Saturday, April 19, 2008

COOKIN' UP SOME NEW RECIPES

Odel is playing poker in the clubhouse, Luna is sleeping after being combed and fed, and I gained an hour today when we crossed from Texas (CDT) into New Mexico (MDT)... so I have time to post a couple of yummy recipes tonight.

For the first one, Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Smoky Lime Dressing, you can thank my friend Judy Ashford, who knows I like quinoa. Several weeks ago, she sent me a link to a food blog called FamilyStyle Food - specifically, to this recipe.

Oh, what a dilemna. I love to try new quinoa recipes, but I avoid recipes that use chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Why? Because every recipe calls for ONE pepper, and a can has about 6, or 8 maybe, all in a thick, messy red sauce.

Do I use one, then toss the rest?? Oh, no, too wasteful... so I keep a little baggie or recycled jar of messy red chipotles in the refrigerator until I overcome my guilt and toss 'em several months later.

Still, the recipe continued to tempt me until I couldn't resist. We had the salad for dinner tonight (along with sea bass in Salsa Veracruzana , a recipe I posted previously) and, believe me, it is worth storing a bag of leftover chipotles for... as I am doing at this very hour. Give it a try - the dressing is totally delicious!

A crock-pot ("slow cooker" in gourmet) is an appliance incredibly well suited to the RV'ing life. In winter, it warms us up; in summer, we plug it in outside so we stay cool. It cooks while we are hiking, shopping, or driving (I recently made a pot of southern-style greens with white beans and a smoked turkey leg as we drove from one campground to the next). I wouldn't be without it.

This recipe for Southwest Cornbread Pudding (thanks, Jo, for correcting my link!) came from volume II of The Gourmet Slow Cooker, one of several crock-pot cookbooks I carry around. Some of the recipes in this book take extra effort - for this one, you make a batch of cornbread first - but it's worth it. Another oddity of this recipe: it cooks for just 3 1/2 or 4 hours, so you can't get it started then leave for the day.

It goes well with grilled chicken, provides vegetarians with a yummy and filling main course (while we omnivores eat it as a side to the grilled chicken), and the leftovers make a delicous breakfast warmed for a couple of minutes in the microwave. It makes a HUGE batch, a very full pot.

And, one more recipe note: I have become addicted to the Homemade Multigrain Biscuits, which would more accurately be called Homemade Multigrain Scones - they are shaped and baked in the traditional scone manner and are way too crumbly to split like a biscuit. When my dad complained about that, I told him we bake the biscuits, flip 'em over, and spread sugarless jam on the flat side. I think he has adopted that method now, too.

I have been making the "mix" with oat flour in place of the kamut or spelt flour (an attempt at cholesterol control). I love that the mix can be pre-made; a few minutes of effort in the morning and we have fresh, hot "biscuits" for breakfast.

Enjoy!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Laurie, gypsysmom here from BookCrossing. I started reading your blog a few weeks ago and kept meaning to post a comment. Of course it would be your cooking that would spur me to do so. I love to cook and it sounds like we have the same style of cooking although I don't have a crock-pot.

    My husband was diagnosed with celiac disease (meaning he can't eat anything with gluten such as is found in wheat, rye and barley) a few years ago and we've been eating quinoa since then. I'm sure we would like your quinoa and black bean recipe but I'm not sure I've ever seen canned chipotle peppers up here in Canada. I'll have to check. Before Celiac (BC) one of our favourite summertime dishes was Greek Style Couscous Salad. The summer after his diagnosis I decided to try it with quinoa and it turned out great. I submitted it to our local vegetable distributor, Peak of the Market, and they published it as one of their Recipes of the Day. It's available here: http://www.peakmarket.com/v2_viewRecipe.cfm?RN=2287&hilite=Quinoa (hopefully that link works) and I thought it might be something you would enjoy.

    I love reading about your travels. Have a great summer.

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