Kale-Eggplantalicious Quinoa Loaf

Several weeks ago, I bought an eggplant for a dollar. When I got back from Tuscon last week, it was wilted and looking very sad. I knew I needed to act quick! I had also just bought some kale from People's Coop, so with full confidence in the power of Google (although i am most looking forward to Wolfram Alpha, from the makers of Mathematica), i typed in "eggplant kale recipe" and voila! was led to Post Punk Kitchen, a pretty good vegan recipes site. As I have previously disclosed, I like quinoa quite a bit, so this recipe looked perfect. I followed it strictly, but one important note:
the quinoa - i wish i read critically, because then i would have realized that the ratio for quinoa:water is 2, not 3, as the recipe cites. Because I did what i was told, though, the quinoa overcooked and this had a grave effect on the overall outcome: the "loaf" was not very loafy, the texture was funky.
The cinnamon was very tasty, but for my taste it could have used a bit more cayenne. Apple slices on top might be a tasty addition!

Dinner For Two

Wednesday nights are nice for me. I've turned in my two weekly math assignments early in the day, I don't have class again for a good 24 hours, no impending reading to do...clear road ahead for a moment of relaxation. So far they've been dinner nights. Tonight Russell made a chicken dish we've tried once before with the leftover org. chicken breast stashed in the freezer. It's a very easy recipe, and the flavors are incredible. (Beware it is on the sweet side.) Paired with my classic salad and a nice plump of quinoa, it filled our bellies well :) All prepared in under an hour! We really outdid ourselves this time with quickmix Ghiradelli's Chocolate Brownies and first-try homemade chai.

Ginger & Dijon Pear Chicken
Ingredients:
1 pear, finely sliced
1/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c water
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 green onions, sliced
4 tsp ginger (we use The Ginger People)
1 tbsp dijon mustard

Mix together sugar and water in skillet, bring to a boil
Add sliced pear and cook until tender
Transfer pears & liquid into bowl to cool
Cut chicken breast in half and season with salt and pepper
Add oil to pan and heat on med high
Add chicken, fry both sides until almost done (should still be a little soft in middle)
Mix dijon and ginger into sauce with pears in bowl, then pour contents over chicken
Heat until chicken is fully cooked and sauce is hot
Serve with green onions as garnish.

Scrumptuous Salad
Salads as super easy and flexible according to whatever you have in your kitchen. Here are the ingedients I used tonight. Ground flax seed is key, both for its nutritional value and nutty flavor. Lots of colors are good, as each color offers different nutrients. Always try to include at least one vegetable (in addition to the salad greens), fruit, and nut.
Salad Greens - the darker the better! Spinach is high in calcium.
Pine Nuts (toasted in over @ 400 degrees F)
cranberries
apples
grated and chopped carrot
flax seed
red onion
Annie's Papaya Poppyseed Dressing

First-Try Homemade Chai
I've been itching to make my own chai tea for a while now, and I have gradually been building up the spice cabinet to get me there. Tonight was the night. Undoubtedly the recipe will go through many iterations before it gets written down in stone, but my beginner's luck was good enough that I will share it here for you:

Servings: 4
With 8 cups water in pot, add the following (rough msmts):
1/2 tbsp fennel seed
4 or so cardamom pods (I don't really like the flavor of cardamom, even though I know its essential to chai, so if you do you shoud add some more pods to your batch)
10 or so cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4" ginger root, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp black tea (i couldn't find whole tea leaves, but if you can by all means use them instead)
1 dash each of nutmeg and allspice

Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tbsp of honey and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with rice milk.

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In other news, I just submitted my application for a Birthright trip this summer. Israel here I come!

Healthy Hearty Granola

To start off, just as we start off the day, with breakfast!
This recipe is easy and very moldable - just throw in what you have and make substitutions where you will. The more nuts=the more protein=the more lasting will the energy it gives you be. This recipe is not too sweet at all, and has a nice ginger bite to it.
This would be a good recipe to make with kids, because you can't go wrong and they can practice their measurements while getting good and gooey mixing up all the ingredients.

Servings: this amount lasted me about a week.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix ingredients in large bowl:
3c rolled oats
2 tbs ground flax seed
2 ts minced ginger (I use The Ginger People)
1 ts cinnamon
1 ts almond extract
1 ts vanilla extract
2 tbs honey
2/3 C applesauce (I made my own: see below for EASY instructions)
2 tbs maple syrup
dash of salt
nuts (I prefer slivered almonds and walnuts)

Spread mixture out on cooking sheet, 1/2" or so thick. Place in oven and cook for 30-45 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your granola. Mix granola frequently to prevent toasting on one side.

Remove from oven and let cool. Mix with dried fruit (dehydrated strawberries are generally good for granola, I like blueberries to go with the ginger flavor), and enjoy!

Applesauce
Cup up 2 large apples into chucks. I leave the skins on because I like their crunch in the granola, but feel free to peel the apples first.
Add to small pot with just enough water to cover the base. Add in several dashes of cinnamon. Cover pot.
Bring to a quick boil and reduce heat.
Cook until apples are soft. You can remove excess water along the way. There should be just enough that the apples don't burn.
Mash with a potato masher.
Measure out 2/3 C, let cool, and add to granola.
Enjoy the remainder while still hot for a yummy snack.