Friday Night Challenge: Savory Quinoa Pudding

The alphabet game for the Friday Night Challenge: Letters given were E-L-N-P-Q. The result?
A savory quinoa pudding. This would accompany a good roast chicken or roast beef.


To make: Cook the Quinoa (around 1/8 c. per person) by cooking at a low heat--instead of cooking in water, use a bit of Evaporated milk (1/4 c. per 1 c. quinoa--perhaps less, based on consistency. You don't want the quinoa to be watery, but it shouldn't be dry, either). Once cooked to a completely softened stage, put the quinoa into a blender along with enough nutmeg, paprika, and lemon juice to taste, based on the amount of servings desired. The average amount to use say, for 1 c. quinoa would be 1/4 t. nutmeg, 1/4 t. paprika, 1/2 t. lemon juice. If you taste it and decide you want more heat, add paprika; more intensity, add nutmeg; more zest, add lemon juice. You can serve this along side your main course much like a Yorkshire pudding, but it will be a much healthier substitution. 
Enjoy!

Friday Night Challenge: Nutty Arugula Salad

First of all, a series of mea culpas for 2 gaps in this week's Friday Night Challenge--namely asparagus and seitan...unfortunately, fresh out of both. I figured I could go out scouting for asparagus, but I'm sort of like it as I am with morels--I enjoy them immensely when in season and when we freeze what comes from our yard and woods. Once they're gone, the patience kicks in and we wait until next spring with great anticipation. I checked the freezer and yep, the last of the asparagus was gone. However...I took liberties and replaced it with another vegetable that I picked from the garden fresh and it does begin with an "a". I used arugula or rocket, as some know it. I love this stuff...a green that tastes just like fresh pepper...fantastic! As I said in the beginning of the blog, no seitan to be found for many a mile; however, I am intrigued with it after figuring out its qualities. Next trip to Btown will probably yield some.
So, whatever was left of the ragged Challenge? Plenty! I had quinoa, lentils, and nuts. So, first things first--prepare the quinoa and lentils. Easy-breezy...pretty much a 2 to 1 ratio of water to grain/legume--a touch of salt in the water. Bring to a boil and then once the grain or legume is added, scale back to a simmer. Time is the big difference here. Quinoa needs about 20 minutes; lentils about 10...much longer and you'll have mush. So, cook both the items. In the meantime, take 3 or four small leaves of arugula and dice into ribbons. Next, take the walnuts (around 2 T.), place in a baggie and pound with a rolling pin. Keep one in tact for the finished product. Spoon the quinoa on a plate, add some lentils on top of the quinoa, scatter the arugula ribbons around, and then sprinkle on the walnuts. Add 1/2 walnut to the stack. That's it. Incredibly easy and tasty. No dressings, oils, or anything else needed. The combination of nutty/pepper tastes are great.

Enjoy!