New Year's Black-Eyed Pea Quinoa Salad

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a lovely holiday season. I know that I did - it was really nice to relax and see friends and family. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and it's time to head back to school tomorrow. 

I went shopping at the Whole Foods at Cambie and 8th in Vancouver this past week - always a treat since it's so expensive there! My favourite part of that store is the bulk foods area - they always have really different and interesting grains and legumes. I make a point of getting at least one or two new types that I haven't tried each time I go there. The nice thing about buying bulk, dry grains and legumes is that even though Whole Foods is expensive, stuff like that is still pretty reasonable in price. Way cheaper than buying meat, that's for sure!

This time around I thought I'd buy black quinoa and black-eyed peas, neither of which I have ever tried. Both just looked interesting. Later on when looking for inspiration on what to do with the black-eyed peas, I also found out that in the Southern US, eating black-eyed peas on New Years Day helps give prosperity throughout the new year. I'm a few days late, but I figure it can't hurt!

This recipe was inspired by Laura McAllister's Szechuan Black-Eyed Pea Salad recipe, but I decided I needed more grain in the salad to make it a complete meal and not just a side. I also didn't have a few of the ingredients she used, so I substituted and improvised. The result was a very tasty "salad" that can be served warm or cold.

Black-Eyed Pea Quinoa Salad
Yield: 4 meal-sized servings

Ingredients:
1 cup (250 ml) black quinoa (or any other variety)
2 cups (500 ml) water
2 cups (500 ml) cooked black–eyed peas
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Earth Balance margarine
2 avocados, cubed
2 Tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
3 Tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
3 Tbsp (45 ml) white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp (30 ml) gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce)
2 tsp (10 ml) sugar
1/8 tsp (0.5 ml) cayenne pepper

Method:

1) Rinse quinoa and put into a pot with 2 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

2) Saute garlic and green pepper in margarine for a few minutes, until slightly softened. (You could skip this step if you'd prefer raw garlic and pepper.)

3) Toss cubed avocado with the lemon juice.

4) Combine cooked quinoa, cooked black-eyed peas, green pepper, garlic, and avocado in a large bowl.

5) Using the same bowl that you stirred the avocado and lemon juice in (that's now empty), whisk together olive oil, white wine vinegar, tamari, sugar, and cayenne.

6) Pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

7) Serve immediately for a warm salad, or refrigerate and serve cold.

This was quite tasty! Just a slight hint of spiciness from the cayenne, which you could adjust to your preference. The textures were nice and varied - the avocados and peas providing a luxurious creaminess, while the quinoa and bell pepper gave it a bit of a crunch too. If you use the gluten-free tamari rather than traditional soy sauce, then this is also a gluten-free dish!

Happy New Year, and good luck with back-to-school for all the teachers and students out there!

Forbidden No More

A few weeks ago I discovered Forbidden Rice (sold by Lotus Foods). My local Whole Foods sells it in the bulk section. Forbidden rice is amazing! I am seriously in love with it. It's this beautiful rich deep purple, almost black colour. So gorgeous. It has a similar nutritional profile to brown rice, but with lots of additional antioxidants* due to its rich colouring. The flavour is slightly nutty, and the texture is chewy. Legend says that the only ones allowed to eat it in imperial China were the Emperor and his family... but lucky for us, we get to play king (or queen!) for a day now! 

I was looking for a good recipe to try this week with my forbidden rice and came across this one by Giada Di Laurentiis on the Food Network. It looked interesting so I thought I'd give it a try, with a few modifications. So here's my version of Giada's recipe for:

Forbidden Rice with Peaches and Peas
Yield: about 6 meal-sized servings (more if using as a side)

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups (875 ml) water
2 cups (500 ml) forbidden rice
1/2 tsp (2 ml) sea salt
2 1/2 cups (625 ml) snap peas
2 large peaches
1/4 cup (60 ml) toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp (25 ml) seasoned rice vinegar
1/8 cup (30 ml) flaxseed oil
1.5 Tbsp (22 ml) agave nectar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce

Method:
1) Rinse rice and place in a saucepan. Add 3.5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Let sit for five minutes, then fluff with a fork and transfer to a large salad bowl.

 

2) Cut the snap peas into 1" sized pieces.

3) Pit the peaches then slice them.

4) Spray a large non-stick frying pan with oil, then heat to medium-high. 

5) When drops of water "dance" on the pan, add the snap peas. Cook, stirring frequently, for two minutes. They should be shiny and starting to get soft.

6) Add the peach slices and cook for another two minutes.

7) Add the hot peas and peaches to the same bowl as the rice.

8) Whisk together the rice vinegar, flaxseed oil, agave nectar, and soy sauce until cloudy-looking.

9) Pour the dressing over the rice mixture and toss well.

