Dish of the week

Oh man, I couldn't decide between "dish of the week" and "quinoa moi?" for the title. But since most people probably don't know how to pronounce "quinoa" (keen-wa), I figured my rhyming humor would slip away and I'd lose people from the get-go. That may be a problem anyway though. ;) And now that I think about it, "quinoa moi" doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Good thing I went with "dish of the week."

Moving on...quinoa. It's quite yummy and I wanted to share my favorite recipe so far for quinoa. Hearty Quinoa with apples and almonds. We add some chicken-apple sausage to make it a meal and it is so yummy! We've skipped the almonds so far simply because we haven't had them on hand, but they sound like a great addition to the dish.

So you may still be wondering "what the heck is quinoa?" Good question. It's a high-protein grain that also has essential amino acids, good dietary fiber, and other nutrients, while also being gluten-free and easy to digest. It's a great substitute for basically any other grain, so if you feel like mixing up your diet a bit, the next time you plan for rice as a side, make quinoa instead. And then thank me. ;) Because it really is good.

Speaking of food, I'm supposed to be planning out our next week's meals and making a shopping list. I'm blogging instead. Oops! J would expect no less of me though. ;)

It is crazy how much I'm enjoying cooking these days. I really never cooked much all these years, unless it came out of a box or was relatively simple like a grilled sandwich or scrambled eggs. Now baking on the other hand...oh I looooove to bake. And I do NOT bake out of a box, let me tell you! HAHA. But now I am proud to say I don't cook out of a box anymore either. I love being able to pronounce what I'm eating, versus reading an ingredient list of strange preservatives and who knows what else.

Last week's menu, for anyone curious enough to still be reading:

Tomato-cheddar-packed turkey burgers
Farmhouse minestrone
Ribollita (Tuscan baked minestrone with garlic bread)

Salmon with roasted sweet potato and golden-crusted brussel sprouts
Corkscrews with white beans
Hearty quinoa with chicken-apple sausages
Corn chowder

Notice I like to make use of leftovers when I can, and not just in the "we're eating leftovers tonight" way. We used the minestrone to make the ribollita, both were delicious, if I do say so myself. ;) Other times, if I have leftover salmon for instance, I like to use it to make salmon-cakes and serve with salad.

It really is fun to cook! I can't believe I didn't know this before. Hehe.

And who do we have to thank for this change in me...why, the Bugga of course! Now that he is eating with us, I am so much more concerned about the health and nutritional value of what goes on our plates. Yes, sometimes we will still eat for convenience, we're far from perfect, but it really is a far cry from how we used to eat. To this end, I really want to start a garden this year. That would be the ultimate in knowing what I'm eating. I don't know if I have the know-how or the skills though. So we'll see on that one.

One last plug in this post. We highly recommend the book The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. We're huge NPR fans--I actually think we listen to the radio more than we watch the tv these days--and we recently became members of our local public radio during the membership drive and this book was our gift. It's not just a cookbook, it's full of great tips and stories and dashes of humor too. It's a cookbook you can actually read.

Okay, I've kept you this long, I may as well share a picture or two of the Bug. ;) Consider it my thank you gift to you for humoring my ramblings. HAHA.

I believe this was taken the morning I wrote this. For a nekkie picture, I thought we did a good job of keeping it clean. ;) Though I cannot account for what his right hand may--or may not--have been reaching for. Hehe.

My one-sock wonder. =) I did mention he can now get up onto furniture on hiw own right?! Oh, the chasing has evolved. ;)

Throwing one of J and Paisley in for good measure. How's this for testing a sling?! We love to sling Bugga and J and I were joking around the other day and he decided to sling Paisley. I think she was trying to lick her way to freedom here.

Okay, and speaking of slings...I promise this will be my last plug for the post...my favorite sling is from Peanut Shell (and so apt for our little guy!) and they're having a great sale, 40% with the coupon code MOTHERSDAY at checkout. I honestly don't know if anyone in the market for a sling will see this, but wanted to pass along the savings in case.

Aghhhh...before this becomes the blog that never ends, I better cut myself off. Can you just imagine if I had combined all these posts tonight?! (See the next two posts, which I wrote prior to this one but also tonight.) Woa, that would have been one crazy blog entry that would have had your head spinning.

G'night everyone!