Quinoa, Brussels Sprouts, Meyer Lemon

It sometimes takes me a while to read all of my food magazines. In 2015, I received four per month, which was kinda ridiculous. I'm still working on them, but I did manage to get through the December 2015 issue of Martha Stewart Living. In it was a recipe, in a section titled "Eat Clean," for a salad made with brussels sprouts, Meyer lemon, and quinoa. It sounded tasty enough, and we had all three of those things on hand. We didn't have two of the supporting players, scallions and walnuts, but I figured I could make do with sweet onions and pecans.

I never realized that "clean" was synonymous for "flavorless." Quinoa is bland and raw brussels sprouts are pretty mild. Meyer lemon has a lot of flavor, but not quite enough to tackle the plainness of the grain. And lemon + salt + red pepper is just kinda meh, even when combined with some fancy extra virgin Greek olive oil. I felt the salad needed some sweetness, for balance. I added a chopped apple, and then, because I have a sweet tooth, a little maple syrup to echo that maple-y quality that pecans have. It was better, but as we were eating it, I thought it could use some creaminess, in the form of diced avocado. And maybe some chopped parsley and even more lemon zest.

Clean, shmean. I'm all about flavor.

Shaved Brussels Sprout, Meyer Lemon, and Quinoa Salad (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

1 cup red quinoa
Salt
8 ounces brussels sprouts
1/3 cup finely chopped scallions or sweet onion
1 apple
1 Meyer lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons maple syrup, to taste (optional)
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Place quinoa in a pot with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, until water has been absorbed, 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Trim the stem end of the brussels sprouts and pull off the outermost leaves. Cut sprouts in half, then make a v-shaped cut in the core end to remove as much of the core as possible. Slice the sprout halves thinly (the magazine suggests using a mandoline, but nobody wants human blood and skin in a vegan dish, not even a carnivore) and place in a large bowl. Peel and core the apple. Chop the fruit fairly finely and toss with the apple.

Zest the lemon; add zest to sprouts and apple. Juice the lemon to produce 2 tablespoons. Whisk in the olive oil, maple syrup if using, and pepper.

Add the cooled quinoa to the bowl of sprouts. Season with 3/4 teaspoon of salt and drizzle on the dressing. Toss well to combine. Stir in pecans before serving. Eat immediately, or refrigerate up to three days.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze

Since the Fancy Food Show, we've been getting lots of tasty products to review. One of my favorites is Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze. Part cereal, part smoothie, completely delicious, Munk Pack is a great snack to throw in your bag and take with you to eat at work or on the road.

There are three flavors: raspberry coconut, blueberry acai flax, and apple quinoa cinnamon. My favorite is the raspberry coconut, which definitely tastes of raspberry, but also has banana and apple in it. (All three flavors have apple, the Blueberry Acai Flax has banana, too.) It's hard to describe the texture of the stuff....it's not thick and gloppy like oatmeal, nor is it runny like applesauce, but perhaps somewhere in between. Mostly smooth, with bits of grain. And bits of coconut in the raspberry flavor. It's really quite tasty, and at 100 calories or less, a lot better for you than a candy bar (but, I understand, not chocolate).

Munk Pack products hit all the right buzzwords du jour: gluten-free, non-gmo, kosher, vegan. The products have no added sugar, 3-4g of fiber, and are packed in a BPA-free pouch that lets you squeeze every drop of goodness right into your gullet.

You can purchase Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeezes at Eddies on Charles Street and on Roland Ave and at Wegman's. Or at Amazon, which of course has everything.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Caramel Apple Cobbler

I love apple pie, but I don't like making pie crusts. There's just not enough counter space in my little kitchen to roll one out properly. Sometimes I use store-bought crusts; they're ok, but not quite good enough. So I was a bit stymied as to what to do when there were too many apples in the crisper.

An apple crisp would be a perfect solution, but I found out recently that Mr Minx really doesn't like crisps. Unbelievable, I know. He made the announcement after I had made a rather large peach crisp, which resulted in my having to eat just about the entire thing myself. (I loved it!) If not a crisp, then what? I didn't think a traditional biscuity-cobbler would work as well with apples as it does with a juicier fruit, but found a couple recipes for cobblers topped with a sweet cookie-type batter. That seemed absolutely perfect.

A combination of brown sugar and Lyle's Golden Syrup (a British product found in some supermarkets) makes a lovely caramel-y sauce for the apples. Chunks of nuts in the batter add a lovely crunch to the topping. The result is delicious when eaten warm with a scoop of ice cream, or cold, straight out of the pan.

Caramel Apple Cobbler

For apples:
6-8 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/2 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cardamom

For cookie topping:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 stick of butter (4 oz), melted
2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole almonds, crushed roughly
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425°F.

To make apples: Place apples, brown sugar, flour, and butter in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until butter and sugar melts and starts to bubble. Add the golden syrup and spices. Cook for about five minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a 8" or 9" square baking dish.

To make cookie topping: In a mixing bowl, beat together brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients, minus almonds, in a smaller bowl. Add flour mixture to sugar and butter mixture and stir until combined. Stir in almonds. Dollop batter over apples in baking dish.

Place baking dish on a sheet pan to catch drips. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is nicely browned and firm to a light touch.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with ice cream or chilled without.

Posted on Minxeats.com.