After an extremely long break, I’m finally back into what resembles the routine I veered from in early December. The Christmas season followed by the New Year gets us ready to let go of the old and embrace the new but for me it always feels like I’m just starting to get into the jive of the previous year by November. For example, my goal for last January was to get a blog up by the end of that month. Right! It took all the way till December to figure out how to put the many elements together then I had to take a break. You know the break I mean. The many festivities surrounding Christmas took priority so we celebrated the season at the Big White Ski Resort and then headed off for week and a half long trip to Puerta Vallarta. That’s so hard to take, huh? However, the toughest thing about breaking a routine is getting back into it but I’m finally there. Yippee! And so with baby steps I’m starting small again by bringing you a very simple side dish or main meal.
This Mushroom and Garlic Quinoa was inspired by Tori Wesszer’s Mushroom Quinoa Pilaf from the December 2017 edition of The Good Life: The Magazine of Nature’s Fare Markets. I switched out a few of the ingredients and added some in as creative juices fired. What I love about this vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free dish is how comforting it is during the colder winter months. Mushrooms always add a special flavor to whatever I cook because we don’t have them that much (my 7 year old daughter’s palate has yet to welcome these with open mouth). Mushrooms have a lot of Vitamin B which is a stunning nutrient for the nervous system and they contain a fiber called beta-glucan which is a powerful immune enhancer.
As a side note, one of the other goals or resolutions I have for 2018 is to learn how to run a DSLR camera and take better food photography. As I post my recipes throughout the year I hope you’ll notice an improvement in this area. If I want people to eat better, I need the food I make to look so very enticing. Let me know about your goals for the year too. I’d love to hear them. And please let me know what you think about this dish. Bon Apetit!
Mushroom and Garlic Quinoa
While you're making the quinoa you can saute the vegetables to cut down on total time. This is an excellent side dish that goes nicely with chicken or turkey--you just might want to use thyme and a bit of sage rather than cilantro and lime.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked rainbow quinoa made to package specifications (you can use sodium free organic chicken broth instead of water)
- 2 T coconut or camelina oil
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced (allow to sit for 10 minutes)
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 175 grams or about 3 cups sliced mushrooms (any type)
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 T lime juice
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 T nutritional yeast (optional)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 Heat a pan to medium and then add oil
- Step 2 Add onion and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes
- Step 3 Add mushroom and saute for 15 more minutes stirring occasionally
- Step 4 Add cilantro and cook 1 minute
- Step 5 Add quinoa
- Step 6 Add coconut milk, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper and stir. Serve with love and Enjoy!