Tag Archives: grains

Chocolate Orange Fig Teff Pudding

clockwise, from top-left: Chocolate Orange Fig Teff Pudding with whipped cream and mint garnish; Teff whole grains; organic, dried Black Mission Figs

Chocolate Orange Fig Teff Pudding

Not only is this pudding delicious, it may be one of the healthiest desserts you have ever eaten!

I love the taste of fresh mint with this dessert, and so I usually include extra leaves on my serving. If you don’t agree with the mint/chocolate match, you can omit the mint garnish all together.

INGREDIENTS:
10 whole Figs, Black Mission, Organic, dried (about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup Orange juice, fresh squeezed
1 1/4 cup  Water, plus 1/3 cup
1 cup Teff whole grains
3 tablespoons Cocoa powder (I used Droste Dutch Cocoa for this recipe)
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Honey
1 teaspoon Orange zest
4 large Mint leaves, fresh (optional garnish)

PREPARATION:
Trim any hard stem tips off figs and cut into quarters. Place fig wedges in small bowl with 1/3 cup of water and let soak 30 minutes. Reserve soak water.

To a small pot add the orange juice and 1 1/4 cups water and put on medium high heat.  Whisk in the cocoa powder and vanilla until the cocoa powder is completely mixed in.  Bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Whisk in the Teff, reduce heat to low, cover, and gently simmer the grains until liquid is absorbed, about 18-22 minutes. During cooking, occasionally whisk to make sure no grains stick to the bottom of the pot.

Remove grains from heat; let cool.  Put fig slices (without soak water) in food processor and finely chop. Add cooked grains, honey and orange zest to figs and process together until creamy; slowly pour in fig soak water while processing. Pudding should have smooth, creamy consistency. If too heavy, add some more water and continue processing until desired lightness is reached.

Serve immediately, or keep refrigerated until service.

Roasted Peppers with Quinoa and Corn Stuffing

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup               Tofu, extra firm, crumbled

1 tb                  Lemon juice

¾ tsp               Paprika

½ tsp               Cumin

¼ tsp               Black pepper

¼  tsp              Coriander powder

1/8 tsp             Chili powder

1 tb                  Thyme, fresh, chopped

½ tsp + ½ tsp   Olive oil

1/4 cup              White onion, small dice

1 clove             Garlic, minced

¼ cup              Quinoa grain, red

¼ cup              Quinoa grain, white

1 cup             Vegetable stock

2 tsp                Vinegar, white wine

¼ tsp               Salt, sea

½ cup              Corn kernels, fresh cut off the cob

¾ cup              Zucchini, small dice

¼ cup              Scallion, chopped

¼ cup              Parsley, fresh, chopped

1/8 cup             Basil, fresh, chopped

2 each              Pepper, yellow bell, large, halved lengthwise and seeded

2 each              Pepper, red bell, large, halved lengthwise and seeded

2 each              Plum tomato, small, sliced into thin rounds

8 tsp                Feta cheese, low fat, crumbled*

As needed        Cooking spray

PREPARATION:

In a small bowl, mix crumbled tofu with lemon juice, paprika, cumin, black pepper, coriander, chili powder and thyme; refrigerate for several hours so flavors meld.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In small pot, heat vegetable stock. In a medium pot, sauté onion and garlic in ½ teaspoon olive oil until onion is softened. Add red and white quinoa and stir to coat grains. Add the hot vegetable stock and bring to a boil; reduce to simmer, cover and cook until stock is absorbed by quinoa, about 15 minutes.  Place quinoa into large mixing bowl; toss with white wine vinegar and salt.

In a sauté pan with ½ teaspoon oil sauté zucchini and scallion about a minute; add basil and parley and sauté about 1 minute more; remove from heat. Add the sautéed vegetables to the quinoa, along with the seasoned tofu, corn kernels, parsley and basil. Toss well to mix ingredients.

Stuff each pepper half with 1/8 of the stuffing mixture; top with a couple of tomato slices plus 1 teaspoon of feta cheese, then place on a sprayed baking sheet.  Cook in oven until pepper is roasted and cheese is melted, about 9-12 minutes.

Plating: Serve each person 1 red and 1 yellow stuffed pepper half on a small bed of baby arugula greens.

(*omit Feta Cheese if cooking Vegan)

YIELD: 4 servings


Black Eyed Pea, Wild Rice and Fresh Corn Salad

This is a great summertime salad. Serve it at your next picnic or barbeque.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Black-eyed peas

1/4 cup Onion, white, minced

2 tablespoon Olive oil

1/4 cup   Rice, wild, long grain, dry

1/2 cup   Vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon   Cumin

1/8 teaspoon   Black pepper, fresh ground

1/8 teaspoon   Sea salt

1/8 teaspoon   Chili Powder

1/8 cup  Thyme, fresh, minced

1/4 cup  Cilantro, fresh, minced

1 teaspoon  Vinegar, white wine

3 tablespoon Lemon juice, fresh squeezed

1/2 cup Corn kernels, fresh cut off cob

1/4 cup   Pepper, red, minced

1/8 cup   Pepper, green bell, minced

1/4 cup  scallion, diced

PREPARATION:

Cover peas in plenty of water and soak overnight.  Drain and rinse. Put soaked peas in small water with more fresh water and cook on a high flame until boiling. Reduce to simmer and cook until tender. Drain water and chill beans.

In a small pan, heat vegetable stock. Saute onion in a medium pot with a very small amount of the olive oil; cook until translucent; stir in rice.  Add heated vegetable stock, cover and simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed by the rice.

In a small bowl, combine cumin, pepper, salt, chili powder, thyme, basil, lemon, vinegar, and remainder of oil. Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl combine cooked peas and rice with the corn, peppers and scallion. Toss with dressing to combine. Serve room temperature.

Yield: 6 servings

Serving size: 1/2 cup