Quinoa stir fry with Pumpkin seed pesto

Quinoa is one of my staple foods along with rice and pasta. This dinner is just a simple stir fry with a pesto sauce so anything you like could go into it.
serves 2
30 minutes

The stir fry.

• 1 large onion, sliced
• half a cube of tofu, cubed
• 10 mushrooms, cut to your liking
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups of chopped mixed greens

1. Dry roast quinoa in a pot until they start to slightly brown.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn to low and let cook for 25 minutes.
3. Fry onion, tofu and mushrooms in a pan at medium high for 10 minutes.
4. Add garlic and various greens (spinach, swiss chard, kale) and cook for 5 more minutes.
5. Add 2 cups of cooked quinoa and pumpkin seed pesto.
6. Top with some of your favorite cheese. I prefer Romano or Feta for this dish.

The pesto.

1. Dry roast 4 Tbsp of pumpkin seeds in a cast iron pan until they brown and begin to pop.
2. Grind coarsely in a food processor.
3. Add 1 cup of chopped cilantro, the juice from 1 lime, 1 chopped clove of garlic, a pich of salt and enough olive oil to get everything mixed together well. A little cayenne wouldn't hurt here either.
   

Sesame Seaweed Chapatis

Kneading the chapati dough

One rolled out chapati, ready for the pan

One nicely puffed up chapati

An eager 1 year old reaching for a warm chapati

I've always enjoyed making bread but with kids it just seemed like I never had some when they actually wanted to eat some. So I've gradually switched over to chapatis as a quicker substitute. The kids took to them right away and now chapatis and flat breads are almost all they eat. They are quick to make, and can be filled with anything or just eaten on their own. Here is my favorite take on the basic chapati recipe.

Makes 10, 7 inch Chapatis

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 Tbsp Wakame seaweed, ground in a grinder
• 1 Tbsp seasme seeds, ground in a grinder
  
• 7/8 cup warm water

Part I - Preparing the dough - 10-15 minutes

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Add water and stir the mixture with your fingers.
3. Once the dough is thick enough, start kneading it in the bowl until everything is mixed.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for 5-8 minutes. Use Olive oil on your hands to stop the dough from sticking to your hands and the work area.
5. Put the dough in a plastic bag and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. I find the chapatis come out best when the dough is left in the fridge overnight. I'll make the dough when the kids are in bed, put it in the fridge, and then make them fresh the next day.

Part II - Making the Chapatis - 10 -15 minutes

1. Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 10 equal pieces. Dust the pieces well with white flour.
2. On a flour dusted surface take one piece of dough and start to flatten with a rolling pin. Roll from the center out and rotate a quarter turn for every roll. This will make a for a more rounded chapati.
3. Pre-heat a large cast iron pan at medium for 5-7 minutes.
4. When your first chapati is ready put it on the pan and start rolling out the next one.
   
5. With a small dry cloth, press down on the chapati while it is cooking. This helps the air pockets to form. After 30-40 seconds flip over and cook for another 20-30 seconds, pressing down with the cloth on any areas that haven't puffed up. Don't worry if the whole thing does not puff up; most don't. If it does, you've made the perfect chapati; congratulations!
   
6. Remove the chapati and put it on tea towel. Fold half the towel over the chapati to keep it moist.
7. Repeat until all the chapatis are done.
8. Eat fresh or wait until the chapatis are cool and store in a plastic bag to keep them moist for a day or so.

It may look like a lot of work but the whole process actually goes fairly quick once you get the hang of it. I like to have a ball of dough in the fridge at all times so that I can quickly make a few fresh ones for the kids. Simple and extremely versatile.

Learning how to chew again

After 17 days of just liquids I have finally returned to chewing. I've started off with my basic seed mixture to start me back on solid food. I eat 3/4 of a cup of this throughout the day when I am tree planting and it really does give you a lot of energy for the amount you are eating. A quarter cup of this at lunch gives you about 200-250 calories and should be enough to fill you up for awhile. It doesn't get much healthier than this. I like to mix this up in small batches so that I eat it in one sitting. This way the smaller seeds don't get left behind at the bottom of a big container. Eating this with a spoon is a good way to get a bit of everything in each mouthful.

makes 1/4 a cup

• handful Almonds
• good handful Pumpkin seeds
• 1 Tbsp Sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp Sunflower seeds
• 1 Tbsp Flax seeds

1. Mix all the seeds together in a small container.
2. For a bit more flavor you can dry roast the mixture with a small amount of Tamari sauce until the smaller seeds start to pop.
3. Throw in any dried fruit if you want a bit of moisture in this mix.