My birthday is never a one day affair, I like to string it out spending time with various friends using it as an excuse for celebratory lunches and get togethers. Yesterday I was invited for a birthday lunch with my good friends Gill and Billy, the weather was splendid so we were able to eat outside.
Gill had read my post: 'The art of doing nothing' and had planned a leisurely day of eating, drinking and sitting in the sunshine......a perfect way to spend the day.
We started our meal with a delicious combination of Billy's homemade bread, king prawns, homemade dips and champagne.
Our main course was an interesting one in as much as Gill used an ingredient which was a staple in my diet during my vegetarian years. Quinoa is a vegetable protein that looks like a grain, it is a very efficient, cheap and healthy alternative to meat and is wheat free.
For thousands of years, quinoa formed the staple diet of the Incas and their descendants. In recent years, foodies have heralded it as a superior alternative to rice or cous cous due to its high nutritional content.
Quinoa, pronounced keen-wa, rather like polenta or pasta, has no discernable flavour of its own, it is a vessel to which other flavours have to be added. Combing beans and grains together forms a complete protein and because they break down easily in the body they are great for the metabolism.
Gill added a combination of ingredients: finely chopped onion, tomatoes and avocado along with red pepper, shredded spinach, chopped coriander and crumbled feta cheese.
The piece de resistance was the toasted pine nuts
Gill also made a delicious dressing with herbs, garlic and olive oil
This salad would work very well on its own, full of flavour, texture and essential amino acids it's a wholesome meal, but it was made all the more delicious by the added ingredient of pan fried sea bass.
There are many benefits from eating healthy food such as quinoa, you can make it taste great by experimenting with different flavours: vegetables, herbs and spices. It is easy to prepare so you don't have to have great culinary experience and when combined with nuts, beans, tofu, lean chicken or fish you can eat in abundance and feel great!
The beauty of eating a healthy meal is that you can afford to spoil yourself with an occasional treat. In true birthday style Gill brought me my birthday cake complete with candle.
Most supermarkets now stock quinoa grains which need to be rinsed and boiled, however, you can buy ready to use quinoa in sachets, brands such as merchant gourmet do a sachet of mixed red and white quinoa which whilst more expensive is very useful for quickness.
If you haven't experimented with quinoa I strongly urge you to, my next recipe is one I found very satisfying and comforting on many a chilly evening.
Warm vegetable quinoa peppers
Recipe
Serves 4 for a small appetite or two for a main meal
1 red pepper, deseeded and halved
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and halved
1 courgette, trimmed and finely chopped
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
60g quinoa grains
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
100g fresh rocket
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 lemon wedges
Preheat oven 200c/gas mark 6
Place peppers cut side up on an ovenproof baking dish
Scatter the courgette and onion over the top, drizzle with a little olive oil and season
Bake for 15 minutes
Meanwhile, rinse and drain the quinoa, add to a pan of boiling water, along with the thyme and rosemary
Cook for 8-10 minutes, drain and set aside, discard herbs
Remove peppers from oven and place on warm plates
Spoon quinoa into the pepper halves, scatter with rocket, fresh basil and toasted pine nuts and arrange the lemon wedges (for squeezing) on top
Serve immediately
This is a very low calorie meal so if you desire you could grate some cheese onto the peppers along with the onions and courgettes for extra deliciousness.
'If time, so fleeting, must like humans die,
Let it be filled with good food and good talk,
And then embalmed in the perfumes of conviviality.'
- Serve It Forth.
Love Donna xxxx
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