Quinoa is one of the most healthy grains in this world 🙂
Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.
I love this salad on any given day and the best thing is my kids eat it all up when I serve with a creamy guacamole.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup quinoa
5 Cloves of chopped garlic
1 can of black beans
1 small onion chopped
1 jalapeno chopped -optional
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
Evoo
For Guacamole:
1/2 onion chopped
1 avocado mashed up (save the outer skin of the avocados)
lemon juice from 1 lemon
Cilantro for garnish
salt to taste
Preparation:
For Avocado Salad Boats:
This is such a forgiving recipe that you can add any veggies you like to it. Take a pan and add 1 tsp of EVOO and transfer the chopped garlic, onion, jalapeno and zucchini. Mix well and saute with salt, turmeric and curry powder. Add in the rinsed black beans and mix well for about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup quinoa and toast for 3-4 minutes and mix. Now add 1 cup of water to the pan with all the ingredients and let it cook uncovered for about 10 minutes till all water evaporates. If quinoa seems uncooked, add another 1/2 cup water and let it cook uncovered. You want to cover it for the last 3 minutes with a lid so the quinoa turns out fluffy. Keep aside.
Cooked Quinoa with black beans, jalapenos, onions and zucchini
For Guacamole:
Take a bowl. Add mashed guacamole with salt and lemon juice and mix well to a creamy pulp. Then transfer chopped onions, salt to taste and garnish with Cilantro.
Plating:
For plating, transfer quinoa salad into the outer skins of avocados and place these boats with guacamole.
My kids love breakfast in the morning and look forward to it every morning during these lock down days. It is challenging to get creative at times and so just came up with a breakfast dish very high in protein and good saturated fats (avocados) . This dish was inspired by a korean dish called BIBIMBAP. It is very easy to make. I saute some garlic, onions, red bell pepper, jalapeno’s and black beans with salt and turmeric. My kids love a half fried egg so place that on top with some melted pepper jack cheese and some sour cream and avocados on the side.
My way of coping amidst this panic of Covid 19 is by cooking. It helps me calm down and release my stress.
This morning I decided on cooking a big breakfast. The thing about Huevos Rancheros is that it is a Mexican dish rich in protein from the beans and the eggs. You may skip the yolk and even make the eggs with simply egg whites if you like.
This recipe is simple yet a bit time consuming in terms of the number of ingredients and plating or layering involved. If you want to make it quick you may skip few ingredients as per your liking.
Ingredients:
Eggs -1
Onion- 1 medium chopped fine
Garlic cloves- 4-5
Habanero lime tortillas from Trader Joes (you may use any brand tortillas or any kind)
1 Can of black beans
1 jalapeno diced
Cheddar Cheese or any mexican cheese blend
Salt to taste
1 avocado sliced
Sour Cream
Salsa -either homemade or any store bought (I use Ghost pepper or Habanero salsa because our family loves spice)
Butter or oil
Cilantro for garnish
Preparation:
Take a pan and place over medium heat, add 1 tsp oil, garlic cloves, onions and black beans along with salt and saute for about 5-10 minutes. Then take another pan and make half fry eggs over medium flame. Toast the tortillas in medium flame and I add some cheddar cheese over the toasted tortilla while its warm so the cheese melts over it.
Take a plate -place the toasted tortilla with cheese
Tranfer 2-3 spoons of the beans with onion and garlic on top of the tortilla
Place the half fried egg over
Add some salsa
Add a dollop of sour cream or more as per your liking
Add sliced avocados
Add jalapenos if you like the crunch and spice
Garnish with cilantro
Layering or Plating:
Tip: I always try to make the yolk runny since that elevates the quality of the dish so much.
