 8pm the night before in the freezing cold, with not enough clothes on and wet hair. Not the brightest idea I've ever had. Because I wasn't feeling so hot I decided to take the day and catch up on all the tv shows I have missed since being over here in NZ (it was a total lazy day). It was actually quite relaxing and since it was too cold to even leave my electric blanket anyways, it was quite fitting that I stay inside and make use of the old megavideo account. Because it was so cold, I really wanted to eat something warm and comforting for dinner, but since I was feeling pretty bad, I didn't want to have to put too much effort in to cooking. The boy and I settled on quinoa and vegetables, with a twist! I decided to make quinoa with chickpeas (uber protein dins!) with some home marinated (with my special dressing) vegetables. I put the whole thing over some rocket salad (arugula salad for any North Americans out there) and it was delish. I'm really starting to like quinoa and even the smell of it while cooking is so good! This is also such a simple recipe:

1 cup quinoa (pre-soaked 4-6 hours)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
2 cups chickpeas (or one whole can drained and rinsed)
1 bunch carrots peeled and cut
4 celery stalks washed and cut
1/2 cucumber peeled cut
10 cherry/grape/strawberry tomatoes washed and halved
1/2 red onion cut up in tiny pieces
2 red peppers washed cut
3 handfuls rocket salad (or any type of green you want!)
Handful mixed pre-soaked nuts (pumpkin, sunflower, pecan, cashew, almond, etc. whatever you want)

Homemade Balsamic:

extra virgin cold pressed Olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp paprika
2 tablespoons oregano (I use a lot, its all about how much you like the taste)
4 garlic buds

Veggies:
I made the homemade sauce (which, lets be honest, changes every time) and mixed it all up in a separate bowl. Then, I cut up all my veggies and threw them in to a big glass bowl. I let the sauce sit for about an hour in the separate dish so that the garlic could really get in to the olive oil. I find if you let it sit, the flavor amplifies a lot. Usually 4 hours is best, but if you are short on time, work with what you've got! After this sat for a bit, I put all the sauce all over the veggies and mixed it all up with two big spoons! I let the veggies sit in the sauce while I cooked the quinoa and chickpeas

Quinoa and chickpeas:
First, I pre-soaked the quinoa as per my last post, to make sure I get the full benefit of the enzymes and less of the toxins and acid. I find pre-soaking the quinoa also gives it a fluffier texture while cooking, it cooks faster, and it tastes better (seriously, it does). While I was cooking the quinoa I opened up a can of organic chickpeas, which I drained and then rinsed (this is important, check out what happens when you rinse them, bubbles = not normal). After the quinoa was pretty much ready I threw in the chickpeas and cooked some more to make sure they were warmed and some of the flavor seeped in.

I got two big plates, put a handful of rocket salad on each plate and then I put the quinoa chickpea mix on top, and covered it with the veggies. I topped it off with some (also pre-soaked) pumpkin, sunflower, and pecan nuts crumbled up. You can also mix that up; sometimes I use almonds or whatever is available. Voila! This meal is a really quick, hearty, super duper nutritious and a delicious dinner. The boys loves it, its slowly becoming his favorite and I love it too :)

Tonight I am not sure what I will make. It's super cold again and I'm in the mood for some brown rice so I'll have to rack my brain. I have a late appointment today too so when I get home I know I'll be hungry for something fast!

Last night, we watched the movie "The Lovely Bones," which I was dying to see because I really loved the book and I also really like Peter Jackson, the director. He also directed Lord of the Rings, which I LOVED! I really hope that soon we can go on the Lord of the Rings tour here in NZ so I can see the sights. The Lovely Bones is a murder mystery/thriller and it was beautiful. Peter Jackson's depiction of Purgatory was amazing and reminded me of a psychedelic dream. The movie was scary in some parts and I found I got really involved with both the characters and the story line. I'm not sure who the actress was who played the young girl who was the main character, Susan Salmon, but she was also great. I loved her voice. Weird, I know, but I totally did! I also finally saw the season finale of True Blood, which was kind of a fail. There are always so many un-answered questions and it reminds me of the show "Lost" a little bit, one of my ultimate favorite shows, but also a huge mystery to me. Ah well, I guess we'll have to wait till next season! I am off for now :) xJ