Food prep day

I didn't really plan it, but this afternoon I did a giant amount of food prep while the little guy napped. It started with a trip to the farmer's market this morning, where I got some beautiful rainbow-colored Swiss chard. I was inspired by the cold salad a friend made for our post-run meal last night. When I got home to put away my colorful produce (also including peaches, corn, cucumbers, and salsa), I remembered the beets I'd bought last week. They were quickly prepped for roasting, though sadly I waited too long and the greens weren't good to use like I have before:

On to the chard...

Ten stalks of chard got washed, trimmed, and sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then mixed with sauteed mushrooms, a chopped carrot, a green onion, freshly minced garlic, dried thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes. All of this was mixed with precooked quinoa, and stashed back in the fridge. Dinner side dish/lunch-to-go done.

As the chard-quinoa was mingling flavors and warming through, I started a batch of adzuki beans. They don't require presoaking like many dried beans, and they cook in just about an hour. Great to have available for any number of midweek meals! I'm looking forward to making these burgers, since I also have a few partially-used bell peppers in the crisper.

While the adzukis simmered away, the beets finished roasting. They were gorgeous! Each one just bigger than a golfball, and such a beautiful shade of magenta. I've been craving one of my summer favorites, this beet salad, for a few weeks. For the first time since I started making it, today I toasted the walnuts in a dry skillet before I added them. What a great difference! I used crumbled bleu cheese instead of feta, tossed in some organic celery, dressed it all with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, pink sea salt, and fresh black pepper, and returned it to the refrigerator. Lunches/snack for me done.

While I was poking around in the fridge, I realized we were out of rice. Thanks to the rice cooker, another batch (plain, white--to feed the gastrointestinally-challenged dog) was ready in a half an hour. Right around this time, two hours after he'd gone down, the little guy woke up. While the rice cooked, I prepped some steaks for The H to grill and stirred up another summer favorite, cucumber-sweet-onion salad. Those two things just get thinly sliced and simply dressed with a mixture of plain yogurt, white balsamic (or red wine) vinegar, evaporated cane juice, sea salt, and pepper. The H and I enjoyed this with dinner, and I was a little bummed I didn't think to make leftovers. Tangy, cool, and refreshing-- the candy onion I used isn't halitosis-inducing at all. Definitely buying more of those at the market! Another dinner side dish done, dog supplement done.

Once the rice was ready, I piled some into the dog's bowl with a scoop of pumpkin and some plain yogurt so he could go to town. The H brought in the steaks, and we sat down to eat. Just then I realized it was the first time I'd sat down since the little guy and I got home from our morning/afternon errands, and my feet were pretty darn tired. But I felt so accomplished! It's a great feeling to have these goodies and makings of meals, along with a stash of my beloved kale-quinoa-chickpeas, in the fridge heading into the weekend. Happy Friday!

Kale with quinoa and chickpeas

Oh, kale, you dark dusky-leafed green, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee blended into a cool, verdant smoothie as a refreshing post-run pick-me-up. I love thee sprinkled with kosher salt and toasted to a light crispiness. I love thee wilted into a rich red wine-saturated spaghetti sauce, or stirred into a hearty potato-sausage soup when the winter winds wail at my windows. 

(source)
But most of all, oh dear kale, I adore thee to the utmost heights when prepared the following way (super giant pink puffy-heart thanks to my friends, H&N, for this inspiration, and for continuing to acknowledge me in public):

1. Precook some quinoa and chickpeas (or use a can of garbanzos, rinsed well).
2. Sauté a bunch of washed, torn kale in a giant skillet. Set aside in a large bowl.
3. In the skillet, sauté two minced cloves of garlic in a swirl of olive oil, along with some paprika and cumin.
4. Stir chickpeas into garlic & spice mixture and mix well. (This gets 'em really nutty tasting...yum.)
5. Add 1-2 cups of the quinoa to skillet and toss it all together. Add the juice from two lemons.
6. Stir in kale until well combined; add more quinoa if you want.
7. Sprinkle with a decent amount of salt to taste and serve in the large bowl the kale was in.

It's actually far simpler than I've made it sound: stir together kale, quinoa, and chickpeas with seasonings; add salt and lemon juice, enjoy. 

The second time I made this within a week, I also bought a 2lb bag of dried garbanzos so I can do it again. You'd better believe I stopped halfway through writing this to reheat a little--and take a typical subpar picture. :)

You can serve this hot, warm, or cold... or while you stand over the stove before dinner... as you're boxing it up for lunches the next day... if you are scavenging for a midnight snack... at a picnic with your friends (genius, it doesn't require intense refrigeration)... pretty much anytime you want a hearty, flavorful, delicious, tangy, filling, vegetarian (vegan? I think so) meal. I'm already wondering how many times I can incorporate it into family picnics and parties this summer.

