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Sunday, September 25, 2011

RECIPE: Collards with Potatoes over Quinoa

So things have been a little crazy lately. I haven't had much time to make bento, nevertheless take any photos and post them! And truth be told, they've been kinda bland. Mostly stir fried things since that's usually what I make myself for dinner.

But tonight's dinner, oh ho, was not boring! I had gone to the local food co-operative and saw a box of quinoa at the checkout counter. I asked the cashier if someone was holding it, since I've wanted to cook with that for a while and never had. She said no, and was glad when I purchased it so she didn't need to go put it back! I got a reusable bag out of the deal, too. Go me!

So after playing around on Gojee for a while, I found a recipe that I'd adore. It's Chard with Potatoes and Tomatoes (you can see it here). I had most of the stuff on hand, but had to make a few substitutions. So in the end we have:

Collards with Potatoes and Tomatoes over Quinoa!
6 collard leaves, chopped
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used my zester for this!)
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
Can of diced tomatoes (mine were garlic and oil flavored)
3 red potatoes, diced (I find these have more flavor)
2 tbps fresh parsley
Salt & Pepper
1 cup cooked quinoa


Toss the diced potatoes in a sautee pan with a spot of oil (or butter if you're all Paula Dean like that), S&P and let them get a bit browned. Once they're looking like proper hash-ready potatoes put them to the side and add more oil to the pan.
Cook the onion, garlic and jalapeno pepper until the onions are soft and have a bit of color on them. Toss in the collard greens and let them wilt down a little.
Once all that's done, add in the tomatoes and reaquaint the potatoes back into this sautee pan lovefest. Sprinkle the parsley on top and let the mixture cook for a bit to marry together, have weird babies and live happily ever after. Make sure you taste it a bit and adjust S&P levels.

Once the liquid from the tomatoes cooks down a bit, your food is ready! Toss it over the quinoa and nosh to your hearts content.

This is served beside a side of vodka, the best side dish there is.
I had plenty of leftovers, so I'll be making a lot of annoying quinoa-based dishes all week! Yum!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Bento: Stir fried fever

Alright so I may be going overboard with the stir fried stuff, but I'm currently heavily addicted to hoisen sauce so forgive me.
Onto the bento!
It's a simple one. I was tired. Hoisen chicken stir fried over vegetable fried rice. Next to it are baby red and orange bell peppers, a hard boiled egg and some grapes. Was simple and tasty!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

BENTO: It's a rice world.

Greetings! It's been a while! I've been incredibly busy and haven't gotten to take any pictures of my lunches at all!

But this morning I had a bit of extra time and threw together a good lunch for my late night at work.

Sorry there's no pictures of it all as one, my camera is awful in the lighting of my kitchen.

Bottom tier is leftover rice patties made from a cookbook that my friend Renee got me for my birthday! They were a mix of hoisen sauce, soy sauce, rice, egg, scallions and a few other things. They were grand, though a bit of a chore to make. But Boyfriend and I seem to have had the method down by the end, so I hope we make it again!
I took the leftover patty mix and stir fried it with an egg and soy sauce and made the side rice.



Top tier is simple. Hard boiled egg, blanced asparagus, grapes, and a mix of potatoes, bell peppers and soyrizo. I needed something a bit more substantial in this bento since it has to last me til I get home at 8pm!

I hope everyone enjoys their day! (And lunch!)