Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa quinoa quinoa.

I’ll never forget the time my old roommate saw my bag of quinoa and asked, "What’s kweenoah?”

She’s so cute. I miss her! Hey, Jenna!

It’s pronounced keen-wah. And your body loves it. Quinoa is rich with nutrients and is one of the only grains that is considered a complete protein source. It’s gluten-free and a good source of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron, and fiber. Don’t you want to eat it now? Oh, good, because I have a recipe ready for you. And it’s easy, to boot!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
• 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation:

1. Cook quinoa as instructed on package.
2. Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds, then quarter them. Place them in a large bowl, then add tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, and pepper.
3. Once quinoa has finished cooking, fluff with a fork. Next, add the quinoa to the vegetable mixture and toss until evenly combined.
4. Drizzle with lemon juice and toss again. Top with feta and serve warm or chilled. Serves 4.

Using the Livestrong nutritional calculator, here are the stats:

Check out the fiber and protein content. You love it. That’s the key to staying full, my friends.

While you eat this, you can daydream just like I did…about this place.

From what part of the world is your favorite cuisine?

The Friday Five 11.9.12

1. What I’m Reading: The Runner's Rule Book by by Mark Remy.

2. What I’m Eating: Holy crud, listen to me right now. Go to Whole Foods immediately and pick up a jar of this Earth Balance Coconut & Peanut Spread. Whether you decide on crunchy or creamy is up to you, as I can only attest that the former is quite delectable. It’s a jar of natural peanut butter with the addition of coconut oil. The coconut flavor is definitely there, but isn’t overpowering. I’ve been eating this by the spoonful every day. I’m going to pick up the jar of creamy next so I can use it for baking. Seriously, go buy this! 

3. Recipes I’m Bookmarking: Barley and Kale Salad with Golden Beets and Feta.

4. What I’m Listening to: Stardust by Lena. Sorry, the official video isn’t out yet, but it’s worth a listen.

5. GIFs I’m Loving:

WHEN MY FRIEND STARTS TELLING ME HOW FAST YOU CAN MEET SOMEONE, FALL IN LOVE, AND GET MARRIED

WHEN I GET A FREE BABY MAGAZINE IN THE MAIL

. . .  

Happy Friday! Have a wonderful weekend!

The Friday Five 10.5.12

1. What I’m Reading: Wild About Greens: 125 Delectable Vegan Recipes for Kale, Collards, Arugula, Bok Choy, and other Leafy Veggies Everyone loves.

Ok, that has to the be the longest book title ever. This cookbook is broken up into 5 chapters: Basic Preparations for Leafy Greens; Greens with Beans, Grains, Pasta & Other Vegetables; Salads, Dressings & Dips; Greens in Soups & Stews; and Green Juices & Smoothies. There are a ton of good recipes but unfortunately very few pictures. This is sad because I’m sure they’d all photograph beautifully.

2. What I’m Eating:  Lately I cannot get enough of Publix’s reduced fat mozzarella string cheese. I feel like a 5 year old when I eat it, but it’s an easy, somewhat healthy snack. Each stick has 70 calories, 4 grams of fat and 8 grams of protein. Are you a peeler or a biter? I’m most definitely a biter. I take aggression out on my string cheese.

3. Recipes I’m Bookmarking:  Grilled Chicken with Balsamic and Feta. Did you just drool? I did.

4. What I’m Listening To: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa by Vampire Weekend.

5. GIFs I’m Loving:

WHEN I SCROLL THROUGH FACEBOOK IN SEARCH OF A DATE TO A WEDDING

WHEN I PUT DOWN MY OTHER SINGLE FRIEND AS MY PLUS ONE FOR A WEDDING INSTEAD OF FINDING A DATE

Have a wonderful, blessed weekend! 

Caramelized Onion Rice with Tomatoes and Cucumber

At the end of the weekend, I find myself scrambling to use up the last of my CSA box. I pick my box up each Tuesday, so I try to eat the majority of the veggies from the previous week by Monday. Sometimes I end up eating the veggies raw, sometimes I end up throwing them all in a soup, and sometimes I end up roasting them and drizzling them with, you guessed it, Sriracha.

I was skimming through The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook, my newest favorite find at the library, when I noticed a recipe for Caramelized Onion Rice. I thought it sounded like a great side but could easily be amped up with a couple more vegetables.

FoodBuzz recently provided me with a tub of Texmati White Rice as part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemaker program with RiceSelect. I cracked it open and started cooking!

Caramelized Onion Rice with Tomatoes and Cucumber

Serves 4-6, as a side

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Texmati white rice
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
• 2 small cucumbers, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta, optional, for topping

1. Cook rice according to package directions; remove from heat and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook for an additional 2 minutes until fragrant; remove from heat.
3. Add onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Gently toss until combined. Top with feta, if desired.

This side dish is incredibly easy to make. The caramelized onions give it a sweet touch that balances out the saltiness of the feta. While the rice is fluffy and tender, the cucumbers give it a nice crunch. Serve with your favorite veggie burger and top with grilled shrimp for a light, Summery dish.

Yes, I’m still pretending it’s Summer. It’s 84* today, wouldn’t you?

This post is brought to you by Rice Select.

This post is brought to you by Rice Select.

What I’m Loving Wednesday 9/5/12

1. I often forget about Old Navy, but occasionally I’ll see something really cute on someone and it ends up being from there. Amanda bought a bunch of this beautiful colored top, and thankfully she doesn’t mind me being a copycat. After wearing it once…

I fell in love and bought three more. They’re classic, can be worn many different ways, and were cheap. After an extra 30% off the sale price, I ended up paying around $8 a pop.