Check out this link to read a little more about the goodness of kale.

Baked Wild Rice with Almonds

This is one of the most flavorful rice dishes I've had in a long time, homemade or otherwise. Besides the amazing taste, here's what else I love about it: there is no added salt, it hides some veggies the little guy doesn't usually care for, and the hands-on part comes together quickly. I started this before we left for running group, then turned off the oven and let it sit until we got home. Even though it only had half of the active baking time, it was still perfectly prepared thanks to the remaining heat in the oven.

Baked Wild Rice with Almonds
from The Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start (Rodale/NBC Universal, 2009)
serves 6

1 tsp olive oil
1 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I doubled this)
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion (I used two large green onions)
2 Tbsp chopped or sliced almonds
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
2 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add rice, mushrooms, onion, almonds, garlic, and thyme. Cook 5 minutes, or until mixture is fragrant and onions are getting soft.
3. Transfer mixture to 2-qt baking dish. Bring broth and water to boil in the skillet and pour over rice mixture in dish.
4. Cover dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.

The little guy happily ate his--I don't think he knows there were mushrooms and onions in it--and The H and I both had more than one serving. I'm looking forward to mixing the leftovers with some of the chopped marinated chicken we served this with. Seriously, so tasty. Try it!

Serendipotatoes

ser·en·dip·i·ty/ˌserənˈdipitē/

Noun:

The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: "a fortunate stroke of serendipity.

(source)

Today after church when the little guy asked what was for lunch, I found myself reluctantly saying, "How about pancakes?" You see, pancakes (+ eggs or chicken sausage) are one of my go-to, last-resort, cupboards-are-bare meals. I can mix them up on a moment's notice, probably even in my sleep. Goodness knows I stopped using a recipe for them ages ago. While I try to mix up the mix-ins and toppings so we never really eat the same 'cakes twice, today I was really, really not looking forward to another stack.

I started rummaging through the freezer to see if there was something, ANYthing, I could put into those pancakes that would make them remotely more interesting. That's when I unearthed a bag of frozen cubed potatoes. I had utterly forgotten about it! My wheels started turning... I had potatoes, onion, bell pepper... I hate the word, but could I come up with a decent hash?

Oh yeah, baby. I ran the potatoes under water for a few seconds to start thawing, then added them to a hot skillet with grapeseed oil and diced onion. A little of this (kosher salt, black pepper, dried dill) and a little of that (diced ham, red bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, salsa, garlic-and-chili-infused macadamia oil) made its way into the skillet. When I was happy with how that looked and tasted, I quickly cooked a few eggs in another non-stick skillet and slid them on top of each serving.

With a little dash of Frank's, my one true love, this meal was complete. And gooooood. So good, in fact, that I didn't even miss the white cheddar I had forgotten to grate on top. It didn't even cross my mind until I was cleaning up the kitchen and saw the cheese on the counter.

With a scrambled egg instead of a runny one, this would make a great breakfast burrito. This meal can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the ham, and could be vegan-ized by omitting the ham and topping with scrambled tofu instead of eggs.

Cilantro-lime quinoa

Are you one of those unfortunate souls who can't stand the taste of cilantro?

I'm sorry.

Not that it's my fault, but I'm sorry that you will not be enjoying this deliciously tart, nutty side dish anytime soon.

I've become a big fan of buying ingredients that can multitask, like a bunch of cilantro, without dictating that you make exactly the same meal--or even genre of meal--twice in the same week. For that reason, among others, I was giddy to see a recipe for sweet potato samosas with cilantro in the most recent issue of Clean Eating Magazine...but that's a future post!

Anyway, back to this "recipe." I put a few things into my rice cooker (two rice-cooker-measuring-cups of quinoa, three of water, the juice from one lime, some dried coriander, a sprinkle of kosher salt, a generous handful of chopped cilantro, and a packet of Trader Joe's chicken stock concentrate) and switched it to "cook." Thirty minutes later, we had steamy, flavorful quinoa that was the perfect complement to our grilled chicken and homemade pico de gallo (another use for cilantro). Yum.

Coconut Curry Chickpeas

Earlier this week I *finally* buckled down and made this recipe that has been on my to-try list for several months. The combination of coconut milk (I've never used it before) and curry powder (one of my favorite "no H around" ingredients) sounded super-tasty, and the fact that this comes together in only 10-15 minutes was extra appealing.

