Posts Tagged ‘quinoa’
Bulgur-Quinoa with Sauteed Leeks, Apples and Kraut
Kitchen scraps transformed into a memorable lunch.
Happily, I was hungry today when I landed on The Sausageterian blog, maintained by fellow FOODday contributor Sara Bir. An intriguing string of ingredients in her “Bulgur with Cabbage, Onions, Feta and Walnuts” inspired my own lunchtime concoction. I sauteed a spring green leek with a pat of butter, melted, and then added the remnants of my home-fermented pink (resulting from a blend of red and green cabbage) sauerkraut to the pan. Then I chopped up my last long-forgotten, almost dried apple texture, freckled Goldenrush (my last one!) and added it to the pan. Meanwhile, I poured boiling water over the 1/2 cup of bulgur I had to use up and simmered a cup of quinoa on the stove. When the veggies had sauteed about 10 minutes, I added them to the cooked grains. I served it with some crumbled ricotta salata and a drizzle of a fig-infused balsamic glaze from some fancy foods store. And dotted it with some diced green garlic on top. What a tangy, satisfying dish that will still be difficult to recreate. Dan thought for sure it had pork in it. That’s probably just because we associate sauerkraut and apples with bacon, as I’ve braised them together before. The chicken broth I simmered the quinoa in was the only meat product involved. Now a little browned lamb or pork sausage could be crumbled into this mix. That’s something I bet The Sausageterian would approve of.
The Gluten-Free Game
Surprisingly al dente gluten-free macaroni, from bionaturae.
A wise person once said, “I’d be dead without bread,” and normally I’d have to agree. Except I’ve basically gone without bread (and other wheat products) for more than a week now. This has not been easy. I’m about as omnivorous as they come. In fact, it’s nearly impossible for me to name a food I don’t like. Tongue, Brussels sprouts, turnips, chopped liver, you name it: bring them on. Well, maybe I don’t love tripe.
Nor have I ever really dieted. I would rather exercise more than go without. But my sister has been nagging me for a year now to give up gluten for a week. She doesn’t have celiac disease, but she’s had more energy, been less irritable and more sated after a meal when she goes wheat-free. Apparently, going without gluten improves attention span and counteracts ADHD, traits of which I’ve been known to exhibit. So I finally agreed to take the plunge while visiting Elaine in Atlanta.
A week and a half in, I do feel less bloated and a bit sharper, but that’s probably because I’m eating fewer food-coma inducing carbs. I may be starting to shed some holiday weight (but that could be the additional Pilates and Bollywood dancing classes I’m taking). Lack of gluten does seem to change things gastro-intestinally, for the better. And when I violated the diet to have a store sample of bread, a few sips of beer and French onion soup with a little flour in it, I did feel a bit light-headed.
Not sure how much longer I’ll continue the experiment, but it’s nice to have this baseline. I’m really craving baked goods and more than anything, beer. Hard cider and the gluten-free stuff don’t cut it (I drank both this week). The pasta wasn’t half-bad, though. And I love quinoa. We made a lovely quinoa with shitake mushrooms and leeks risotto from the Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Book I gave Elaine. I might try to do gluten-lite. It is nice to have something to force you not to eat the bread at the restaurant. Once you have a bite, it’s hard to stop.
BaltimOregon to Maine 