Raw Asparagus Herbed Quinoa Salad

My mom is a great lady. She's one of those sweet, caring (sometimes overbearing) Chinese ladies that likes to shop and go have weekend dim sum. Being an only daughter, she always had advice for me - whether I wanted it or not. My mom always means well but her well-meaning advice comes off sometimes misguided and often in the form of crazy Chinese superstitions and old wives' tales. Some of her gems of advice I endured as a confused child (which has definitely bled into adulthood):

• Don't go to bed w/ wet hair


• Don't drink anything cold when Aunt Flow is in town


• Don't wipe your face w/ a kitchen towel


• Don't sleep w/ anywhere where there's a draft blowing air directly on you


• Don't sweep your front door during Chinese New Year


• Don't laugh too hard before sleeping


• Don't look out the window after dark


• Don't eat meat on your bday


• Don't let men eat leftover eggs (Gabe had a field day w/ this one)

I always ask her for a justification behind the crazy Chinese advice and she always just pacifies me by telling me she doesn't know and she heard it from her mom or grandmother. She also told me not to eat raw veggies and actually entertained me by providing a rather ominous consequence that it could make you grow unwanted facial hair . What sort of crazy person tells all this insane advice to a child?

For the aforementioned reasons, I never really grew up eating any kind of raw veggies. I have however, seen a slew of raw asparagus recipes (including this one - delish!) and all I have to say is, I'm a FAN. Bring on the facial hair.

Raw Asparagus Herbed Quinoa Salad

1-1/3 c. quinoa (cook according to package instructions)
8-10 stalks asparagus (about 1/2 inch diameter if possible)
2 tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1 meyer lemon (about 1/4 to 1/3 c. juice, you'd be surprised how much the quinoa absorbs)
2 tbsp. EVOO
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Cook quinoa according to package instructions (I always use my rice cooker and cook it w/ the same 1:1 ratio) - don't forget to add a dash of salt to the stuff before you hit the button. Wash and thinly slice the asparagus on the bias.

After the quinoa is finished cooking, add the chopped herbs to let them mellow slightly (unless you like the punch of fresh fresh herbs). After the mix comes to room temp, add the rest of the ingredients, toss and serve immediately. If making ahead, leave the almonds out until just before service so they don't get soggy.

I've been out of commission w/ the blog for several months! It's sad. I wish I had more time to do it and promised I would after getting acclimated w/ the new job. We'll see how consistent I can be. Thanks for stopping by!

Quinoa Pudding w/ Strawberries

Has quinoa become the next big thing? I kept hearing more and more things about it. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I decided to get a cup at Top which happens to have a super bulk food section. Then the quinoa proceeded to sit in my pantry for 2 months.

Normally, I don't associate quinoa as a sweet dish. I've only ever seen it prepared as a savory side dish so of course, nothing would motivate me more than hearing about some creamy dessert w/ quinoa.

Isn't it pretty? You can cook it up like rice too - 1:2 ratio. I cooked it in the rice cooker and it came out beautifully.

For this, you'll need 1 c. quinoa.

Then the good stuff. 1 c. heavy cream.

Add that to 3 cups of milk. I used 2%. In fact, I always use 2% milk when cooking and baking.

Whisk together and bring to a simmer.

While that's coming up to temperature, get your vanilla bean and split & scrape the pod.

With the back of the knife, folks. Don't learn the hard way like me.

Mix them into the milk mixture. Throw the emptied pod in there too for good measure.

Then some of the sweet stuff. Just a 1/4 c.

Then take your 1 c. strawberries and slice.

And add about 1 tbsp. sugar, mix. Let them start getting all yummy.

Macerating. That's the technical term for it. Thank you Food Network.

When the cream mixture comes to a simmer, whisk in your quinoa.

Now be patient. This stuff needs to lightly simmer for about 30 minutes.

And you need to stir occasionally.

Look at those pretty vanilla bean seeds. I love them.

After about 30 minutes, your strawberries will have made this lovely syrup.

30 minutes later, you'll get a tapioca like result. Only more healthy than tapioca. I imagine there's a good amount of protein in quinoa compared to tapioca.

Fish out your pod. Nobody wants to eat that.

Portion into 5-6 half cup portions. Sprinkle w/ macerated strawberries.

Quinoa Pudding with Strawberries

I had to try this recipe from this awesome blog

Hope you try it!