FTL

One of my resolutions was to find one new recipe a week and go to town in the kitchen. Following a new recipe, gathering the ingredients and preparing the food takes a little more time than I'm use to when my traditional college meal calls, but I finally found an afternoon to knock week ones' new recipe out of the way and in the end it was quicker than expected. 

Not sure if Quinoa is a some new fad, but I've recently found it to be one of my favorite lunch time meals as it seems to be featured on every menu I read. While stumbling through one of my new favorite blogs, 101 cookbooks, "Heather's Quinoa" caught my eye and I figured if I could cook rice, Quinoa can't be too challenging either.

I read the ingredients and realized 1. I had never cooked quinoa....and 2. I had never had tofu. Two new ingredients I was excited to throw in the mix. Overall, the prep time and actual cooking period was around 45 minutes - perfect amount of time for my impatient self to handle. 

Here's a little taste of what's inside:

a splash of extra-virgin olive oil

a pinch of fine grain sea salt

1 shallot, minced

3 cups cooked quinoa* (or brown rice, or other grain)

1 cup corn, fresh or frozen

1 1/2 cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped

2 cups extra-firm nigari tofu, browned in a skillet a bit

1/3 cup pesto

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

1/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes** (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes)

For the full recipe visit: www.101cookbooks.com