Quinoa Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a traditional Middle Eastern salad. Usually it is made with bulgar but since we didn't have any, Thomas and I made it with quinoa instead. It turned out quite smackable :)You can add beans to this if you want to make it more of a meal.



Quinoa Tabbouleh
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
salt
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
leaves from 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, minced
4 Tbs cilantro, minced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a medium pot. Add in the quinoa and some salt to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.

Pour the quinoa into a large bowl and add in the tomatoes, onion, parsley, and cilantro.

In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste. Blend well. Pour the dressing over the quinoa salad and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve chilled :)

Serves 4-5.

Basic Grain Burgers with Garlic Fries

Homemade burgers are waaay better than any burger you could buy at the store. Our grain burgers are made with brown rice and walnuts and are crazy good! Thomas plays with the spices each time so feel free to do so too. However, the spices of rosemary and adobo are especially tasty. The burgers go great with a side of homemade garlic fries that are baked, never fried. The fry recipe follows the burger one below :)



Basic Grain Burgers
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 Tbs ground flaxseeds
2 Tbs tamari or soy sauce
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 Tbs fresh or dried parsley, minced
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 Tbs dried rosemary
1 1/2 Tbs adobo

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts to coarsely chop. Add in the flaxseeds, tamari, brown rice, onion, parsley, vital wheat gluten, Worcestershire, salt and pepper, rosemary, and adobo. Process until well combined but with some texture remaining. Shape the mixture into patties and place on a platter. Refrigerate for 10-15 minuets.

Heat 1-2 Tbs canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the patties, and cook until browned on both sides. About 4-5 minutes per side. Serve hot on a whole wheat bun with whatever toppings you like!

Makes 3-4 patties.

Garlic Fries
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs canola oil
2 large red potatoes
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Keep the skin on the potatoes and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks.

Heat the garlic and oil together in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Strain the garlic from the oil and set aside for later. Toss the potatoes with the garlic oil and salt in a large bowl until well mixed.

Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and spread the potatoes out on it in an even, single layer. Bake until golden crisp, about 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle the cooked garlic pieces on top of the fries along with some pepper. Serve hot!

Serves 4.

Banana Split Pudding Brownies

These brownies are gooey and wonderful with lots of yummy banana in them. They're fast to whip up and are a great way to use up all those frozen bananas in your freezer (or is that just us?). We got this recipe from Isa Moskowitz's cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance.



Banana Split Pudding Brownies
For the Brownies:
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted
1 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt

For the Topping:
1 cup mashed very ripe banana
2 Tbs cane sugar
1/4 cup soymilk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs arrowroot powder (cornstarch would work too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of mashed banana, the oil, and the cane sugar. Use a handheld mixer to beat everything together for 1 minute (or use a fork and beat for several minutes). Mix in the vanilla and melted chocolate.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add this to the banana mixture in batches, mixing with the handheld mixer as you go along. Mix well.

To prepare the topping, combine all the topping ingredients in a small bowl and mix with the handheld mixer for about a minute.

Spread the brownie batter evenly into the baking pan. Pour the topping mixture over that and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. After about 15 minutes, move the pan to the fridge to cool completely. Cut into squares and serve!

Makes 12 brownies.