Simple Quinoa and Wild Rice Pilaf

This one has quickly become a favorite around our house. It is simple and packed full of nutrition and protein.


Simple Quinoa and Wild Rice Pilaf

~ ½ C wild rice
~ 1 C quinoa
~ 1 vegetable bullion cube
~ 2 T butter or margarine
~ 2 scallions, thinly sliced
~ salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Combine the rice with 1 ¼ C water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
2. Add the quinoa, bouillon cube, and 2 C water. Cover and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, 15 minutes.
3. Stir in the butter and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Smoothies!

I needed to type these up for a friend, so I thougt I would post them. They are from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook--one of my favorite cookbooks.

Sunshine Smoothie
~ 2 ripe bananas, broken into several pieces
~ 1 C pineapple juice
~ ½ C orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
~ 1 C lemon or orange yogurt

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed.


Cinnamon Apple or Pear Smoothie
~ 1 ripe banana, broken into several pieces
~ 2 medium soft apples (such as Cortland or Golden Delicious) or ripe pears, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
~ 1 C vanilla yogurt
~ 1 C apple juice or apple cider
~ ¼ t ground cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed.


Nutty Chocolate-Banana Smoothie
~ 1 large banana, broken into several pieces
~ 1 ½ C chocolate milk (chocolate soy, hemp or almond milk works well too)
~ 1 heaping T peanut butter or cashew butter

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed.


Hope you enjoy!

Hearty Seitan Salad

Several people have requested that I share vegetarian friendly recipes with them. Instead of emailing them separately, I've decided to put the recipes up on my blog. So when I find a good recipe or try an old favorite, I will try to remember to post it.

Hearty Seitan Salad

~1 pound seitan--this can be found in the refrigerated section of the health food section or you can omit this if you are unsure about it
~1 T light olive oil
~1 small head dark green lettuce, thinly sliced
~1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into narrow strips
~2 medium firm ripe tomatoes, diced
~1 medium avocado, sliced
~1/4 C sliced black olives
~2 scallions, sliced, optional
~dressing

1. Cut the seitan into strips, about 1/2 inch by 2 inches. Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Saute, stirring frequently, until golden, then remove from the heat.
2. Combine the lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado, olives and optional scallions in a mixing bowl and toss together. Add the seitan strips and enough dressing to moisten the salad, and toss again. Serve at once.


Here is the dressing that we used:

Tangy Tahini Dressing
~1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil
~1/4 C sesame tahini
~2 to 3 T apple cider vinegar
~juice of 1/2 lemon
~2 T natural soy sauce
~1 t dried dill

Combine all ingredients in a tightly lidded bottle and shake thoroughly. Shake well before each use. Keeps up to 2 weeks, refrigerated.

*We put the dressing on each individual portion.
*We also put the whole thing in whole wheat wraps and added fresh cut veggies to round out the meal.