Quinoa bowl

I recently got an email suggesting all sorts of new cookbooks, most of which were vegan and gluten-free. I used to buy cookbooks on a whim, but now I'm more selective (due to financial and spatial constraints), so I checked out most of the list from the library. Can we talk for a minute about the Hennepin County Public Library? I cannot say enough good about this library system. It is AMAZING! Thank you, wonderful HCPL! They have an amazing selection, a fantastic Interlibrary Loan system (way better than the one at the U, FYI), and FREE use of incredible databases. Unbelievable! I.love.this.library.

Anyway, OK, I altered a recipe from The Conscious Cook, which is a very pretty cookbook (tons of photos) but slightly more "chef-y" than I like (e.g., he uses ring molds and things for plating. Plating!). Still, there are many delicious-looking recipes in the book and I'm excited to make a few.

This was supposed to be a quinoa, avocado, and sweet potato timbale with roasted tomatillo dressing, but turned into a bowl of quinoa + yam + the dressing.


1) Make some quinoa.

2) Cut up a sweet potato (I used a yam) into small cubes and saute in a little coconut oil until crispy.

3) Roast 2 tomatillos (10 minutes or so in a 375 oven). Combine tomatillos, 3 T. olive oil, 1 T. rice vinegar, 1/4 c. chopped cilantro, and 1 t. light agave nectar (and salt and pepper) in a blender. Process until smooth.

4) Combine everything in a bowl! Add fried tortilla strips, avocado, etc., if you want.

(Apologies for the terrible photo. I am keeping true to my bad photography on both blogs!)

Artichoke and chickpea salad

Hi, WFDM! I have been cooking a lot lately and have several recipes to share. I've been delayed due to...shameless plug coming...my new blog. Megan encouraged me to have a cute tie-in, but alas, I just couldn't stretch this recipe to be about something dog-related. Oh well. Dogs dogs dogs!

Anyway, I got this great new cookbook called Vegan Yum Yum (based on the blog by the same name) and have been working my way through it. I am normally not really a fan of chickpeas, but I actually loved this recipe. So fast and so easy!

1 T. oil
1 15-oz. can chickpeas (or non-canned ones, obvi)
5-7 artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
1/4 to 1/3 c. sliced almonds
1 t. lemon juice
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped parsley

Heat the oil in a wok or cast-iron skillet. Add the chickpeas and cook on medium-high for 10 minutes (stirring to prevent burning) until they're golden brown. I deviate from her recipe a bit here and add the artichokes directly to the pan, along with the almonds. Cook until lightly browned, then remove, put it in a bowl, add the lemon juice, parsley, and salt, and serve!

Super fast couscous bowl

Like Megan, I've been eating a lot of heavy stuff lately (cheesy dough in particular!), so this dish--inspired by a blog post I read about sun-dried tomatoes--is a welcome change. I've been using couscous from a box (Near East's Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil) but it's also really easy to make couscous from scratch.

Because this is something I just throw together, there are no precise measurements:

1) Prepare couscous.
2) In a frying pan, saute garlic and red pepper flakes (to taste) in approx. 2 tablespoons olive oil (I use the olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar). Add a handful of almonds, stirring frequently so they don't burn. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes (as many as you'd like) and then a fistful of arugula, cooking until it wilts. Squeeze some lemon juice on everything. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3) Put couscous in a bowl, top with arugula mixture, and add feta or goat cheese. Super easy!