Recent meals

Hey everyone, I must apologize for no post lately.  I took a little sojourn to Washington to visit family in Aberdeen, and friends in Seattle and Bellingham.  I had a great time visiting all of my old favorite places in Bellingham and seeing one of my favorite people there and her husband.  My friends and I had a great time having wine with her (Dr. L. Backer) and then going to her house for dinner after.  We fixed up a 5 lb. bundle of Manila clams and she had a vegetarian stew already made.  It was all very tasty and I'm sure we kept her up way too late.  OH WELL!!!!   : - )  

DIAN, BRENDA, SUZIE, JILL(left to right)

Backer and me

                                                          
    
So for one favorite recent meal:   ARTICHOKE WITH QUINOA (A seed related to the beet family which is a bit larger than couscous and full of nutty flavor) MIXED WITH A CORN AND PEPPER CHUTNEY.

So for this I make the quinoa as directed on the bag....1 1/2 cups of water to 1/2 cup quinoa.  Some leave a lid on, but I usually take it off half way through.

For the Pilaf or Chutney, however you want to name it j,ust saute up your favorite stuff like fresh or frozen or even canned corn if that's all you have, with some onion, fresh garlic, sweet peppers, flat leaf parsley or whatever you like...Peas are good in it too. You can also make an herb vinaigrette to toss in instead of the veggies.  Toss it together and eat.  Quinoa is full of protein, is gluten free, has a low glycemic index and provides all of the eight essential amino acids....IT IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN Couscous in my opinion!!!!  I had it this day with a steamed artichoke.
       PREPARING THE ARTICHOKE:
Top the artichoke about 1/3 of the way down, peal the leaves away down by the stem, trim the tops of the remaining leaves off to remove the points "OUCH", then half them and remove the choke (that is the purple part).  You stick a knife in about an inch and cut along the edge of the smooth "heart" and the bottom of the choke and then pull it out.  Drop it in lemon water to keep it from oxidizing until you are ready to cook.  Place the halves in a steamer top down and steam with lid on until the leaves come off freely.  Plate the artichokes and quinoa however you like them.  Make your favorite dip for the artichoke and use the leaves to dip and then scoop up some quinoa like a spoon.  Bite the leaf with quinoa and scrape the goodie off with your teeth.   SO FUN!!!