Two things: Breakfast and Dinner

Well, to say it's been a while would be a slight understatement. Much has happened in the three months since my last post. I'm engaged for one thing! Yep, I'm getting married. Pretty crazy hey? Bbbbuuuuutttt that is a story for another day. I've also had a few opportunities and ideas come my way for my career. Time will tell what happens with that. For now I am going to share some awesome ideas I have had lately. One for breakfast and one for dinner.

Breakfast:

I love pancakes. Seriously, they are one of my favorite things to cook. I could probably write a cook book just on pancakes. Hmmm that's not a bad idea. Maybe I will! Anyways, I pulled out some old ideas and put a new spin on them. One is banana pancakes and the other is orange pancakes. They are seriously good!

                       

Banana Pancakes

1 cup Buckwheat flour

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xantham gum

1/4 cup ground pumpkin, sunflower and flax seeds

1/2 - 1/2 cup honey

2 tbsp olive oil

1 banana

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup water (add as needed)

Combine and mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine and mix wet ingredients in smaller bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Should get thick but pour-able batter. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a frying pan,  and turn to medium heat. Cook for 2-5 min on each side, or until golden brown.

Yay! So delish! Seriously. You will see.

Orange Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xantham gum

1 tbsp olive oil

Grated orange zest (grate the outer orange part of an entire large orange)

Freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 tbsp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup water (add as needed)

Combine and mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine and mix wet ingredients in smaller bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Should get thick but pour-able batter. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a frying pan,  and turn to medium heat. Cook for 2-5 min on each side, or until golden brown.

It's hard to say but I think this one was my favorite for the day. :) Yay for pancakes!

Now onto #2:

Dinner:

                                            

See that? See how beautiful it is? See the color and vibrance? I do. It's as good as it looks. I promise. 

I dreamed this up in a flash last night, and it turned out great! I love it when that happens. I received many lovely compliments on it. I love those. I decided to call this Red and White Quinoa Delight. Mainly because it rhymes but also because it contains red and white quinoa and is utterly delightful. Just so you know quinoa is a complete protein. That means that it contains all of the essential amino acids. It's also highly nutritious, delicious, easy to cook and easy to digest. Just don't eat it every day. From what I have learned its best not to have it more than 4 times in a week and to rotate weeks. Quinoa is great if you are a vegetarian or vegan looking for good plant proteins. So without any further ado, I introduce to you my recipe using quinoa. Enjoy!

Red and White Quinoa Delight     

1 cup red quinoa

1 cup white quinoa

1 head of broccoli

2 heads of cauliflower

1 cup of sliced chinese cabbage

3 large carrots

Juice from 1 whole lemon

2 - 3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup organic wheat free tamari soy sauce

3 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp dill

3 tsp celery seed

3 tsp curry powder

Cook quinoa on stove-top with water about an inch above. Turn to medium-high heat. Once it boils let it do so for about a minute or two. Then turn the head down to medium-low. Turn to low after about 8 minutes. Let it soak up the water. Once the quinoa seeds are the same color all over and the middle of them looks cooked. Remove from the heat. At the same time lightly steam the vegetable in a little bit of water on medium - high heat. Add the carrots first, then the cauliflower, then broccoli and lastly the cabbage. Don't simmer for more than 8-10 minutes over all. The broccoli only needs about 2 minutes and the cabbage 1. Remember that you don't want to heat all those nutritious live enzymes, vitamins and minerals to death. Combine the veggies and quinoa in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well, leave for a few minutes to let the flavors mix and then serve! 

Hope these recipes made your life a little better. 

Bon appetit!