Seriously, Eat This

I made mention in last Monday's post that we had hit up the Dallas farmer's market, and picked up a boat load of fresh, local veggies.

The thing about fresh veggies is that they don't last very long. Because they're fresh. And not loaded with pesticides and preservatives. Crazy concept, eh?

It has been a hot minute since I spent some time in the kitchen, subjecting my beer and burger loving hubby to my healthy, organic and often vegetarian ways. All these veggies were a great excuse to break out some of the awesome pots and pans we received as wedding gifts and force-feed my family some nutritious food!

I went with a quinoa salad, because I love quinoa. LOVE it.

And this is the best one I've made yet! It's super simple and easy to throw together, too. The hardest part was chopping all the veggies!

- 2 C quinoa
- 4 C veggie or chicken stock
- A boat load of fresh veggies, cut into bite sized pieces (I used zucchini, asparagus, sweet peppers and red onion)
- 1-2 T turmeric
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pushed through a press
- olive oil
- salt and pepper

Chop those veggies, and chop up a lot of them!

Put the broth in a large pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the quinoa and a teaspoon or so of salt, and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Simmer covered until the liquid is gone, about 25 minutes. Remove the lid and let the quinoa sit to evaporate any excess liquid or steam.

Cover a large frying pan with a good amount of olive oil (probably four tablespoons or so. Don't skimp on the oil, this is flavor and your body needs healthy fats!) I added the red onion first to cook for a bit. Once translucent, I added the zucchini. At this point, I added the turmeric so that the spice could get the heat of the pan and mix with the oil to deepen the flavor. After a few minutes, I added the peppers. Finally, I added the asparagus and the garlic. Mushy asparagus is just as nasty as burnt garlic, so add these last! Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turmeric turns everything a pretty yellow color but beware! If you like to eat from the pan like I do, it will turn your fingernails yellow for a good three days!

Once the veggies and the quinoa are done, add the veggies to the quinoa and stir. Boom! Dinner is served. You can add some nuts (almonds or walnuts were both equally good in this) for some texture. If you wanted it tangy-er (since there's no vinegar in it) some goat cheese would be great.

This dish is bursting with protein, vitamins and minerals. Also, have you read about the health benefits of turmeric? What a powerful spice! Now go practice some yoga, and your mind, body, soul and tummy will be one big happy, connected camper!

Linking up with Good Food Fridays to share all sorts of deliciousness.