Grilled Vegetable and Quinoa Pasta Salad

Green Girl Goodies, January 2012

Below you will find recipes for Basic Grilled Vegetables and Basic Balsamic Pasta Salad. Here I use Quinoa Pasta for the pasta salad but regular or wheat pasta can be used as well.

Yield for both recipes combined is approximately 3 ½ quarts

Basic Grilled Vegetables

1 med Red Onion, sliced in ½” rings for grilling then ½” diced
1 med Red Pepper, sliced in big pieces for grilling then ½” diced
2 med Orange Peppers, sliced in big pieces for grilling then ½” diced
1 med Poblano, sliced in big pieces for grilling then ½” diced
2 ea Corn, grilled and removed from the cob
½ c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder

- Preheat your grill to medium high heat.
- Combine oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a large bowl.

- Coat all vegetables except the corn with the oil mixture.

- Place well coated vegetables on a plate to allow any excess oil to come off before grilling and start the corn.

- Cook the corn over the hot center of the grill until the husks begin to blacken.

- Flip the corn and add your vegetables to the grill. Reserve the leftover oil mixture for the salad.

- Rotate and flip the vegetables as needed, keeping in mind where the hot spots are located on your grill.

- You want a light char on the peppers (the skin will begin to blister) and dark grill marks on the onions. The vegetables will be half cooked and still have a bite to them.

- Cooking times are approximately:
o 2 - 3 minutes a side for the peppers
o 3 – 4 minutes a side for the onions
o 5 – 6 minutes a side for the corn.

- Set the vegetables aside to cool completely while you prepare the rest of the salad. Once they are cooled, remove the corn from the cob and cut the remaining vegetables into a ½’ dice.

Basic Balsamic Pasta Salad

2 8 oz Boxes Quinoa Pasta Shells

- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Drain into a colander. Add ½ c ice and run under cold water to cool quickly. Mix gently until the ice is melted.

- Once cooled completely, shake the colander to remove any excess water.
- Pour the pasta into a large bowl and add the reserved oil marinade used on the grilled vegetables to prevent the pasta from sticking and mix gently. If you are preparing the salad without the vegetables and have no oil mixture add:

2 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

2 12 oz bags Cherry Tomatoes, quartered

¾ c Basil, chiffonade

FOR THE DRESSING:

½ c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 tb Balsamic Vinegar
1 ½ tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tb Lemon Juice
2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 tb Honey (I used Wild Blackberry Honey but regular works too)

2 ½ tb Garlic, crushed and minced

- Combine all ingredients except for the oil. Slowly drizzle in the oil, stirring constantly to emulsify. Set aside until ready to use.

- Add cherry tomatoes to the cooled pasta and drizzle with dressing.

- Add grilled vegetables.

- Stir gently to mix items and let sit for at least an hour to let flavors combine. Garnish with basil and serve chilled. The salad can be kept properly refrigerated for 3 to 5 days and is best if you cut and add the basil fresh each time just before serving.

*Chiffonade - A cooking technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables are cut into long, thin strips. This is best accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then cutting across the rolled leaves with a sharp knife, producing fine ribbons. The key is to minimize the number of cuts as leafy greens and herbs bruise easily, resulting in browning quickly.

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Cleansing Diet, Day 12: Amazing what a few fresh vegetables can do!

After packing all day we whipped up a quick stir fry for dinner before heading to meet our friends Matt and Kel for drinks before the Hawks game. We cooked up some brown rice to go with our veggies and used the leftover Spicy Almond Paste from the Southeast Asian Lettuce Wraps we had on Day 8.

Stir fry is great when you are in a hurry and there are endless combinations of vegetables, proteins and sauces to make every stir fry unique. Stir fried items make a great side or for a complete meal have your stir fry with rice, noodles, lentils or quinoa. Cook your chosen accompaniment separately and top with your stir fry or mix it in for more of a family style dish like you see below.

The key to stir fry is to get the pan and chosen fat nice and hot but not smoking before adding your items. Add heartier vegetables with longer cooking times first and greens and cooked grains last. Toss or stir to mix all items and cook your stir fry fast and hot.


Up Next…
- Grilled Vegetable and Quinoa Pasta Salad

Cleansing Diet, Day 12: Getting lazy…and eating leftovers :)

Green Girl Goodies, January 2012

Not only was Friday the last day of the cleanse, but it marked the beginning of our last weekend in Seattle. With plenty of packing still to do and a Seahawks game that night, we found ourselves with little time to cook. Luckily we also had plenty of leftovers and fruits from our last trip to the farmer’s market. We went with fresh berries and melon for breakfast and for lunch we sautéed up some leftovers.

