My Cooking Attempts: Thai Quinoa

I truly believe in eating healthy. I don't eat healthy to be skinny, TRUST me that ain't gonna happen. I eat healthy to feel good about what's going into my body.  I also believe in delicious food. When people think of eating healthy their minds usually go to bland, boiled chicken breast and flavorless steamed veggies. I think healthy food can and should be flavorful. If done right, healthy food tastes scrumpdillyicious! This Thai quinoa recipe (a play on Pad Thai) most definitely fills those requirements: healthy and delicious.
For those of you who have yet to get on the quinoa bandwagon here's a quinoa infomercial for you:
Quinoa is one of the world's healthiest foods. I've read that if you're going to get stranded on a deserted island, quinoa is the grain you want to be stranded with. Quinoa is a protein and fiber rich, complex carbohydrate that contains iron, antioxidants, B-vitamins and so much more. It's oh so versatile, you can use it in sweet or savory recipes, and it's easy to work with. Just take a look a this recipe:

Quinoa
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
2 1/4 cups of unsalted chicken broth (you can use water as well)
3/4 tsp salt

Veggies and more

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1 1/2 cups snow peas or sugar snap peas

1 cup sprouts

1 red bell pepper

1 garlic clove

Coconut oil

Shrimp
1 lb uncooked shrimp
2 tsp Ground ginger
2 tsp Powdered garlic
Salt and pepper
Coconut oil

Dressing
1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp coconut milk
2 tsp Srircha
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 garlic clove
1 lime
2 tsp grated ginger

Toppings
Sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 bunch green onion

Start off with the quinoa.

Measure your quinoa and place it in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with cold water until the water runs clear.

Although most quinoa is pre-washed it's always a good idea to rinse it off.

Add chicken broth, salt (if broth is unsalted), and rinsed quinoa in a small pot or saucepan, bring to a boil. Lower heat to a low simmer, cover, and allow quinoa to cook as water evaporates. Usually around 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa gently with a fork. Set aside.

Prepare your dressing. Add all dressing ingredients to your food processor or blender.

Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Prepare you veggies. Shred your carrots. Rinse the sugar snap peas and sprouts. Julienne your bell pepper. Dice your garlic.

Add a little coconut oil to a pan, medium high heat. Add garlic, stir. Add all other veggies. Cook 3-4 minutes, until veggies are crisp, yet tender. Remove from heat.

Transfer cooked quinoa to a large bowl and mix with cooked veggies. Mix in dressing, incorporate well. Set aside.

Heat pan to medium high heat, add a teaspoon or so of coconut oil. Season shrimp with salt, pepper, and ground ginger. Add shrimp to warmed pan. As soon as they start to turn a little pink and curl, turn to the other side. Cook for another 30 seconds to one minute.

Remove from heat. Do not overcook!

Roughly chop the cilantro, thinly slice the green onion. Now just put it all together. Add about 1 cup (or whatever you consider a normal serving size) of the quinoa/ veggie mix to a bowl. Top with shrimp and a dash green onion, cilantro, and slivered almonds. FYI I forgot to add the cilantro and green onion, but it was delicious anyways! Enjoy!

Note: The protein in pretty flexible, instead of shrimp I have also used chicken or salmon. Quinoa is so healthy you could even skip the protein and enjoy as is. The salad can be eaten warm or cold.
David's only feedback: Slice the sugar snap peas or snow peas into smaller bite-sized portions. I will keep that in mind for next time!

My Cooking Attempts: Rice Noodle Salad

David and I have been trying to eat healthier, we are going to Maui in a month so we are VERY motivated! I found this recipe in Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite and thought it looked delicious so I gave it a go.

Here's the recipe:

Salad

• 3 1/2 oz thin rice noodles
• drizzle of sesame oil
• 7 oz snow peas or sugar snap peas
• 1 large  red sweet pepper
• 1 large sweet yellow or orange pepper
• 2 green onions
• 7 oz peeled, cooked shrimp
• handful of cilantro leaves
• 1tbsp toasted black or white sesame seeds, to sprinkle

Dressing

• 1 shallot, peeled and finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
• 1 small red chile, seeded and minced
• 2-3 tbsp lime juice, or more to taste
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 1/2 tbsp jaggery (or soft brown sugar)
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

I changed a few things:

• I added carrots.
• I skipped the yellow/ orange bell pepper. The red bell pepper was enough for me.
• Was out of lime so used lemon instead. Yes, I know they don't have the same flavor but I'm working with what I got people!
• I was out of cilantro so I used basil. Please see above comment and don't judge my lack of ingredients!
• No chile for me! Those who know me, know I have never developed an immunity or love for chile. So instead I used red pepper flakes. 
• The recipe called for jaggery or brown sugar. Instead I used organic coconut sugar. I figured it went with the Thai theme and David assures me it has more nutritional value than regular sugar. *Okay Baby, whatever gets you through the day ;)*

First I chopped the veggies, 'a la julienne:

I then boiled (2-3 minutes in boiling water), blanched (ice cold H20) , and chopped the sugar snap peas. BTW sugar snap peas taste so much better cooked! I've tried  to eat them raw on multiple occasions and I'm just not convinced that's the best way to eat them.

Then I soaked the rice noodles. I've never used rice noodles before and Albertsons only had rice sticks. I'm gonna assume they are the same thing. But you know what happens when you assume! You make an ass out of you and me! Hahaha I crack myself up! *Wipes tear away.*

I boiled water in a tea kettle. Placed the noodles in a heatproof bowl and soaked them in the hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and coat with a drizzle of sesame oil.

I then chopped some green onion. (I forgot about them when I chopped the other veggies.) I also made the sauce. Another first for me: I used fish sauce! Notice the ominous feel of the picture below? It correctly reflects how I felt about using fish sauce! Surprisingly the smell and taste were milder than I expected. If I can do it, you can do it! Just mix all the dressing ingredients together.

I then cooked the shrimp. The recipe assumes you have cooked shrimp laying around your fridge or freezer. I do not. Actually, I NEVER use precooked shrimp! So I used a little lemon zest, salt and pepper to season the raw shrimp. Of course, it goes without saying, I cleaned their poop line. *That's right I said poop on a post about food!* In other words I deveined them. Then off to the skillet to cook. *You better watch those crazy little bastards cause they cook really, really fast and there is nothing worse then rubbery shrimp!*

Mix all the ingredients together. I first sauced the noodles and then added the veggies. You can refrigerate the salad and let the flavors meld, as a refined lady with self control would. Or you can dig in, like I would! Tastes good either way. :)

Here is the final product:

Lessons Learned

• Pay attention to the amount of rice noodles/ sticks you use. I may have over done it!
• Keep the shrimp and veggies separate from the noodles until it is time to serve. Think topping pasta with pasta sauce and meatballs. 'Cause it is way too hard to try to properly mix all those veggies and shrimp with the rice noodles. Note the one lonely shrimp that made it to the top of the mixture. *Or it could have something to do with the fact that I used way too many noodles. Who's to know?* **Shrug**
• Enlist help from David! Take a look at all the dishes I had to wash afterwards:

To be fair those dishes aren't all from this meal preparation. Note the blender that was not used in the making of this meal. I'm just a notoriously messy cook! It took me like 30-45 minutes to make the salad, which isn't too bad. If you employ mis en place *Look at me and my Food Network lingo. Fancy Lady Alert!* and don't cook your own shrimp then it will be even faster.

FYI David loved the salad! Let me know if you loved it too!