Quinoa and Apple Salad with Curry Dressing

I made this salad last week at home, for one of our weekday meals. We’re looking for nutritious ingredients that pack vitamins and proteins into our diet, but we don’t want to sacrifice on flavor. This salad is a delight for the taste buds, the combination of fruits with the particular texture of quinoa and the tangy vinaigrette will have you asking for seconds, I promise. And, as we set out to do at the beginning of the year, we are trying to consistently include healthy recipes here at The Foodies’ Kitchen that you can share with your family.

You can try to use quinoa instead of rice to accompany any meal. The great thing about this seed, is that it takes less time to cook than rice, at only 15 min. It’s virtually fool proof (unlike rice, which… it took me some time to master), it has a high level of protein, provides all 9 essential amino acids and it is gluten free. I will definitely try other recipes using this ingredient, so be on the lookout for our Facebook post announcements. For now, you can also check out our Sweet Corn & Quinoa with Lemon Vinaigrette recipe. The original recipe calls for mint leaves. I’m not crazy about mint, so I substituted for cilantro.

And just a little reminder, you can still enter our Cocina al Chile contest! You have until June 5th to do so! Click here for more info.

Helga

Quinoa and Apple Salad with Curry Dressing

Adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 4

Ingredients
1/4 cup almonds
1 cup white quinoa
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dried currants or cranberries
1 small McIntosh apple, cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish (optional)

Directions

On a hot medium sized skillet (over medium-low heat), cook the almonds until lightly toasted and fragrant. Let cool; coarsely chop nuts, if you used whole almonds.
Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a fine sieve; drain. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa; return to a boil. Stir quinoa; cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until quinoa is tender but still chewy, about 15 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork; let cool.
Whisk together honey, shallot, curry powder, salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with pepper. Whisking constantly, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream; whisk until dressing is emulsified.
Add quinoa, currants (or cranberries), apple, mint (if using), and nuts; toss well. Garnish with mint, if you used this herb. Otherwise, you can use cilantro as a garnish.

Note:

You can substitute the mint leaves for cilantro.

11:36 AM
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- Apples, curry, gluten free, quinoa, salad, vinaigrette
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Brown Sugar Maple Pound Cake

Last week was my uncle’s birthday. I had gone out to a couple of meetings early in the morning, so by the time I came back home I found a store bought cake for my uncle and I was surprised. I asked my mom why there was such cake at home, and she said it was to take over later that night next door to the birthday dinner. Not only is my uncle a rockstar doctor in my book, but he’s really special with all of us – between house calls when we are sick and just being the cool uncle that he is (dad and grandpa too) - I didn’t want him to get a store bought cake!. I was pressed for time, so what I could manage to get out (and have it cool in time) was this pound cake. Turns out that the cake was widely accepted, but I’ll suggest you to add a tablespoon of orange juice, as it can get too dry.

Kitty

Brown Sugar & Maple Pound Cake

Recipe By Martha Stewart
Yield: 1 loaf, serves 8

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), sifted, plus more for pan
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
5 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup of sliced almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 7 minutes. Scrape down bowl and beat 1 minute more.
Add maple syrup, then gradually add eggs, beating well and scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed.
Add the almonds and fold them into the batter.
Transfer batter to pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 65 minutes.
Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack before slicing.

Mixed Berries Jam

I used to shy away from even attempting to make homemade jams because I thought you needed to buy special ingredients, such as pectin, to make them at home. I also thought you had to go through the whole canning process which uses special containers (which, are kind of expensive).

I gave them a try after reading David Lebovitz’s blog and realizing that not only does he not use commercial pectin, but there is no need to go through the canning process. I buy regular glass containers, with regular twist on/off caps and wash them with hot soapy water before using them. That’s it. Jams will keep for months in the refrigerator without problem.

I have already made a few different types of jam, but hadn’t tried a classic mixed berry jam, and this one would go great with cream cheese and scones. Check out our two recipes for scones, while you’re here!

Helga

Mixed Berries Jam

Yields: 5 one cup jars (8 oz jars)
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries
1 pound blackberries
1 pound raspberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup water or apple juice
5 1/2 cups sugar
juice of one lemon
pinch of salt
Optional: 1 tablespoon kirsch

Procedure:

In a large pot, mix the berries, and the water or apple juice. Cook, covered, stirring frequently over moderate heat, until the berries are cooked through and thoroughly tender. It should take about 10 minutes.
Put a small plate in the freezer.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and cook, uncovered, skimming off and discarding any foam that rises to the surface, until the jam is thick and passes the wrinkle test.
To do the wrinkle test: place a small spoonful of the jam on the frozen plate. Return it to the freezer and check it a few minutes later; if the jam wrinkles when nudged, it’s done. You can also use a candy thermometer; jam jells at approximately 220F (104C).
Stir in the kirsch, if using, then ladle the jam into clean jars, cover, and store in the refrigerator.