Quinoa: a grain-like crop harvested for its seeds. AKA the Incan ’mother of all grains.’ AKA one of the world’s most nutritious foods.

I was looking for more ways to use this super food and came across a recipe for ‘Quinoa Mac & Cheese.’ Well, I do love macaroni & cheese, so that caught my eye. I wanted to give it a try, but decided I didn’t like the name. Rather than think of this dish as a mac & cheese substitute, why not just appreciate it as a yummy quinoa dish! To make it truly gluten-free, substitute GF bread crumbs or other crunchy topping for the Panko.

Baked Quinoa & Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ – 1 cup sliced leek (white and light green parts) or scallions (~one leek or one bunch scallions)
• ½ – 1 cup diced bell pepper (&/or other veg of choice) [This time I used red bell pepper, chopped spinach, and a few baby broccoli florets]
• 1 ½ cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
• salt & pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes to taste
• paprika to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ½ – 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
• Panko or other bread crumbs (optional: toss with melted butter before adding to baking dish)

Directions

• Heat oil in med. saucepan over med. heat. Add leek/scallions and other veg, cover and cook 5 mins or until tender. Stir in quinoa and garlic, and cook, uncovered, 3-4 mins, or until grains start to turn opaque.  (They will not fully be cooked yet.)
• Add 3 cups water and season with salt & pepper, red pepper, paprika. Cover and reduce heat to med-low and simmer 5-10 mins more, or until most liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand 5 mins.
• Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat 13×9 inch dish with cooking spray. Whisk together eggs and milk in large bowl. Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese a little at a time. Stir well and let some of the cheese melt.  Transfer to prepared baking dish, add a little more cheese and the bread crumbs, then bake 30-35 mins (or until browned around edges.)
• Serve with hot sauce/salsa, sour cream/yogurt, sliced scallions

I do all the sauteing/simmering in my Le Creuset french oven (one of the best gifts I’ve ever received), combine the quinoa mixture in a large bowl with the egg & milk , then pour it all back into the french oven for baking.

Serves 6-8

Fried egg, bacon & blue cheese sandwiches via the always delightful Smitten Kitchen

Ginger grapefruit curd, from the lovely 101 cookbooks

Fun! Salted chocolate cookies from Orangette

Wonderful – beet chips from La Tartine Gourmand

Saveur!

How we’re renovating our 1946 bath.
Guest post at bohemian hellhole

Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)

When I was growing up, my mom always had several plants in the house (ferns, ficus… I was a child of the 70s). I was never terribly interested in the plants – they were just part of the decor. In my early adult years, I tried to keep a houseplant from time to time, with poor results. I had a black thumb. I killed multiple cacti, even. So I gave up for many years.

Dracaena warneckii

I started gardening outdoors with a small container garden of mostly herbs. That went pretty well but I was still leery of trying to keep an indoor plant alive. I do a lot of gardening outside now, and finally last year decided I really wanted to bring some life inside too. While researching easy-to-grow houseplants, I was thrilled to learn that many of those ubiquitous plants also help purify the air we breathe.

Spathaphyllum

NASA did a study several years ago and learned that not only do plants help filter CO2, but some eat up other common toxins as well. The main researcher, BC Wolverton, published a book – How to Grow Fresh Air – that I hope to find at the library.

Ficus elastica

A few of my favorites (for looks as well as purifying properties), which I’ve been adding to my home over the past few months:

Dracaena – many different species, such as the variegated ‘Warneckii,’ the all-green ‘Janet Craig,’ and Dracaena sanderiana (marketed as ‘Lucky bamboo’)

Peace lily (Spathaphyllum) – glossy leaves and pretty blooms

Rubber tree plant (Ficus elastica) – oops, there goes another one

Snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) – aka Mother-in-law’s tongue

Sansevieria trifasciata

Bonus: For an office space with no windows, I like Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum), as it can thrive without natural light and may help filter the stuff that makes ‘sick buildings‘ sick. Probably wouldn’t have it at home though because it’s poisonous to children and pets.

(Photos via Wikimedia Commons)

In following this week’s debacle between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood, it has been interesting to see the role social media has played. I’ve also been particularly struck by how inept Komen has been at handling the PR crisis that was bound to happen from their decision to de-fund PP.

The backlash on Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms was tremendous. Many people campaigned to raise money for PP or ask Komen to reverse their decision. (I’ve also seen mean-spirited jabs at Komen – that part is disappointing.)

Kivi Leroux Miller summed up the activities and lack of response from Komen on her blog. Social media maven Beth Kanter and others have written commentaries as well.

I was surprised that an organization of Komen’s size and visibility didn’t appear to have a communications strategy in place to deal with the PR crisis. They let others take over the story, and when they did respond it was wishy washy. Then I learned this morning that Komen has PR giant Ogilvy on retainer. So, even a big-time nonprofit organization with a big-time PR firm can go wrong.

I wonder what the organization’s leadership (i.e., the board) will do to repair the damage done to the Komen brand. I think they also need to take a hard look at how the organization has crept a bit too far from its mission.

Rich chocolate cookies – amazingly gluten-free and butter-free!
Guest post at bohemian hellhole

Today, wikipedia and many other sites have gone dark in protest of two pieces of proposed legislation that threaten the free and open exchange of information online.

The two bills, SOPA in the House and PIPA in the Senate, are designed to prevent online piracy and protect intellectual property, but they go too far.

Some actions you can take include learning more about the issue, signing a petition, and sharing with your friends.