Quinoa salad and red chard
So, I know I haven’t blogged since my last AIP recipe. I guess I haven’t really made anything super new and exciting lately. I was so excited to get back into eating my usual staples, that I set aside my innovativeness for comfort. I’ve been making my routine turmeric lentils, sweet potato-black bean burgers, braised citrus-olive chicken, and steamed kabocha squash with spiralized zucchini and my lemon-herb tahini. Oh yes, and there were a few batches of my Oh She Glows cookie dough bites in between.
My workplace is a hosting site for a CSA (community supported agriculture), so I have the privilege to take home a few of the veggies from our share! Every week a truck from Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op makes its rounds delivering hundreds of fresh vegetables to location spots as far north as New York and all the way down to Washington DC. My work just happens to be a designated pick-up spot along this delivery route! This gives me an opportunity to craft up some new veggie-centric recipes to share with you! I’ve also been blogging for my work, and even creating some cooking videos for our web site, so be sure to check out our latest postings at https://www.rechargexfit.com/blog/! We featured a video all about rhubarb and how to prepare the unusual vegetable, complete with a recipe for balsamic-roasted rhubarb flatbread!
Last week’s share included a beautiful bouquet of red chard, which I ate entirely myself in one sitting. I sautéed both the stems and greens with some garlic, and drizzled the end result with some fresh, fruity extra virgin olive oil and tangy red wine vinegar. The stems of the red chard have a natural sweetness, which lends a perfect balance to the red wine vinegar and nutty garlic.
This past weekend I also had the honor of helping shower my sister-in-law as the bride-to-be. I was in charge of preparing a few salads, and among them, one was a Greek quinoa salad. I made a huge batch for a big group of ladies, but I modified the recipe below to a more modest quantity. For the shower, I also added feta to the salad, but since I cannot have dairy, I omitted the cheese in the batch I kept for myself. The salad is delicious either way! You can even add chickpeas to this salad to make a complete meal!
Greek quinoa salad
For the quinoa:
2 cups quinoa
½ cucumber, diced
½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
¼ cup Kalamata olives, chopped
½ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
(optional: ½ cup crumbled feta cheese)
For the vinaigrette:
1 lemon, zest and juice
½ extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Rinse and drain the quinoa. Place the quinoa in a medium-sized pot and cover with 4 cups of water. Place the lid on the pot and bring the pot to a boil. As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat to low and allow the quinoa to continue cooking at a low simmer for about 15 minutes. When all the liquid is absorbed, shut off the heat, remove the lid from the pot, and allow the quinoa to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to use.
While the quinoa cools, prepare the vinaigrette. In a small mixing bowl, mix the lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Using a fork or whisk to mix the dressing and a continuous pace, slowly pour in the olive oil. Whisking the olive oil into the vinaigrette helps to emulsify the dressing. Taste the dressing and add more salt and black pepper if needed. Set aside until ready to use.
Next, prepare the vegetables. Remove the quinoa from the refrigerator and toss in the quartered cherry tomatoes, diced cucumbers, chopped kalamata olives, and fresh mint. Gently stir to thoroughly combine all the ingredients. Pour in the vinaigrette and stir again to evenly distribute the dressing. If using feta cheese, add in the feta and stir one final time. Chill until ready to serve.
Red chard with garlic
1 large bunch red chard
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Prepare the red chard. Wash and dry the red chard. Cut off only the bottom tips of the red stems. Cut the stems on a bias into 2-inch pieces. Chop the leaves as well into pieces about 2 inches wide.
Heat a large skillet at a moderate heat. Add the garlic and dry-toast it for a few minutes. Add the red chard stems and leaves to the pan and stir to coat all of the vegetables in the garlic. Season with salt and black pepper. Reduce the heat to a medium-low and place a lid on the pan to allow the greens to slightly wilt for about 2 minutes. You may need to add a bit of water enable the greens to steam. Remove the lid and shut the heat off of the stove. Place the red chard into a serving dish, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.