I heated a sauté pan and first added the remaining Southwest Black Bean and Corn Salad (approximately 1 ½ cups).

I cooked the salad over medium high heat and added the rest of our Cilantro Lime Slaw (approximately 2 cups). Toss or stir to mix and heat thru. Serve immediately.

Cleansing Diet, Day 11: Black Bean Patties topped with Spicy Charred Pepper and Corn Pico de Gallo served with Cilantro Lime Slaw

The patty is shown here garnished with the corn pico and cilantro lime slaw as well as tomato slices and grilled yellow onion rings.

Black Bean Patties^

Green Girl Goodies, January 2012

Serves 2 to 4

FOR THE BEANS:

1 ½ c Black Beans, soaked
3 tb Jalapeños, rings with seeds
1 c Yellow or White Onion, rough chop
3 tb Garlic, crushed
1 tb Lime Juice
2 tsp Cumin
2 ea Bay Leaves
1 ½ tsp Sea Salt
2 tb Cumin
Purified Water

- Soak the beans in purified water for at least 4 hours and up to 12
- Drain and rinse the beans before using.
- Place the beans into a large stock pot and cover with purified water by about an inch.
- Add seasonings, partially cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil.

- Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed if the beans look dry.
- Well cooked beans make better patties so cook until beans are very soft but not losing shape completely. Remove bay leaves and discard. Cooking time will vary depending on soaking time. See Bean Scene: Fun Facts and Tips for Cooking Beans for more useful information!

FOR THE PATTIES:

¼ c Cilantro, fresh minced
½ c Red Peppers, small dice
¼ c Red Onion, small dice
1 ½ tb Lime Juice
2 tb Ground Flax Seed + 2 tb Purified Water
2 tsp Agave

- Take half of the cooked beans and puree in a food processor until almost smooth. Reserve the other half in a large mixing bowl.
- Add bean puree back to whole cooked beans and add all other ingredients. Mix well to combine ingredients.
- Patties can be formed ahead of time or just before cooking. Refrigerate mix/patties until ready to use. Patties can be held in up to 4 layers (less is better), separated by parchment paper.*
- Pan sear** the cakes in a little Extra Virgin Olive oil over medium high heat. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of your patties. Thinner patties are better because they will get hot faster on the inside without burning the outside.

*Mix/patties can be frozen immediately for up to 3 months. They can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
**There are two main rules to follow when pan searing:
- First, make sure your pan and chosen fat (oil/butter) are hot but not smoking before you add the item to be seared.
- Second, be patient! The idea of searing is to get the nice crust on your item which means letting it cook without being disturbed. Only flip once to sear both sides. If the item has more than 2 sides, for example, a piece of sushi grade tuna, flip as you need but do your best to cook your product properly while only letting each side hit the pan once!!


Spicy Charred Pepper and Corn Pico de Gallo^

Green Girl Goodies, January 2012

Yields approximately 2 cups

1 c Tomatoes, small dice
3 tsp Jalapeno, seeds removed and minced

4 tb Poblano Pepper, charred, peeled and small diced

1 c Corn, grilled, cooled and cut from the cob

1 ½ tsp Garlic, minced
3 tb Cilantro, minced
2 tb Red Onion, minced
1 tsp Agave
1 tb Lime Juice
1 ½ tsp Sea Salt

- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Can be served immediately but is better after an hour or more once flavors have developed. Unlike your standard tomato pico, this pico ferments faster and should be eaten the day it is prepared.


Cilantro Lime Slaw

Green Girl Goodies, January 2012

2 c Red Cabbage, julienned
2 c White Cabbage, julienned
2 tb Cilantro, minced
To Taste, Lime Juice
To Taste, Sea Salt

- Combine all ingredients, starting with 1 tb lime and 1 tsp sea salt. Let stand in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to let the flavors combine (longer is better if you have time). Test the slaw and adjust to suite your taste. The slaw can be held properly refrigerated for up to 4 days.*

*This slaw is incredibly versatile and can be used for many things. It addition to being a delicious side hot or cold, it is great in tacos/burritos, mixed into your salad, added to stir fry…just to name a few. Get creative and play with the amount of lime juice and salt or try adding red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce to spice it up a bit!


^ Note the similarity in ingredients between Day 10 and 11. Preparing the same item in a larger quantity will save you some time. If you don’t feel like eating such similar meals two days in a row, don’t worry! You can cook the items on the same day and keep the extra amounts for at least 2 days properly refrigerated before using them for your next meal.


Up Next…
- Cleansing Diet, Day 12: Getting lazy…and eating leftovers :)
- Cleansing Diet, Day 12: Amazing what a few fresh vegetables can do!