Sad to say, though, this didn't quite live up to the expectations I had for it, and I'm not quite sure why. I served it over rice noodles and added some Sriracha once I tasted it and found it lacking something... but that still didn't hit the spot I was looking for.

Perhaps I will add some lime juice when serving next time, and increase the garlic and basil. The silver lining to this semi-flop is that it only makes two servings, so I'm not left with a zillion cups of a disappointing recipe.

Coconut Curry Chickpeas
from The Best of Clean Eating
serves 2

Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup napa cabbage or bok choy, sliced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup coconut milk (be sure to shake the can first)
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp curry powder
3/4 cup cooked chickpeas
1/4 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat a nonstick frying pan (I used a cast iron skillet), lightly coated with olive oil spray, over medium heat. Add cabbage and saute until it shrinks down. Add onion and pepper; saute for 2-4 minutes.

2. Add one tablespoon of the coconut milk, along with the garlic, ginger, and curry powder; saute another 2 minutes. Add chickpeas, remaining coconut milk, and salt and pepper; heat through. Add fresh basil and serve.

Steak Salad

This is a nice, fancier-than-ordinary meal for a weeknight. With a glass of wine (well-chilled pinot grigio, to be exact) it hits the "TGIF!" spot just right, without having to deal with the lines and sodium content of a restaurant meal.

One of my favorite parts of this meal was the dressed vegetables that go on top of the salad. I told The H that I'd like to serve those as a side to another meal sometime, never mind the rest of the salad! Although very good, this is a bit time consuming--not one to try last minute.
 
Grilled Steak and Potato Salad
slightly modified from this recipe on allrecipes.com
serves 4

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp minced garlic (I used 2 large cloves)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp granulated sugar (or clean substitute of your choosing)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1 lb boneless sirloin, NY strip, or Delmonico steak
1/2 lb fresh green beans
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
1/2 lb white mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (I left this out)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and halved (I left these out)
Salad greens of your choice

1. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, thyme, pepper, sugar, and oil. Place beef in a shallow dish and pour 1/3 of the marinade over. Turn to coat. Marinate at least 30 minutes.

2. Place potatoes in large pot and cover with cold water; add a palmful of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl; pour half the remaining dressing over and stir gently to coat.

3. Microwave beans on high power for 2 minutes, or until just tender. Add to potatoes, along with mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, and tomatoes (if using).

4. Prepare grill pan, cast iron skillet, or broiler for cooking the steak. Remove steak from marinade, discarding the remaining marinade, and cook until desired doneness is reached. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing against the grain into thin strips.

5. Arrange salad greens among four plates. Top each serving with potato-vegetable mixture and a portion of sliced steak. Drizzle with remaining dressing.

I was so busy in the kitchen that I didn't know what the little guy was up to until The H brought me some pictures:



That's the hazard of keeping fresh fruit (sort of) within small hands' reach!

Beans, beans...

One of our favorite summer vegetables is fresh green beans. I got some at the farmer's market last week, since the ones I planted (yes, very late) aren't even growing yet. When we bought them, the little guy was munching them raw! I had a different idea in mind for dinner last night, though. We started eating beans prepared this way a few years ago when I stumbled across a recipe online.

First, sauté diced onion in olive oil. Then add the beans. If you have more beans than I did (one pound) do half at a time.

Stir around so the beans get covered in the oil; season to taste with salt and pepper. Then let 'em sit there and get all black and blistery. Tasty, right? :) The onions get sweet and caramelized, and the beans get *just* tender, but not mushy in the least.

We served these with grilled local beef burgers and cheese from our great state.

Clean quinoa and cheesy quiche

Say that one three times fast! Both of these recipes are from Clean Eating Magazine, which I had perused just before making my meal plan and shopping list for the week. I chose them for several reasons:

1. They are both meatless, which I try to do on Mondays, yet contain satisfying amounts of protein

2. Both call for dried oregano, which I hoped meant they would complement each other

3. They are both based on things the little guy likes, so I was planning on him gobbling them up

They were enjoyable, and I can see myself making them again. I could eat the quiches at every meal and twice on Sundays, but The H liked the quinoa better. It would make an excellent side dish to balsamic-marinated, grilled chicken. I will add more peas next time. The little guy only wanted the cheese from the top of his quiche, and spit out any broccoli we tried to hide underneath. You can't win 'em all.

