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Recipe: quinoa with sautéed mushrooms and kale

Planning my schedules is easy. Planning my schedules around other people’s schedules is where I start wanting to tear my hair out. Last week it got to the point of maximum chaos trying to coordinate several travel shoots. I even thought I was going to have to dig around for someone to come with me to Hawai’i! But just as things seemed impossible to nail down, I did manage to get it all settled in time for the weekend.

it was a snowy weekend

There is a lot going on around here and this past weekend was no exception. For example, there was PodCamp Boulder 3 – the Unconference. I attended PCB2 last year and it was tremendous. There is a lot of knowledge in this community – a lot of sharing, discussion, creativity, laughter, networking, and good people. I love that. I came away with some new friends and more ideas to mull over in my head.

levar and terry lead a session

bryan and jason discuss social development in children

And because Kathya was at PodCamp too, we ventured into downtown Boulder to try out a new eatery for lunch. I went on my friend Denise‘s recommendation. Pizzeria Locale had been open for just over a week and it sounded fabulous. I’ll be writing more about them soon.

the perfect arugula salad

Since last week was Chinese New Year, I kinda loaded the Chinese recipes (or Chinese-related posts) on you. We’re back to mixing things up here, which brings me to quinoa. Jeremy and I are quite fond of quinoa, but I haven’t cooked with it all that much. Mostly, we have had it in restaurants. I was reminded of how much I enjoy it when Danny whipped up some lovely quinoa with chanterelles, summer corn, and peppers for breakfast one morning when I was visiting with him, Shauna, and Lu.

dried quinoa (tiny!)

local oyster mushrooms

kale, oyster mushrooms, diced onion, cod filets

I purchase my organic quinoa in bulk from Whole Foods. There is also a red quinoa that I wanted to try, but the bin was EMPTY. I settled for white quinoa. I’ve heard people say that you can treat quinoa like you would rice. It’s lighter than rice and the texture is more springy. There is a nutty flavor to the quinoa which works beautifully with vegetables. I chose to cook it with some kale, onions, and mushrooms.

fluffy cooked quinoa

sautéed mushrooms

chopped kale

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Recipe: chinese salt and pepper pork

You know what I like about Chinese New Year besides all of the Chinese food? It’s later in winter than the regular winter holidays, which means there is usually better snow. You see, I like winter. But you already knew that.

he likes winter too… i think i’ll keep him

My parents are in Florida right now because (Southern) Virginia is “too cold” for them. I chuckle to myself when they tell me these things. Winter is probably the most maligned of all seasons. I sometimes think people dislike winter because they don’t appreciate it. Or maybe it’s because they have to travel in bad weather? I could totally relate to that. Or maybe they are living in a Bad Winter Zone? I consider Bad Winter Zones to be places that don’t get proper snow. Just the other day, Jeremy and I were discussing the seasons and I declared, “I LOVE winter! I love skiing and getting out into the backcountry, baking and cooking, snuggling with Kaweah, grilling in the snow, crystal clear night skies.”

i shooted it

I paused and added, “And autumn – autumn is great with the changing leaves and the cooler temperatures, the hikes and rides. Oh and spring! Spring mountaineering, spring skiing, wearing a light jacket, longer days…” Of course there is summer. It seems everyone loves summer. I do too, but it’s not my favorite season. Mountain summer is brief, but jam-packed: wildflowers, backpacks, rides, trail runs, afternoon thunderstorms, evening dinners on the deck with friends, dog walks as the sun sets, farmers markets, hummingbirds, alpine lakes, cool mountain air dancing through the house at night. I guess my point (Jen, is there a point?) is that I love it all. I just LOVE being here and being alive. There is something precious about every season, every day. I’m loathe to squander it.

winter love

But back to Chinese New Year. The food – there is so much food that I need to prepare in the next couple of days! Plus, we have to clean the house because once Chinese New Year is here, you are not supposed to clean the house for two weeks (sweeps out the luck). Oh, and don’t buy salt for the rest of the month of February. Bad luck. That’s what Grandma tells me. I made the trek down to Denver to meet up with my pal Kathya at the big Asian market to get groceries for the Lunar New Year. This year I’m keeping the menu “simple” since it’s just me and Jeremy. We’ll have soy bean sprouts, bean thread noodle soup (chocked full of lucky goodies), nian gao (rice cakes), potstickers, and lucky ten ingredient vegetables. How are you going to celebrate the Lunar New Year?

