Friday, March 5, 2010

Quinotto (Quinoa Risotto)

Serves 4



1 cup Quinoa
3 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Toast quinoa in a dry pan until slightly brown around edges.

In a saucepan, mix vegetable stock, tumeric, onion and garlic powder. Bring vegetable stock to a boil. Add toasted quinoa. Bring back to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the stock is aborbed. Once the quinoa has absorbed all liquid, stir in grated parmesan cheese and olive oil.

Serve as is or with roasted vegetables and your favorite pasta sauce.

Calories per serving: 253 (without sauce or accompaniment)
Ancient Harvest Organic Quinoa, Traditional, 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12)The Quinoa Cookbook: Over 70 Great Quinoa Recipes

I've survived the first month...well...sort of

February is over!

It's been awhile since my last blog. Boy, was I overwhelmed with mommy duties, side projects, and cooking our daily meals! It feels great to be back though, and I am looking forward to posting the recipes I've tried during our vegetarian days.

Having gone this far made me realize how difficult it is to be vegetarian. The transition from being carnivorous to non-carnivorous was truly an experience and an adventure. Eating out at some of our favorite restaurants have proved to be challenging (and tempting!). I truly feel for vegetarians all over the world who end up having the bread appetizer (if they're lucky!) as their main course, and only meal, of the dining experience. Most restaurant menus are just not kind to vegetarians, or at least, not imaginative enough. It seems you have to go to a specialized vegetarian restaurant or an Italian restaurant with an extensive pasta menu.

We have been eating out a lot...so needless to say, the lack of choices has lead me astray. I admit that I have cheated this month. It was fish and BOY OH BOY, was it the best piece of fish I've ever had!

OK. Done! Let's move on! Forgive me...

Erratum:

Just as I posted my very first blog entry, my husband corrected me afterward. I thought that going vegetarian was going to be a lifetime deal. It turned out, he just intended it to be a month-long thing (the whole month of February). I, being idealistic about this whole project, told him I could do it for a longer time. He laughed. I guess he knows me more than I know myself.

Ironically, he had no problems whatsoever with the dietary change. I, on the other hand, had a laundry list of ailments, from hunger pangs to hyper acidity. Not that going vegetarian was a sure way to get these aliments, but the drastic change did a few wicked things to my digestive system! So the cheating was caused by three things really: boring menus, temptation, and to cure my hyper acidity. I believed that the acidity was from the lack of protein from meat, which supposedly gives you a more satisfying feeling once combined with carbs. (This is where you're probably thinking, great logical deduction for someone who was deprived of and craving meat!) Only to realize that I had cut down my calorie intake so drastically that it was my body's way of saying that I should eat more. It was just vegetables after all! So, after I increased my portion sizes (If you don't eat meat, you need to take in more vegetables and healthy grain), I felt much better.

I noticed a big difference in the succeeding weeks. Eating more vegetables gave me more energy and made me feel a lot better. Actually, it made me feel really good. I felt lighter and healthier somehow. Before I started the experiment, I was going to spinning classes twice a week. These sessions made me so hungry after that I ate like there was no tomorrow. I believed for some reason that I needed meat to help me get through the class. Surprisingly, none of that mattered. Sure I was hungry but the body knows. It adjusted. It turns out, all I needed was a healthy attitude and lots of water!

Turning Point

This whole experiment forced me to look at food in a different way. Going vegetarian was a real eye-opener; a great experience, but it is not something I can do forever. With that said, we have come up with another plan for the month of March. We've decided to continue being vegetarian 3 days of the week, eat chicken or fish 2 days of the week, and pretty much anything goes on the weekend. However, the important thing is to choose vegetarian whenever we can, whenever it is available. This works out perfectly since we are having family visiting throughout the months of March, April and May. The last thing we want is for our guests to feel obligated to eat our vegetarian dishes. :)

For people who are following this blog for vegetarian recipes, don't worry. I will still be posting a lot of vegetarian recipes. Vegetarian cooking is challenging for me and when I am challenged, I really push myself to learn more. A great chef is only as good as her ingredients. If you can see potential in the simplest ingredients and turn it into a spectacular meal, you're already a super chef in my book! I am truly in awe of Vegetarian chefs, more so of Vegan chefs. So please keep on reading!

I will consolidate my vegetarian recipes and post them a day at a time. For now, I am so glad to be blogging again!