Quinoa Beanballs

I like this variation of a meatball as they are hearty and have a fantastic texture. The sage and paprika together will bring through a meatier, smoky flavor. This recipe created ~24 balls and they can be kept in the refrigerator, uncooked, up to 1 week or you can freeze them for about a month. 

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 can Great Northern White Beans
1 jar sundried tomatoes, with oil (4oz jar)
2 whole cloves of garlic
1.5 tsp paprika
1 tbsp sage
0.5 tbsp parsley
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

**PREHEAT YOUR OVEN BEFORE GETTING STARTED: 375° F

1. Blend the Beans and tomatoes! In a food processor or blender, you will want to pulse the beans along with the garlic and sundried tomatoes until smooth. Once this is done, set aside. No need to strain the tomatoes prior to adding to the food processor: the oil from the tomatoes will assist in holding the mixture together. 
2. Rinse the Quinoa. If you are using a quinoa that is not pre-rinsed, you will want to rinse the quinoa.* You can rinse quinoa by using a fine sieve and running warm water over the quinoa while agitating the quinoa a bit with your hands or a spoon.
3. Cook Your Quinoa. I like to cook my quinoa in vegetable broth. Combine the broth and quinoa in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Once boiling lower the heat and cover your saucepan. It will take 10-15 minutes for the quinoa to cook. Cooked quinoa will be fluffy and most (if not all) of the liquid will be absorbed.** I then let the quinoa rest for a few minutes, removed from heat so that it cools a bit before being handled.
4. Mix it all together. Once your quinoa has cooled a bit, combine the bean mixture and quinoa in a large mixing bowl. At this point, you will also add your spices: the sage, paprika, black pepper, and salt. The mixture should be tacky (that's the beauty of the white beans! food glue!) 
5. MAKE THE BALLS. roll the mixture with your palms into 1.5inch balls. I like to scoop the mixture into my palm using a spoon -- this creates less mess. Once you have your balls, place them gently on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 
6. Bake at 375° for ~35 minutes. The outside will brown a bit. 

These quinoa and bean balls are great with pasta. I like to add these into my marinara and simmer for a few minutes prior to serving. I'd image these would be AWESOME on a sub too :)
 

*Rinsing quinoa removes the natural coating on it. If you do not do this, your quinoa might taste a little more bitter than you're expecting. Some brands of boxed quinoa comes pre-rinsed so no effort is needed there :) If you buy bulk foods, you will need to rinse! 
**Cooked quinoa will have "germ" (the outer ring of the quinoa) start to separate from the seed. 

Taco Tuesday

My husband and I have a favorite meal. Luckily for myself, it's simple yet delicious every time. Plus, there are so many different ways to prepare it. Tacos. Tacos in many shapes and sizes. Living in San Francisco has only fueled our obsession as there are so many amazing taquerias.

With that being said, expect many variations of tacos on a series that will be running for the next few months: TACO TUESDAY.  

Tofu Tacos with Cabbage and Jalapeño Relish

Ingredients:

1 block extra firm tofu
1 tbsp olive oil

Taco Seasoning:
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
a pinch of salt

Cabbage and Jalapeño Relish:
2 cups red cabbage, chopped
2 Jalapeños, minced
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:
Drain tofu and cut into 8 strips. Before cooking the tofu, it is best to press the water from it, in order for proper texture and seasoning to occur. To press the tofu, place a stack of paper towels on a plate and lay the tofu strips across the paper towel. Then layer another stack of paper towel on top of the tofu, and weigh it down with a heavy-bottomed skillet. Allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes, the pressure of the pan will give enough weight to press the water out of the tofu. After the 15 minutes, the tofu should be moist, however yield no drainage when pressure is applied.

While the tofu is being pressed, mix the taco seasoning spices in a small bowl. 

Discard the paper towel and then cut the strips of tofu into cubes.

Toss the tofu in the taco seasoning until well-coated. In a large skillet on medium heat, heat the olive oil just until it starts to pop, reduce heat to low and add the tofu.

While the tofu is cooking, mix together the ingredients for the cabbie and jalapeño relish. Cook the tofu on low heat, stirring often to avoid burning, until golden brown and firm. 

Serve the cabbage and jalapeño relish with the tofu on fresh corn tortillas with your favorite taco additions! I enjoy a salsa and daiya cheese. The ones pictured above are served with spinach and sweet potatoes.  

What's your favorite taco topping?

Veggie Noodles with Light Basil Pesto

Lately I've been experimenting with making pasta out of vegetables. Blame it on my attempts to cut down on bready carbs, or simply on obsession with my julienne slicer. ​

Some of my favorite veggies to make into noodles are zucchini and carrots.​ Pictured to the left, the noodles are tossed with a fresh basil pesto.

This pesto, is light AND vegan. Made with a cashew parmesan cheese, the pesto tastes great on pasta, or even mixed into a chickpea salad. 

Basil Pesto:​
2 cups (packed) fresh basil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup cashew parmesan
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

​Method: pulse in a food processor until well combined and smooth. 

Zucchini and Carrot Pasta "Noodles":
2 zucchini
2 carrots
1/2 tbsp salt

Method: Slice vegetables using a julienne slicer/peeler. (The one I have been using can be bought here.) After the vegetables are peeled, place in a colander in the sink and rinse with warm, running water for a few seconds until well saturated. Once the water has drained, sprinkle them with the salt. 
Then, allow the vegetables noodles to sit in the colander for about 20-25 minutes. This is how the veg will develop a noodle-like texture. 

At this point, the vegetable noodles can be served cold or if preferred, you can add them to a pot of boiling water for about 3-5 minutes to give them a spaghetti temperature. Bear in mind, if you leave them in the pot too long, you could overheat giving the vegetables a soggy texture.​

Hope you enjoy!

What ways will you use your veggie noodles?​

Chickpea Hash

​1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. parsley
1/2 tbsp. dried chives
1 egg or egg replacer
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 chopped red onion
4 baby red potatoes, cubed w/ skins
1 1/2 tbsp. white truffle oil
Pepper to taste ( I used cubeb pepper)

In a large skillet, add truffle oil and garlic on medium heat until the oil becomes fragrant and garlic has browned, then add the onions. Onions should be cooked in the oil until they are slightly transparent and thinned.

Turn heat down to low to reduce the popping of the garlic and oil.Add cubed red potatoes and cook until the potatoes yield to gentle pressure and are slightly browned, about ten minutes. 

While the potatoes are cooking, drain and rinse your can of chickpeas. Chickpeas (once drained) should still hold some moisture- do not pat dry. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use a potato-masher to squish chickpeas. They do not need to be completely mashed! If some chickpeas are still intact, that's ok!

Crack an egg into the mixture or add your preferred egg replacer. When cooking, I prefer ground flaxseed. (1 tbsp. ground flaxseed to 3 tbsp. water is the equivalent of one egg) Add the parsley and chives to the mixture. Stir until well combined. 

Once the potatoes have slightly browned, add the chickpea mixture to the skillet. Cook the hash for another five-ten minutes, stirring occasionally. The chickpea mixture will become golden brown. Remove from heat and top the mixture with pepper to taste. 

Served over top was a salsa I made using ​half of a diced heirloom tomato and one green chili pepper and a dash of lemon juice. (Really! That's it! and it tastes great!)