2. Another store I often forget about is Versona, a jewelry store in Town Centre. It’s huge and overwhelming; think Forever 21 but with mostly accessories. While most of it is junky, you can find some gems in the rough. I picked up 3 necklaces on Saturday:

3. Oh, you want to see some food? Okay. I’ve got that covered too. On Monday, Boding and I went to our favorite restaurant on Daniel Island, Ali Baba Deli. As always, I stuck to items from the deli case. I got my usual favorites: hearts of palm salad, fattoush salad, foul madamas, and grilled chicken. Four items from the deli case cost $9.95 and it always lasts me two meals.

4. As I was placing my leftovers in the fridge, I laughed when I looked in the bottom drawer. I’m now convinced that I was Greek in a past life.

5. One of my favorite parts about being single is that I spend my free time doing whatever I want. So what if one of my favorite hobbies is reading anything I get my hands on? And no one gets to make fun of me nerding out with my glasses on. It’s not surprising that I’m the foursquare mayor of my library.

The best part is foursquare asking me if I have a crush on the librarian. No.

6. Speaking of books, I just added a bunch of books to my “to-read” list on Goodreads. Are you on Goodreads? Add me! I’m always up for book recommendations.

7. This sums up my Labor Day Weekend:

WHEN SOMEONE SAYS I’M A LITTLE SUNBURNED

When you really like something, do you buy it in multiple colors? I have multiple Longchamp totes, Camelbak water bottles, necklaces, shirts, and shoes in different colors. When I like something, I really like it.

What’s the nerdiest thing you like? I’m a proud fan of the library, crossword puzzles, online grammar quizzes, and the Twilight series.

Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad with Feta

Ladies and Gentleman, we have a recipe!

And Boding named it for me. Say thank you to him, won’t you?

So this recipe. It’s pretty! It’s Summery! It’s tasty. You will love it.

The tomatoes used for this recipe were the last of my Summer CSA with Gruber Farm. It was bittersweet. And by bittersweet I mean I am mildly depressed that the Summer season is over, but very excited knowing that the Fall season will start at the end of August.

Yes, I said August. August 28th to be exact. What is with South Carolina being so ahead of the times? Seasonally speaking…progressively, not so much. Thank goodness our people are so friendly.

Before I go off on another tangent, let me share with you some salad.

Hearts of Palm and Tomato Salad with Feta

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 14 oz. can of hearts of palm, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 3 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, toss together tomatoes, hearts of palm, and feta.
2. Add parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss until evenly mixed.

I highly recommend using local tomatoes and fresh parsley for optimal flavor. It gets better as it sits, so for best results, make the night before you want to serve it. The salad is great as an appetizer or as a side; I’ve had it both as a snack and with grilled chicken and veggies.

On Saturday, I dropped my Shun Santoku knife off at Coastal Cupboard to be sharpened and got it back today. Aside from the above recipe, this was the most exciting part of my day. The knife slices through tomatoes so easily, it’s quite scary. The moment I took it out of the packaging,  I nicked my fingernail. I would.

You know you’re a foodie when…

Birthdays, Crave, and a "Christina Orzo" Recipe

Saturday evening was my bestie Nancy's 26th birthday party. We celebrated the fact the she is old, but not as old as me. I have 1 1/2 months on her. This was cool in high school, but now, not so much.

 

As part of her birthday present, I gave her pretzel m&ms. I think she was pretty happy about that.

Approximately six hours later I was up for some more birthday fun with my favorite Italian stallions. Santo & Frankie had a birthday brunch at Crave Kitchen & Cocktails. Crave's brunch menu offers 10 different entrees that all include corn bread muffins, fresh fruit, and your choice of juice, coffee, tea, or soda for $11. I chose the Create Your Own Omelet option with shrimp, spinach, and mozzarella. It came with fruit and a side of hand-cut home fries.

The omelet was enormous! They must have used 10 eggs. Here's a picture of the inside, nice and stuffed!

 

And here's a picture of me stuffed between the two birthday boys. Kindly ignore the fact that I am a midget.

That evening, I decided to try a new recipe. I have to admit that I have 46 starred recipes in my Google reader. (God bless that thing.) It was time to knock down the number to 45 and make something that I apparently thought sounded tasty on November 16th, 2009.

This was the Serious Eats recipe for Baked Shrimp and Feta Pasta. I made a few changes that I thought my taste buds would find more appealing and renamed it Christina Orzo Shrimp & Feta Bake. Haha, is that legal? Can I name a recipe after myself? Maybe I need to be arrested, because I just did. Technically I'm not naming it after myself because my last name is actually Orso. In Italian, Orso = bear and Orzo = barley. Moving on.

Christina Orzo Shrimp & Feta Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orzo
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
• 3-4 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 3/4 pound shrimp, peeled
• 4 oz feta, crumbled
• Salt and pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the orzo according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
• Pour in wine, tomato, and oregano. Stir and bring mixture to a simmer. Cook for five minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a large baking dish, combine the cooked orzo, sauce, shrimp, and chives. Sprinkle on the crumbled feta cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the shrimp have cooked. Squeeze lemon juice on top. Makes 4 servings.

 The onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes:

 Wine, tomatoes, oregano:

 All mixed up in the baking dish:

Crumbled feta on top: 

All done! Doesn't this remind you of the lasagna pic? And yes, my makeup had worn off. Yikes.

A bowl of delicious Orzo:

It's a shame that I waited 9 months to make this recipe, because it was so good. I was really happy with the results. There was so much flavor from the heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs, feta, and lemon juice. I definitely recommend using fresh herbs whenever possible. It makes your dish full of flavor and color. If I make this again, I'll add spinach. Now I'm left with a bunch of oregano and chives. Any recipes you'd like to share?