Breakfast Quinoa - so much better than oatmeal!

I've been on a bit of a breakfast kicker lately! Between the weekend brunch shifts at work, and the 30 pounds of apples I’m trying to utilize from a few weeks ago, I’m really trying to explore different uses for these sweet fruits.

I’m not a huge oatmeal fan by any measure – but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good bowl when it comes around. One thing I do realize is that I love the sweet and savory aspects of traditional oatmeal; but not the heavy and sticky parts. So how else could I possibly set myself up with something easy to grab in the morning?

I recently came to a compromise and discovered I had already stumbled upon the solution! In one of my previous posts (fall brunch menu) I had a breakfast quinoa on the menu. It occurred to me that I could easily make something super yummy and very quickly since it acts like rice (concerning the cooking process) and it’s a lot fluffier and lighter (with more texture) than oats are.

Quinoa is also a super food, and much better for you than say rolled oats or something like that. Most of your grains don’t possess the fat content, nor omega-3 fatty acid count that this fluffy grain provides. It also serves as a complete protein by itself. You can get more information on quinoa here 

Breakfast Quinoa:

Suggested modifications/substitutions:

1. Substitute the fruit content with your favorite seasonal fruit or fruit preserve.
2. Use vanilla/chocolate flavored lacto-free milk such as a nut or soy milk. 
3. Make a batch of plain (no fruit) so anyone can grab some and add fresh fruit of choice. 
4. Throw a handful of your favorite nuts in (in the beginning with the apples will result in a nuttier taste with a softer nut after it absorbs liquid, adding in at the end will keep them crunchy). 
5. Boost your protein by adding some vegan chili or a fried egg. 

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1-2 apples (small dice, skin-on)

1 Tablespoon coconut oil or butter

½ tsp cinnamon (fresh ground)

Dash coriander

¼ tsp fennel seed

3 T maple syrup or honey

2 T Apple butter

1 cup quinoa

2 cups whole milk

Directions:

1. Put medium sized pot on the fire at a medium heat.
2. Once hot, put in your coconut oil or butter and allow to melt.
3. Place your apple, cinnamon, coriander, and fennel in the pot and sauté until apples begin to brown.
4. Pour in your quinoa and stir quickly to coat it in the fat.
5. Pour in your milk and stir, let cook on medium/low heat until quinoa is soft.
6. Stir occasionally to check when it’s done.
7. Serve hot or cold with fresh fruit and honey.

Apple-maple Granola aka “The Crunch Attack”

I’m nicknaming this granola “Crunch attack” because it is the crunchiest, most gnarliest granola EVER! It’s super easy to make and packed full of nutrients and protein.

I chose to us a wide variety of seeds and nuts based on their nutritional value; however you can substitute with your favorite variety as well. You can also substitute the dried fruit for whatever dried fruit you want. 

Just keep in mind that it comes down to a ratio of fat/sugar to the remaining product. I would suggest that no matter what you try and move around, that you keep the quinoa in it as it is one of the main crunch components.

As far as chopped nuts go, I did a pretty rough chop. The idea is that most of the large items besides the main garnish (apple) are the same size. This will allow for an easier cluster formation. You can also cheat and throw the nuts/seeds you want to use in a blender or food processer and buzz it up a few times (way faster and cleaner than doing it with a knife on the board).

Please enjoy with yogurt and apple butter/apple sauce. Store in a cool, dry place.

Ingredients:

2 cups oats

½ cup quinoa

¼ cup peanuts (chopped)

¼ cup almonds (chopped)

¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

¼ cup soy nuts (chopped)

2 Tablespoons flax seed

3 Tablespoons hemp seeds

1 cup apples (dehydrated)

½ cup cranberries (dehydrated)

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 Tablespoons apple butter

2/3 cup maple syrup  or honey

Pinch dark chili powder

Pinch pink Himalayan salt

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil, apple butter, and maple syrup in small sauce pot until coconut oil is melted.
2. Take remaining ingredients and combine in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add liquid and mix until incorporated.
4. Place the mixture on a sheet  tray line with parchment paper or foil.
5. Bake in the oven at 225 for 2 hours.

