A Frittata Idea

I make frittatas very often and don't share my recipes often enough! Here's what I made last night...

Remember the half bunch of asparagus I put in my veggie quinoa bowl?  The rest found its way into this delicious Friday night frittata. In fact, it was the star.  Sometimes I like to load the egg dish with veggies, but not this time.  Here's the run down.

ingredients:

6 eggs
1/2 bunch of asparagus cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1-2 Tbsp goat cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper

preheat oven to 400.
whisk 6 eggs, add salt and pepper.
coat oven proof pan with olive oil, paying attention to the sides, I usually use spray oil.
heat olive oil in pan on the stove.
pour eggs into hot pan.
add asparagus, spreading it all around the pan.
add small chunks of goat cheese throughout.
by this time, the egg should begin to set. 
place the entire dish into the oven for about 20 minutes.

Roasted Yukon gold potatoes and a simple spinach salad made this a nice Friday night meal after a long week.

To make the side dish: Cut 8-10 Yukon golds into bite sized pieces.  Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika.  Put in the oven, 10 minutes before you begin prepping the frittata.  Stir a few times. They should be done by the time the frittata is brown around the edges.

Three recipe ideas for Barley

I've been cruising on whole grains all week; barley, millet, oats and quinoa (thanks for your previous quinoa post!). The feature grain of my spring pantry is a big jar of pearled barley. Here are three favorite ways I made it this week.

Breakfast Cream of Barley

This is a hot cereal recipe for one serving. Double or triple for a crowd.

1/3 cup pearled barley

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup milk of choice (I prefer rice milk, but could also use almond, soy or dairy here)

plus extra milk for blending

a sprinkle of sweet spices (your choice, any combo cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves)

a small handful of dried fruit, soaked in hot water 10 minutes (raisins, or cranberries, or tart cherries)

maple syrup, to taste

Rinse the barley in a sieve under cold water. Combine barley, 1/2 cup water and 3/4 cup milk in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover partially and let barley simmer until soft 20 to 25 minutes for pearled barley (double the time for hulled barley). Puree the cooked barley with your handstick blender or a regular blender (keep the lid open just a tad for blending hot liquids) adding extra milk to achieve an easy-blending consistency (texture should be similar to cream of wheat). Stir in your soaked fruit, and top with maple syrup.

~

The following two recipes are inspired by the Eating Wisely piece on whole grains in the March Yoga Journal.

Cranberry Herb Barley Salad

1 cup pearled barley

3 cups water

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the barley in a sieve under cold water. Place in a medium pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat 20- 25 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together in a medium bowl the olive oil, vinegar, cranberries, chives and parsley. Drain any excess liquid from the cooked barley, fluff with a fork and stir into the cranberry mixture.

Barley Bowl with Asparagus

Note: the original recipe is a soup, called for 6 cups of veggie broth. I prefer this dish thicker, like a rice bowl. Feel free to adjust the broth addition to our preference, more broth to make it more like a soup.

1 cup pearled barley

3 cups water

Sea salt

2 cups veggie broth

1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut on the diagonal in 1/2 inch pieces

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup miso paste

chopped fresh parsley

Rinse barley under cold water. Place in a medium pot with 3 cups water and a pinch of sea salt. Boil for  20 to 25 minutes (twice as long if you are using hulled barley). When barley is cooked through, add the veggie broth to the pot, and spread the asparagus on top. Cover with a lid, bring it all to a boil again and cook long enough for the asparagus to steam and turn a bright green. Remove from heat. Dissolve the miso paste in a bit of warm water, and stir into the pot with the barley and asparagus. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Veggie Quinoa Bowl in 30 Minutes or Less

Here is a very quick, delicious dinner you can prep after a long day of work!  Here's what I did.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/2 can chickpeas, drained
1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
1/4-1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 bunch of asparagus, stalks broken into thirds
3 handfuls washed spinach
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions: 
Bring veggie broth to a boil.  Add quinoa and set stove to medium-low heat.  Cover. 

Wash and prep veggies. Wait until quinoa has about 5-7 minutes left to cook (quinoa usually takes about 15-20 minutes, and at the 5 minute mark most of the liquid should be gone, if you still have a lot of liquid remaining, turn up the heat, just be careful not to burn it.).

Heat olive oil in a sautee pan on high, add peppers, onions and asparagus.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add spinach in the last minute and cook until wilted.  Add chickpeas.  Turn heat off.
By this time, the quinoa should be done.  If all the liquid is not yet gone, drain the quinoa if you don't like it brothy.  Transfer your vegetables to a bowl and mix in the quinoa.

Weekly Menu April 22-28

Some spring vegetables are starting to creep into the menu!!

quinoa with carrots, asparagus and spinach

frittata with asparagus and goat cheese

stacked enchilada
(it appears that this recipe is only available online now to subscribers of Taste of Home ) this dish has appeared here a few times now and is proving to be an easy to prep, tasty dish. I look forward to adding some things to make it better... but not this week.

pasta with the leftover cilantro pesto from Sunday and a salad

roasted chicken, red pepper and mozzarella panini with salad
    note:  I bought a rotisserie chicken to use in lunches and salads this week, and will use some for this sandwich.   I have been doing this a lot lately and decided that one of my "as soon as this semester is over" cooking projects will be to roast a chicken on my own!  It's about time I learn some new kitchen skills, and I need to find out if it's a lot cheaper and tastier than buying an already cooked rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for $6.99. 

I am also hoping to try one of Cara's healthy Spring recipes for lunch... the creamy pea soup with avocado!