Quinoa salad

Uncovered a half used box of quinoa while looking for something to eat. Turns out I had all the right ingredients for greek quinoa salad!

Quinoa seems like it would be a hassle to cook, but in my experience you just need a touch less water than the recommended amount and it comes out perfectly.

This salad is really just quinoa plus a mix of "Greek", or generic mediterranian, ingredients:

• Olives
• Red onion
• Feta
• Sundried tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Red Wine vinegar

I added cashews and golden raisins to make a greek/middle eastern hybrid. The presentation could really use some green, so definitely use parsley if you've got it (none of that italian flat-leaf stuff...go with the curly kind).

Veggie Shepherd's Pie

This was kind of a spur of the moment dish, made for a vegetarian friend.

3 things that make this different from your normal Shepherd's Pie:

1. No meat (instead I crushed up some vegetarian meatballs from Trader Joe's)
2. Actual crust
   
3. It is gigantic

The basic assembly first required cooking both the meat/veggie filling and the mashed potato topping separately. The filling is sauteed onions, carrots, meat (or meat substitute), broth, tomato paste, flour/corn starch, and some frozen peas and corn.

The filling was the first to go into the pie shell. Unfortunately, it almost came up to the brim without any mashed potatoes. The potato topping ended up being pretty swollen looking.



Looks amazing when cut into:



And even better just prior to entering my mouth!

Potato Leek Soup

This recipe is unbelievably easy (read: you can buy everything at Trader Joe's), and makes for a good couple of meals because it reheats so well. Non-pureed soups often don't reheat well because the chunky ingredients tend to get soggy after sitting for a while.



Saute leeks --> diced potatoes --> wait for a touch of color --> season --> veggie broth --> add whole peeled potato -->



45 minutes --> remove and finely dice cooked whole potato --> immersion blender! --> add dairy (cream, buttermilk) and potato pieces --> serve with chives



Eat with fresh bread (made in the same dutch oven earlier that day).


Original recipe courtesy of Alton Brown.