Posted by Lucy Baker, April 8, 2008 at 2:00 PM
It's salad season. But I don't mean that in a negative, it's-almost-time-to-put-on-a-bathing-suit kind of way. I mean because the markets are once again full of fresh, vibrant produce, from artichokes and baby beets to radishes and watercress. And because the vegetables are in such abundance, they cost a fraction of what they did all winter. Cheap and delicious—what could be better?
One of my favorite spring veggies has always been asparagus. Whether simply broiled with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper or showcased in a sophisticated soup (I love Jerry Traunfeld's version with fresh thyme), I just can’t get enough of its sweet, crunchy, herbaceous flavor. For this week's magazine recipe review, I decided to prepare the quinoa salad with asparagus, dates, and orange from the April issue of Cooking Light.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, March 10, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Though I am always looking for new ways to eat quinoa, Heidi Swanson’s lemon-scented quinoa salad from 101 Cookbooks never loses its place in my rotation. It comes together in a flash, it’s healthy and boldly flavored, and it’s substantial without weighing you down. I’ve packed it up not just for work but for long plane trips, too, so far without any objection from the TSA. (I love Continental for trying to serve food, but their mysterious hamburgers and barbecue sandwiches are not for me.) Though lemon and cilantro play leading roles in my kitchen year round, that brightness is, I think, especially welcome in March, suitable for dreary days and balmy ones alike.
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Posted by Emily Koh, January 22, 2008 at 1:00 PM
One of the reasons why I started eating healthier in recent months is because of my health-conscious roommate from this past fall. While I love my roast pork and lamb chops too much to ever consider going vegetarian like she did, she introduced me to a variety of new things that I might have just written off before because they were labeled as being "healthy," which I have a tendency to hear instead as being "tasteless."
One of my favorite discoveries thanks to her is quinoa. A light, nutty grain that cooks fast and is a great substitute for rice, quinoa is also a nutritional powerhouse, high in iron, calcium and fiber, and is also a protein powerhouse. Given that, it makes sense that I've mostly seen quinoa in healthier fare like salads. Yet who knew it also makes for a great base in dessert, like in this quinoa cake with crystallized ginger? The grains give the cake a moist, light quality, and it's definitely a much more pleasing texture than your average chocolate cake... not to mention there's no guilt splurging on an extra slice.
Sass also suggests that you can turn it into a cinnamon-walnut quinoa cake by replacing the Brazil nuts, crystallized ginger and raisins with walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots.
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