Curried Apple Jasmine Rice

Continuing on with my apple extravaganza, I decided to make a curry spice soup and add jasmine rice to it. 

However, I used too much rice, or too little liquid (depending on what side of the line you’re on) and it really turned out to be more of a rice dish than a soup. Anyway, my loss is your gain because I turned it into this savory dish with a sweet note guaranteed to accent any protein quite nicely.

This dish is not particularly spicy, however, it does have some spices in it to heighten the flavor and allow the sweetness to cut through it. Combined with the fragrance of jasmine rice, this dish is a total plunder of your senses.

I would say that if you want this to be more of a soup that you cut the portion of rice down to 2/3 cup or double the recipe and maintain the same amount of rice. You can even throw some chicken/beans in there as well if you want to make a complete meal out of it.

Keep in mind that this recipe will be blended, so uniform cuts won’t really matter here. You are just looking to make it as easy as possible to break down the vegetables.

I highly suggest enjoying this rice with my veganchili  on top. Take it a step further and a piece of grilled meat, or two fried eggs with a healthy sprinkle of a mild cheese on top. Maybe even shaved fennel salad?

Anyway, enough jibber-jabber, TO THE INGREDIENT LIST!

Curried Apple Jasmine Rice

Ingredients:

1 green chili (chopped)

1 carrot (chopped)

2 medium onions (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (sliced)

½ pickled Anaheim pepper

1 dried chili (chopped)

2 apples (grated)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 ½ tsp curry

1 cup milk (whole)

4 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)

1 ½ cup jasmine rice

Zest and juice 1 lime

¼ cup cilantro or parsley (chiffonade)

Season to taste

Directions:

1. Put a medium pot on the fire on medium-low
2. Once pot is hot, pour in your oil 
3. Add chili, carrot, onion, garlic, pickled pepper, and dried chili. Continue cooking until onions are translucent. 
4. Add curry spice and allow to dissolve in remaining liquid for a few minutes, then add your apples.  
5. Allow to cook more until apples become tender and start to fall apart. 
6. Pour in your milk and stock and allow to come to a simmer. 
7. Using a blender or immersion blender, puree contents until smooth. 
8. Add Jasmine rice and continue to cook until rice is tender. 
9. Finish with lime juice and herb and incorporate into the rice. 

Crock-pot Apple Butter

This past week I went apple picking and got a little too excited with the festivities and went a little overboard. Needless to say 28lbs of apples later I basically had to approach it on a colonial scale. So, I wound up doing around 7 different ways and this is probably one of the best, without a doubt. I’d even go as far as to say that this is one of the best recipes I’ve released thus far!

I chose to use the crock-pot method as a way to start exploring the possibilities with these great little guys. I know a lot of you out there probably have one lying around and I want to encourage you to get full use out of any equipment you have. This particular recipe takes about 12 hours to complete, so feel free to just pile in some ingredients and let it go while you continue with your day.

As far as uses are concerned, I would say that you should treat this as a sauce substitute (add a little cold butter to the warm apple mixture, maybe a little rosemary – call it a day), or simply as a sweetener in recipes (think adding to yogurt, toast, bagel, vinaigrette's, marinades, stuffing, or soup).

Keep in mind that apples have a very high moisture content and add a lot of moisture to any recipe when baking. It also contains a lot of pectin (natural plant-based thickener) in the core, so by adding that to a jelly/jam you can sweeten and thicken in the same step.

Crock-pot apple butter

Ingredients:

6-8 apples quartered with the seeds cut/scooped out (enough to reach the indent on the pot)

2 tsp cinnamon (ground)

½ tsp nutmeg

1 clove

1 Tablespoon(ish) pickled ginger (I like a good zip of ginger)

1/8 cup honey (a floral variety like rosemary/lavender works well here)

1 shot whiskey (I suggest the Irish variety)

1 cup water

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar 

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into crock pot and cover for about 6-8 hours. 
2. Once it reaches the point where it looks like the picture below, leave uncovered and cook for another 4 hours, stirring occasionally. 
3. 
4. Once it reaches this color, puree it up in a blender. It should be about this dark when compared to regular apple sauce. 
5. 
6. Enjoy!