Jaden’s post on Chinese New Year reminded me about avoiding squid. Instead of cuttlefish balls in the bean thread noodle soup, I buy fish balls this one time of year. That’s because the superstition equates squid with getting fired. Eating nian gao (rice cakes), for instance, means a promotion or raise because nian (sticky) gao (cake) is a homonym for nian (year) gao (higher). So you can just imagine what a minefield planning dinner can be if you don’t have a Wise Chinese Grandma advising you on your menu selection. Since I had posted the recipe for salt and pepper squid, I thought it was only fair for me to give you an alternative that won’t get you fired.

this time it’s salt and pepper pork

When I’ve seen salt and pepper pork on the menu, it’s actually salt and pepper pork chops. These aren’t the pork chops that you find in your typical (white person) grocery store. These are cut rather thin and because 1) I have had disappointing results when I ask the butchers at Whole Foods to cut meat the “Asian” way and 2) it’s easier to eat without the bone, I didn’t bother with pork chops. I got a pork tenderloin instead (I prefer the dark meat) and sliced it myself. Control freak. Me.

mix up the flour, cornstarch, and sichuan pepper salt

slice semi-frozen pork tenderloin

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Recipe: braised lamb shanks with lentils

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I’ve been a good girl.

I’ve been cleaning out my freezer. People keep telling me I just need to buy a second refrigerator/freezer, but I can only imagine how much more food I could potentially squirrel away and forget about if I had two freezers. No, it’s good to rediscover those little gems squished alllll the way in the back corner while they are still recognizable and consumable. So when Lava Lake Ranch shipped me some of their beautiful 100% organic, grass-fed lamb cuts earlier this month (FTC disclosure), I was determined to use the largest pieces – the shanks – first, to keep the volume of frozens down in my freezer. As luck would have it (or negligence, you pick) there were two more hind shanks from Lava Lake buried under several bags of green chiles on the lower shelf. Four shanks in total… sweet.

Knowing next to zippo about lamb, I asked the twitterverse if I should braise or roast the lamb shanks. Overwhelmingly, the twitterverse replied BRAISE. Lately I have had a hankering for lentils and thought what better way to enjoy the lamb than with lentils? Not to mention, there is nothing quite delightful as a slow-braised dish on a cold evening in the Colorado Rockies. So here’s the odd bit about this post… I can’t reproduce the recipe here, but I can list the ingredients and I describe what I did to make it. You can always head over to the Seattle Times for the original (but they don’t have pictures).

The first step after preheating the oven to 350°F was to sear the seasoned lamb shanks in a little oil on high heat in a Dutch oven. Searing all sides took about ten minutes for me, but it was worth it for the fond (that lovely brown crust) you get on the bottom of the pan. That’s the good stuff. That’s the FLAVOR.

cracked peppercorns, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, onion

salt and pepper to season the shanks

After removing the shanks to a plate, I had to add a bit more oil to sauté the onions, garlic, herbs, and spices. According to the recipe, I was supposed to have lamb fat left after the searing, but this lamb is pretty lean (either that, or I trimmed all of the fat before searing – it’s not like I know what I’m doing here). When the onions softened up, I added the amber ale and the chicken broth to the pot. Be sure to stir it about and dissolve the fond from the pan. Remember what I said about FLAVOR? Not only does it give your broth great flavor, but it makes cleanup so much easier. Once the liquid came to a boil, I placed the shanks back into the pot, put the lid on tightly, and set the whole thing in the oven for 90 minutes.

keep that fond in the pan

pour in the beer

place the seared shanks into the liquid

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