Healthy start: quinoa breakfast porridge

Thanks so much for your empathy and commiseration about my computer failure! It turns out that both my hard drive and logic board died, and when I returned to pick up my computer, they handed me a completely revamped device void of any programs or data. It was one of those stereotypical computer repair experiences: they looked at me blankly, informed me of what had happened and then gave me that judgmental: “that’s why you should always back up”. Luckily, I have been backing up automatically regularly – to two different hard drives, but I have never tested the back ups. So I was still slightly panicked when I left the repair shop and dreaded having to re-load and re-set up everything from the operating system to email. To my great surprise, when I restored my computer absolutely everything re-loaded, settings, passwords, software, everything – restored to the minute my computer crashed – how wonderful is that? Please back up your computer – mine is only a year old and I never imagined something this catastrophic would happen!

Last week had one great piece of news despite the computer saga: I placed first in last month’s DMBLGIT for my jam jar muffin image. Thanks so much Andreea for hosting and to Alessandro and Simone for judging. You guys made my week – thanks again. See here for the roundup and all the other amazing images that placed.
I also wanted to share that a few weeks ago I had my first “cook and style” shoot for the New York Times Dining Section. It was featured on Wednesday, August 26 and was for the Feed Me column by Alex Witchel. This particular article was about burritos – and I cooked, styled, and shot the image. It was terrifically fun and I hope that there will be more of the same to come in the future.
The fresh air and wild blueberries of Maine inspired the recipe for this week (see throughout for some memories from the trip). Actually, it’s been on my “to-cook list“ since it was featured on 101cookooks. It’s from Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover's Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Getting Really Healthy by John La Puma, M.D., a book I most likely never would have taken notice of had Heidi not written about it on her blog.
The book sounded so compelling I bought it and true to promise it is chock full of wonderful advice on healthful eating. What I like most about it is the detailed discussion about the health benefits of different ingredients. What’s least effective is that it has absolutely no photos to accompany the recipes which I’m sure was an important cost consideration but it certainly gives the book little visual food appeal. Fortunately, Heidi’s photo of the breakfast quinoa recipe and her review of the dish drew me in.

Quinoa is a grain that I am just learning about. It has wonderful health benefits including cholesterol lowering benefits and has a high protein content for a grain. It comes in blond and red varieties (the red being very pretty in this dish). Regarding preparation, it seems most prefer to rinse the grain, let it dry, and then toast it in a dry skillet to bring out its nutty flavor and remove the bitter-tasting saponins that coat it. I cooked the porridge this way and was not disappointed. The porridge is a cross between oatmeal, grape nuts, and wheat germ in consistency and flavor.
It’s cinnamon-y and fruity and has just he right toothsome texture. You can add whatever nuts or berries most appeal to you and can substitute honey for agave although the latter is quite nice in this. If you rinse the grain the night before and allow it to dry in a strainer, the dish is very quick to prepare in the morning and easier than oatmeal since you don’t have to worry about scorching. Give it a try.
Quinoa breakfast porridge (from Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover's Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Getting Really Healthy, reprinted from 101cookbooks)

1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup organic quinoa (rinsed. can also toast the dry grains to bring out their nutty flavor)
2 cups fresh blackberries, organic preferred (I used a combination of blackberries and blueberries)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted* (or other nut - I used sliced almonds)
4 teaspoons organic agave nectar (can substitute honey)

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in blackberries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving.

Serves 4.

*While the quinoa cooks, roast the pecans in a 350F degree toaster oven for 5 to 6 minutes or in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Potato, quinoa, and cumin hash browns

I decided to check out the new Chow foodie site. It was recently bought by CNET it is chock full of great content: I wish I created it myself! It has some terrific recipes in addition to cookbook and product reviews and instructional videos / content. My eye fell on a recipe for potato, quinoa and cumin hash browns which looked interesting and unusual. I happened to catch it just before a planned brunch for this weekend -- what a great time to try it out! I did everything up until the frying the day before and then just took the potatoes out of the refrigerator and cut and fried them morning of. This made what is a somewhat lengthy process (due to the 3 hours required to chill the potatoes before frying) more manageable. The hash browns turned out scrumptious and the toasted cumin added just the right twist to the old classic. I found the fact that they pre-baked and chilled the potatoes interesting – I assume that was to get them to hold a nice, compact, square shape, which they did.

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins, plus chilling time (~3 hours additional)
Active Time: 50 mins
Makes: 12 hash browns

1 cup quinoa
3 tablespoons cumin, toasted
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 pounds peeled Idaho potatoes
1 bunch chives, chopped

Heat oven to 400°F. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, coarsely grind together the quinoa, cumin, and salt; set aside.

Using a food processor with the grating attachment, grate the potatoes. Remove the grated potatoes from the processor and place them in a mixing bowl. (Alternatively, you can use a box grater.)

Let the grated potatoes rest for 5 minutes. Squeeze the liquid from the potatoes, one handful at a time, and place them in a separate, clean mixing bowl.

Add the ground quinoa, cumin, and salt mixture to the squeezed potatoes, and mix with your hands until well incorporated. Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom, cut to fit exactly.

Pour the potato mixture into the oiled pan and pack it down (make sure to keep it a consistent thickness). Brush the top of the mixture with some more olive oil, and cover with another piece of parchment paper placed directly on the potatoes.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely, about 3 hours.

After 3 hours, remove from the refrigerator and slide a thin, sharp knife around the perimeter of the potatoes to loosen them from the pan. Flip the potatoes onto a cutting board. Trim off any crisp edges and cut into 12 equal pieces.

Fill a frying pan with 1/2 inch of a neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or peanut) and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot (about 350°F), fry the hash browns until crisp and golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Drain the finished hash browns on paper towels, season with salt, garnish with chopped chives, and serve.