You can eat this "salad" either warm as we did this evening, or at room temperature which is what we'll likely do tomorrow. The flavour was good, but it seemed to be missing something. The hubby had a brilliant idea - putting toasted sesame seeds on top! So that's what we did for the leftovers we'll have for lunch tomorrow. The sesame seeds added a good additional flavour, and they also contrast nicely against the black, green, and peachy colours of the other ingredients.

I'm already dreaming of other recipes I might try with forbidden rice... I've heard it makes an amazing rice pudding. I'll let you know if I try it!

* A note on antioxidants... when I asked my Grade 11/12 students today what an "antioxidant" was, almost nobody in the class could give me an answer. Finally, a tentative student put up his hand and said, "um, they prevent cancer?" He was basically right. I find that there are many "healthy food" words thrown around and a lot of the time, most people have no idea what they actually mean. Antioxidants prevent free radicals, which are these nasty bad guys that go around our bodies wreaking havoc, from causing harm. Free radicals have been associated with a number of diseases, most notably cancer. Consequently, antioxidants are probably best known for helping prevent cancer. But beware of supplementation - taking antioxidants in supplement form is not the same as getting them from real, whole foods. Supplementing can actually do the reverse for you and cause you harm. Always go for the real stuff! Not only is it much tastier, but there are all kinds of other nutrients in antioxidant-rich foods as well! Antioxidants are usually found in foods with beautiful, deep colours like berries, or this forbidden rice. Colour is a great way to choose your food - if it looks pretty, it's probably good for you!

Christmas in September

Yesterday was a hot hot day, so I thought a nice summery salad would be in order. For inspiration, I visited Oh She Glows, which is an awesome vegan food blog. Definitely check it out! I decided to adapt Angela's Back on Track Wheat Berry and Bean Salad, which I also like to affectionately call "Christmas in a Bowl." It's a super pretty salad with lots of Christmas-y red and green colours. The original recipe called for navy beans which I didn't have, so I decided to use some beluga lentils that I had pre-cooked in the freezer. If you're not familiar with beluga lentils, they're a pretty little black lentil that kind of looks like beluga caviar when cooked, hence the name. If you don't use lentils in your cooking on a regular basis, I encourage you to start! They are excellent sources of protein, fibre, and iron. My favourite kinds are French puy lentils (yummy just cooked on their own as a side dish), and red split lentils (which mash up well and work nicely in pureed soups). I came across the beluga variety at Whole Foods and of course had to try them!

Wheat berries are the whole wheat kernel without the hull. They come in a few varieties and two colours - red or white. The ones I used for this salad were the soft white spring variety,which take less time to cook than the hard kind and don't need to be soaked overnight. For hard wheat berries, just soak them overnight like you do with beans, then boil/simmer for about an hour. Soft wheat berries just need to be boiled/simmered for 60-90 minutes. Wheat berries stay nice and chewy, so they work really well in salads.

Here's a great post by fellow blogger Desiree at Eat Drink Be Happy on the book Wheat Belly by cardiologist (note: he's not a nutritionist!) William Davis. I agree with Desiree's review of this book - wheat is not evil! If you're not celiac or gluten-sensitive, consuming wheat is totally fine and even good for you, as long as it's wheat in it's whole form. Wheat berries are wonderfully full of nutrients, including lots of protein and fibre. It would be a shame to take them out of your diet simply based on the recommendations of someone with little to no nutritional training! Here's a tip when you read books on diet: always check the credentials of the person writing the book (are they a nutritionist? do they have real training in nutrition?), and look for the claims in the book to be backed by peer-reviewed studies. Those two checks will help you determine whether the book is really a reliable source of information.

And so, here is a yummy, nutritious, wheat-filled recipe:

Christmas-y Wheat Berry Salad
Yield: about 8 cups

Ingredients:
1 cup dry wheat berries, cooked and drained
2 cups/500 ml cooked beans or lentils
1 English cucumber, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, diced with large stems removed
Sea salt + pepper, to taste

Dressing Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp mustard of your choice
1/2 tbsp soy sauce (MSG free and low sodium!)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method:
1) In a medium bowl, soak the wheat berries overnight in cold water (if using hard wheat; if using soft, skip this step). The next day, drain the wheat berries and place in a medium sized pot, covered in three inches of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for one hour (may need 90 minutes if using soft wheat). Drain and cool.

2) In a large bowl, mix together the diced vegetables and minced garlic.

3) Add in cooked and drained beans or lentils and stir.

4) In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Set aside.

5) When the wheat berries are ready, drain and rinse. Stir into the salad. 

6) Add the dressing just before serving and stir well. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Doesn't it look Christmas-y? Or maybe that's just me wishing for some cooler weather... my school has no air conditioning and it's been way too hot this past week. Someone please remind me in a couple of months that I asked for cooler weather!