The Endive/Quinoa Recipe

Today, I decided to do something a little different with the endives. I lined my dish with them in a pretty circular pattern (they are so beautifully shaped too! And fun to peel away!) making my dish look like an open flower. I think decorating (with) your food is very important. It makes it taste 10 times better, let’s you work up an appetite, and those who think they don’t like eating vegetarian will love the taste after they’ve slaved a bit…and hello, kids! So I always serve my vegetarian dishes with some sort of decorative element. Like lining beets or red pepper slices around the edge of the plate. Does wonders!

Anyway, after my little endive flower art I simmered up some quinoa. As it was cooking, I tossed in some rice seasoning I bought in the market. I can’t tell you what’s in there, but it’s a bunch of spices and meant to be added to rice. I buy all sorts of flavors of these and they bring life and taste to all my grain dishes!

I also stir-fried some orange squash just in olive oil, however, I’ve been meaning to switch to coconut oil, as I heard how healthy it is!

Here’s how I put it all together:

• I drizzled the endives with agave cectar and balsamic vinaigrette
• I scooped the quinoa into the center of the dish
• I chopped up some roquette greens and mixed them in
• I chopped up some walnuts and sprinkled them on top
• Then I added the Squash!

If I may say so myself….It was amazing! I used the endives as spoons and scooped up the quinoa with it. Wonderful taste sensation of the bitter endive and roquette with the sweetness of agave and the slight acidity of the balsamic and the soft sweet squash!

It felt really healthy and balanced and filling!

And… it goes great with quinoa.

Dr. Simm is an Acupuncture Physician and my first health guru! You can learn a lot from her Q+A article on On Weight Maintenance and Aging.

Her two favorite smoothie recipes packed with healing superpower are:

1. 7 Magical herb veggie blend:
   Any veggie based juice (Carrot, Celery, Red Peppers, Beet, etc. -your take!) with the following magical herbs:
   1. parsley
   2. cilantro
   3. garlic
   4. ginger
   5. basil
   6. rosemary
   7. mint

   (understand that I don’t always have all 7, but at least 5!)

2. Secret Pineapple Smoothie:
   I say secret because most people don’t know about the “white rose” which you can only see by pulling out the green tops one at a time. It sits above the inner core of the pineapple, which should also not go to waste! The “white rose” has special nutrients and phyto-chemicals that prevent cancer. if you plant the white rose with the green leaves still attached to the top of the pineapple, you can grow another pineapple plant!

   Recipe Instructions:
   Cut off the brown and mold bits, if there are any, off the white rose before tossing it in the blender along with the core (cut up in pieces) and add a little ginger and goji berries and sometimes a pinch of cinnamon, as cinnamon has some wonderful medicinal properties! Cinnamon is antibacterial and helps those with diabetes because it helps balance blood sugar!

You can get a FREE trial of the VitaMix blender through this website Click here to learn more

I often get traffic from the phrase “What Goes Good with Quinoa.” Never mind that this is grammatically incorrect; I write a lot about quinoa and it is a large part of my diet. I wanted to give the searching people even more about ‘what goes good with quinoa.’

I have many recipes for quinoa that are totally delicious!

Here are All my posts about Quinoa:

• Endive Madness (aka Quinoa Recipe)
• Nutritional Info on Quinoa and How to Prepare it
• What a healthy diet looks like!

I don’t know what has gotten in to me lately, but for the past few months I absolutely have to eat Belgium Endives at least once a week! Every time I go grocery shopping they look at me and say, “You know you can’t leave me here!” (Those endives, they’re very fresh…)

They’re bitter and I seem to crave that bitter taste. I combine it with agave nectar or honey, balsamic vinaigrette, green apples or pears, walnuts, and goat cheese. An absolutely divine combination!

I googled endives to find out possible reasons for my hankerin’:…

It seems that endives:

• contain essential amino acids, fats, starch, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and B1, B2, C, K and P vitamins.
• stimulate appetite
• are a light laxative
• are known from ancient times to possess health benefits, and were cultivated by the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians
• are ideal for weight loss
• are 95 percent water and contain only 7.5 calories
per cup.

Sounds like my body must be craving all the good vitamins and amino acids and enjoying the cleansing effect! It just feels so right eating them. Even taste-wise, they just make culinary sense: The Chinese and Indian Cultures believe all meals should have the 5 elements of taste (sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter) in them. Bitter is the one we often leave out! So I’m getting good and bitter, but, American that I am, offset it with some sweet – such as agave nectar.

photo by mellowfood

By now, you’ve all heard of quinoa (pronounced kin-wa.) The Incans referred to quinoa as “the mother of all grains,” even though it’s actually not exactly a grain but a member of the beet family. In ancient times, quinoa was THE number one nutritional food staple that gave warriors stamina.

Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it a delicious healthier alternative to white rice or couscous.

It’s health benefits are numerous. Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids (phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, histidine, leucine, and lysine) required by infants and growing children. The body does not synthesize these chemicals, making it essential to include them in one’s diet in order to obtain them.

Quinoa is also:

• High in protein
• A good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron
• Gluten free
• Easy to digest
• Easy to grow: Only 2-4 hours resting in a glass of clean water is enough to make it sprout
  A good antioxidant

Here’s how to prepare it:

(Cooking time: 15-20 minutes)

Rinse first; this is important. Quinoa usually comes with a bitter coating called saponin. If you rinse and you don’t see the water turn soapy, then this brand of quinoa you purchased has already removed it for you!

Optional: you can also toast the quinoa first to bring out the nutty taste. Feel free to experiment by adding salt and spices as it boils to add flavor.

Put 1 cup of quinoa to 1.5 cups of water together in a pot and bring to boil, then simmer for about 15-20 minutes. (makes 4 servings)

Remove from heat and take off lid for a few minutes

Fluff with fork

Interesting recipe: Add raisins and almonds or other similar yummy treasures while cooking.

By the way….Try quinoa for breakfast! Quinoa can serve as a high-protein breakfast food mixed with honey, almonds, or berries.

“Goes good” with….almost anything! I usually prepare it hot with cauliflower, squash, and sweet potatoes.

Also good cold: After it cools down, toss in green onions, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts and celery and drizzle with lemon/salt/olive oil dressing.