Cooking Up Quinoa with Farmers’ Market Vegetables

Quinoa with Farmers' Market Vegetables

I try to get to the farmers’ market every week. Recently, however, I wasn’t able to due to summer travels. I was therefore thankful when I headed to the Alemany Farmers’ Market this past weekend.

I wanted to shop for the coming week and loaded up to the point where I was dropping bags and my wallet every time I went in for something more. (I really need to work out a better technique.) Still, it was well worth it. I’d somehow managed to forget exactly how much more flavorful the freshest-of-the-fresh vegetables taste when they come straight from the farm.

This simple and fast quinoa recipe is a wonderful way to experience such market vegetables. It also happens to be extremely healthy, so you really can’t go wrong. The recipe works well as main dish for lunch or dinner or could work as a side dish too.

Quinoa with Farmers’ Market Vegetables:

Preparation and cooking time: ~30 minutes.

Serves 1-2.

Ingredients:

1 cup organic quinoa grain

1-2 teaspoons olive or grapeseed oil

1/2 onion, sliced

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

1/2 red pepper, sliced

2 baby carrots, sliced

1-2 zucchini’s, halved lengthwise and sliced

3-4 leaves rainbow chard or kale, stems removed and sliced small (or 1 cup baby spinach leaves)

1-2 stalks baby bok choy, leaves separated from the stems, all sliced

1 Tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari) + 1 to 2 Tablespoons water

Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon

2 fresh onions or scallions, minced (or 2-3 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro)

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa. Bring quinoa and 1 and 3/4 cups water to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Once cooked, remove from heat, and keep covered.

2. Prepare vegetables. Heat oil in frying pan. Add ginger and cook briefly for 30 seconds. Add onion and saute on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until beginning to soften.

3. Add red pepper, carrots, chard and bok choy stems, cooking for about 5-6 minutes.

4. Add zucchini. Cook  2-3 minutes.

5. Add bok choy leaves, along with the soy sauce and water, and cook 1 more minute, stirring vegetables well, adding a dash of salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

6. Fluff-up the quinoa, stirring in the fresh onions and lemon juice until evenly distributed, adding kosher salt and freshly ground pepper- while mixing- to taste.

7. Serve quinoa with vegetables on top.