Teriyaki Shrimp over Israeli Couscous and Endive

Trader Joe's offers a new Harvest Blend product featuring Israeli couscous, red and green orzo, split dried garbanzo beans, and red quinoa.  I decided to try this new mix, but obviously needed something with more flavor to serve atop it.  I had some shrimp, veggies and teriyaki, so figured that would be a bold enough taste.  And for good measure I threw some belgian endive leaves on the bottom to add a little fresh crunch.

Saute your veggies as per usual.  A little mushroom, red onion, and garlic in olive oil is what I went for this time.

Add the shrimp and then the teriyaki.  As the shrimp cooks it will draw in the flavor.  Add more teriyaki as desired for a saucier product.  Or for a less strong taste, add some broth at this point to cut the flavor of the teriyaki.

Assemble your endive on the plate.  You could chop it up if you want it to be more salad-like, but I also utilized these as little handheld cups of couscous and shrimp.  Very graceful.

Pile your grains, rice, etc. on top.  Then you just top with the shrimp mixture and let the juices seep in.  This way you get your salad, grains, and fish all in one bite!

Quinoa Salad with Shrimp

What?  Salad for dinner again? Yeah, don't worry, I'm not turning healthy, as evidenced by the bacon overload.  But the first time I sampled quinoa it was in a salad and I was sold, so rather than serve it as a side dish, I present to you quinoa as the main event.  Perhaps this would make a great lunch salad.

This one is pretty simple.  As you may be able to tell, I was lacking in the lettuce department, so it's heavy on the quinoa, light on the greens.  I cooked the quinoa in chicken broth and threw the raw shrimp and frozen corn kernels into the pot to cook together.  I created a dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and cilantro.  To that I added the cooked quinoa, shrimp, and corn and mixed to coat.  I added the lettuce, chopped red onion, herbed goat cheese, and of course the crumbled bacon.  And there you have it.  Add quinoa to any of your favorite salads and you'll get a nice texture addition.  Though you probably want to add a lot less than I did if you're just using it as an accent flavor.  

Salmon with Spinach and Bacon Quinoa

Last night was one of those nights I was convinced I had no food for dinner, until I looked in my freezer and put together this little ensemble.  Half a bag of frozen spinach and some salmon inspired this dish.  I realized I had been neglecting the quinoa in my pantry, so rather than rice or potatoes, that was my side.  But since quinoa is incredibly bland when cooked solo, I made sure to spice it up the best way I know how...with bacon.  I'm typically a fan of poaching salmon, to ensure moistness, but last night I decided to go wild and bake the salmon.  The result? Still juicy and delicious.  Phew.  

For baking the salmon: salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, olive oil

For the quinoa: 1 cup red quinoa and 2 cups water, 1/2 bag frozen spinach, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1 tbsp garlic, 3 slices bacon, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, fresh chopped cilantro, lime/lemon juice ~ 2 tbsp

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook the quinoa according to package directions.  I often like to cook in broth rather than water, but last night I stuck with water since I was adding so many other flavors later.  

Fresh spinach would obviously be preferable, but if you're using frozen like I was, wilt/thaw it in a saute pan over medium heat with a little water until heated completely.  Set aside in a small mixing bowl and when cooled, drain any excess water.

You can take this time to prepare the salmon for the oven.  Line a baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup.  I then sliced the fish into the serving pieces, coated with salt/pepper and a light sprinkling of the cumin and coriander (use whatever spices you like/have) and drizzled with olive oil.  Put in the oven and cook until your desired doneness.  Mine finished exactly as I finished the quinoa/everything else, probably about 15 minutes. 

 Lastly, chop the bacon and heat in the saute pan you used for the spinach.  Once rendered (cooked to a light crisp), remove bacon to paper towels to drain and add garlic and onion to the bacon grease in the skillet.  About this time my quinoa had absorbed all the water so I threw that in the bowl that was holding the spinach.  When the onions/garlic were sauted nicely, I threw them in the quinoa bowl, with the remaining bacon grease, since I love the flavor and it was only about a tbsp.  Add the parmesan cheese, chopped cilantro, and citrus juices.  Mix it all up so the flavors meld and then add the cooked bacon.  

Plate some quinoa, throw a slice of salmon on top, and enjoy!  You could even mix the salmon in with the quinoa for more of a salmon salad sort of feel, but this way you can take some bites of just salmon, just quinoa, or a bit of both.

Skewers and Quinoa

My food discovery of the summer has been quinoa (keen-wah).  I decided to finally brave the world of cooking it for myself and have pretty much used it as a rice replacement.  I realize I prefer the red variety to the white variety, but accidentally purchased a box of white and last night finally finished it.

For last night's dinner, Safeway had a sale on marinated skewers so i figured, why not.  In my humble San Francisco apartment I do not own a barbecue.  I have a grill pan for the stove that works wonders, but is a huge hassle to clean.  So instead I opted for an initial pan-sear followed by 15-20 minutes in a 425 degree oven to achieve the perfect medium rare.  Using the leftover marinade, I sauteed some mushrooms, garlic, and scallions and threw in some cilantro for a kick.  Once the quinoa had been cooked according to the package directions, I tossed in my mushroom marinade saute to give flavor to my new favorite chenopod.  Fun fact: quinoa is not actually considered a grain because it does not actually come from the grass family.  And there you have it, a gussied up store-assembled meal.