Quinoa Sopa Seca

from Clean Eating Magazine, March/April 2009, Vol. 2 Issue 2

serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 green onions, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup quinoa

Pinch of sea salt

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I used 1/2 cup salt-free diced tomatoes in juice)

Directions:

In a medium saucepan with a lid, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add oregano and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the quinoa (rinse it first if yours is not pre-rinsed, to remove the bitter saponin coating), then pour in 2 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat; cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and the quinoa grains show opaque lines around their edges (this is the germ splitting apart), about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the thawed peas and tomatoes. Cover pan again and let stand until heated through, about 5 minutes. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Nutrition information per 1/2 cup serving:

Calories - 150

Fat - 4g

Carbs - 23g

Fiber - 4g

Sugars - 2g

Protein - 5g

Sodium - 55mg

Cholesterol - 0mg

Crustless Broccoli & Cheese Mini Quiches

from Clean Eating Magazine, March/April 2009, Vol. 2 Issue 2

serves 5

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray

1 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped

2/3 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp low-fat milk

1 whole large egg

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350* and spray 10 cups of a muffin pan with cooking spray (don't try to stretch this recipe into 12 cups unless you increase the egg mixture by more than just one egg white).

2. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add broccoli and saute for 5 minutes (or use frozen broccoli, thawed in the microwave, and skip this part altogether, eliminating the oil as well). Distribute broccoli evenly among the prepared muffin cups, then distribute half of the cheese on top.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, milk, egg, and seasonings. Distribute evenly over broccoli and cheese. Top with remaining cheese and bake 20-25 minutes, until quiches are set and lightly browned around the edges. Let cool 5 minutes and serve, or cool and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Nutrition information for 2 quiches:

Calories - 100

Fat - 3.5g

Carbs - 6g

Fiber - 2g

Sugars - 1g

Protein - 11g

Sodium - 240mg

Cholesterol - 40mg

Quinoa with spinach and roasted garlic

Warm, simple, and delicious. Is there a better kind of meal for a suddenly-chilly day? Michigan's weather has once again played a trick on us and gone from sunny and spring-like to temps in the teens overnight. The little guy is at daycare today so I was on my own for lunch and looking for inspiration. Nothing too time-consuming (I am working, after all), something with protein (I went for a run first), and above all, something tasty.

Then I read about Mary Ellen's Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spinach, and I knew what lunch would be. Of course I slightly modified the original (as you have probably come to expect from me).

I set the rice cooker to cook the quinoa in vegetable broth while I ran, then after my shower quickly tossed the rest together. And it was quick, too--just about 20 minutes from swirling the olive oil in a skillet to sitting down at my desk to eat. In between those steps, here's what I did:

Sliced 1/4 Spanish onion into thin strips and sauteed until lightly browned, then added two handfuls of fresh baby spinach. While that wilted, I chopped a Roma tomato and got out my container of homemade roasted garlic paste from the fridge. I put a scoop (tablespoon-ish) of the garlic into the skillet and let it warm up, then added the tomato and stirred everything around. Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper were added to taste, and the last step was to stir in about half the pot of cooked quinoa--maybe a cup. I let it all heat through while I put the rest of the quinoa in the fridge, then poured the contents of the skillet into my dish and trekked back to my desk for lunch. (And work. But mostly lunch.)

This would make a wonderful side dish to grilled or roasted chicken, and could even pass as a one-pot meal if you wanted to add cooked shrimp or chicken right to the skillet.

DDC#3: Twice-Baked Potatoes

Tonight I made twice-baked parsnip potatoes, and in the process learned three things: 1) I do not care for the smell of parsnips when they are boiling, 2) Yukon Gold Potatoes are not the best for baking/hollowing/re-stuffing, and 3) my son will eat parsnips but refuse to touch anything green. However, I am proud to report that the potatoes contained 100% local ingredients (if you kindly overlook the salt, pepper, and not-very-green dried chives I sprinkled on top in a sad attempt to give them some color)! Ideally I'd have paired them with locally-raised chicken breasts, but co-op pickup isn't until later this month and I didn't feel like thawing and roasting the whole bird I have in the freezer since it's just the three of us.

The potatoes, as I implied above, were Yukon Golds. And guess what? Their skins are a *little* too thin for hollowing out. I had to leave about 1/4 inch of flesh all the way around to keep them from falling completely apart. But they were the only potatoes I had, so I made do. To the scooped-out potato, I added two cooked parsnips, about 1/2 cup of Michigan-made milk, and about 1/3 cup cup cooked and crumbled local nitrite-free bacon (from the co-op). I used my Microplane grater to shred the last of our locally-produced (co-op!) mild white cheddar, which I then placed on top before putting the potatoes under the broiler to brown. The very fine cheese let me get away with using less than two ounces for all eight potato halves.

