Keepin' It Simple: Beet Green and Quinoa Saute

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Right now my house is an absolute disaster.  After 3+ days of non-stop cooking, baking, and scrapbooking, it's beginning to look like Martha Steward threw up all over my kitchen...and my living room...and my office. I really enjoy "hands-on" creative activities - even though they often leave my house in a temporary state of chaos.  I think that's part of the reason I enjoy vegan cooking so much. Although vegan food products are becoming more popular, there are relatively few pre-made food options out there for those of us who eschew animal products (especially if you live in New Brunswick). Even some sauces, canned foods, and dressings list animal by-products on their labels, which means that most of my meals are the product of hands-on, from-scratch, fresh-from-the-kitchen cooking.

Although there are a lot of super-complex made-from-scratch vegan recipes out there, "hands-on" and "from-scratch" vegan cooking doesn't have to be difficult.  Some of my favourite meals are also the most simple to prepare.  Take the meal I made for dinner tonight. It was 100% fresh, 100% delicious, and oh-so-easy to make. I call it "Beet Green and Quinoa Saute." Here's what I did:

I started off by making some quinoa.  And by cooking, I mean putting quinoa and water into my magical rice cooker and pressing the "cook" button.  If you don't own a rice cooker, I seriously recommend making the investment - it just might be the best purchase you ever make.  I'd be lost without mine.

My BFF

While the rice cooker worked its quinoa cooking magic, I chopped up some onion, celery, and mushrooms and threw them, along with some olive oil, into a pan. I let the veggies saute until they started to get soft, clear, and...sauteed looking.

Next came the secret ingredient: beet greens (ok, so the ingredient isn't so secret when it's in the title of the recipe, but I'm calling it the secret ingredient all the same. It's more fun that way).  Beet greens are a relatively new discovery for me, and they're quickly becoming one of my favourite ingredients.  They're delicious, choc-full of nutrients, and add a gorgeous deep green and purple colouring to salads and sautes. After chopping the beet greens into bite-sized pieces, I threw them in the pan with the other veggies.

Once the beet greens began to wilt, I scooped some now-cooked (just like magic!) quinoa out of the rice cooker and stirred it in with the veggies. To fancy it up a little, I finished it off by adding a shot of balsamic vinegar and a spoonful of organic local mustard to the mix before serving.

And that's that. A simple post for a simple, delicious vegan meal!

Bye for now,

<3 Dana