The H said these were great, baby ate at least half of one, and when my super-stuffy nose granted me a split second to experience the sense of taste again, I thought they were pretty good, too. The parsnips added a touch of sweetness that I would not have imagined, given their dusty-basement smell while they boiled. Next time I make something like this, I will use baking potatoes and a stronger-flavored cheese. The goal for this meal was local as opposed to super-clean.

Ready for the broiler:

Ready to eat:

Why have I never roasted broccoli before?

A few days ago I was in search of a vegetable side-dish recipe that I could make for Christmas with the in laws. Several people suggested roasted broccoli to me, and I ended up using this recipe from Ina Garten. And now I don't think I will ever prepare broccoli another way (aside from the occasional broccoli-cheese soup).

I don't know why I have never attempted to roast broccoli before; roasting is my favorite preparation for so many things. It added such a different depth of flavor to it, and like kale chips, I loved the slightly-crispy browned pieces along the edges. Even my brother-in-law, who claims to despise all things green, admitted to liking it. My sister said it was like "restaurant broccoli" and has since requested it again for our family Boxing Day dinner at my mom's this week (incidentally, my sister is married to The H's brother, which is why she will be at both dinners).

Here's how I made it:

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

2 heads organic broccoli, washed and trimmed

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Zest from one lemon

The juice of the zested lemon

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Toss with garlic and olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until the tips of some florets are beginning to brown. Remove from baking sheet and toss with a bit more olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Grate Parmesan over the top and let melt; serve hot.

Squashy success

My first attempt at cooking spaghetti squash can now be classified a success! It wasn't write-home-to-Mom amazing, but it was pleasant and surprised both me and The H. I love that it was a bit "al dente" and not a mushy, pasty mass like most autumn squashes I've had in the past. Its color was a rich golden that reminded me of a hay bale. There was no need to slather this squash with butter and brown sugar and slam it down before it got cold, as I did so often during my childhood. I did, however, use those very seasonings (well, SmartBalance "butter"), just less of them. The H even took more than one serving, which I have not seen him do with any cooked vegetable other than green beans.

The rest of dinner was a delicious accompaniment; I laid balsamic-marinated chicken breasts on top of the squash and served a completely from-scratch (as in, not even a recipe) spinach-barley risotto that I am most proud of. That is the recipe I'm going to share, since it's my very own and I am so pleased with how it turned out. Measurements are approximate, as that is how I cook, so adjust to your own tastes.

Spinach Barley Risotto - serves 4 - approx. 45min cooking time

Oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup quick-cooking barley

4 cups broth or stock (I might use some wine next time)

4 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1 large chard leaf, chopped

Lemon zest

Lemon juice, optional

Salt and pepper to taste

Add 1-2 Tbsp oil to a deep pot (I used my pressure cooker without the lid) and saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the barley and toast, stirring often, until slightly brown. Add a bit more oil if the barley starts sticking to the bottom of the pan. Slowly add about 1 cup of the broth and stir; season with salt and pepper. Stir almost continuously. Let the mixture bubble over med-high heat until most of the broth is absorbed. Add another cup of broth and repeat. Don't forget to keep stirring! Repeat until all broth is used, adding the chopped greens with the last addition of broth. Add zest and/or juice and more salt and pepper just before serving.

This came out creamy and flavorful; I could not have done better if I'd had a family recipe staring me in the face. The addition of the chard was a last-minute inspiration when I was in the fridge for the lemon; we are going out of town again soon and I want to use as much of our fresh produce as possible before then. The chard was so buttery when we had it with eggs last week, I thought it might contribute to the creaminess of this dish. I was not disappointed! This risotto was the only portion of our fantastic fall dinner that the baby would even consider swallowing. He was eating it by the fistful. I'd consider that a good review, wouldn't you?

A quick quinoa side dish

Last night we had a last-minute substitution and made quinoa with our BBQ chicken rather than brown rice, simply to save time. My usual go-to quinoa side contains black beans, corn, and cumin, but I didn't want those flavors next to my smoky grilled BBQ chicken. Then I remembered a barley dish I tried a few months ago and decided to use those ingredients to season the quinoa. Thankfully, it turned out just right. So here's what I did:

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Add 1 packet Trader Joe's chicken stock concentrate with the water.

When quinoa is done, add a few swirls of olive oil, the juice of one lemon, a few pinches of dried thyme, sea salt, and black pepper--all to taste. Stir to combine, and serve.

Very easy, very tasty. My 1-year-old was eating it by the fistful, and again for lunch today. Even my mother-in-law, who may have had quinoa for the first time last night, said it was great. Score one for the clean eating machines!