Asparagus Pecan Quinoa Salad with a Maple-Mustard Dressing

So, are you tired of all the quinoa yet? Or the salads?

No? Good, me neither. Not yet, at least. The week of salads continues!

One of my foodie goals in Colombia was to munch my way through quinoa and maybe bring some cheap quinoa back home with me.

Turns out I couldn’t do that in Colombia. Quinoa is hard to find and when you find it, it isn’t any cheaper than what I can buy from my local favourite health store. Most Colombian locals had no clue what quinoa was.. except for the sole vegan I met (hi Juan!).

I obviously went to the wrong country. Apparently, Bolivia is where it is at. Not only for the cheap and plentiful quinoa, but also for the amazing salt flats, jungle hikes, glacier climbs and vibrant city life.  We loved asking other travellers about their favourite places to see in South America and Bolovia kept popping up. It is now on our ever-growing list of countries Rob and I want to visit… along with Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Jordan, Nepal, India, gosh you name it. Although Rob’s covered most of South-east Asia and Australia, he is willing to return with me.

My latest kick is adding quinoa to vegetable sides to make it a more sustaining meal, and here I go again with this salad. This would be a delightful salad without the quinoa, too, as it highlights the crisp asparagus and colourful baby greens with some crunch pecans. The dressing, a maple-mustard flavoured one, definitely brings the salad together with the tang from the soy sauce, the sweetness from the maple syrup and the deeper flavour from the mustard.

This is my submission to this week’s Summer Salad Sundays, to this week’s Wellness Weekend, to this month‘s Simple and in Season, to Cookbooks Sundays and to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays.

Warm Lentil Salad with Caramelized Onions and Brussels Sprouts

When we asked my kitchen-challenged friend if we could pick up anything from the grocery store for her, she asked for Brussels sprouts.

WHAT?!

Of all things, she wanted Brussels sprouts.

Nothing in her fridge and freezer other than drinks and some frozen dinners, and she asks for Brussels sprouts?!

She explained that she loves to microwave them and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Delicious, she assured us.

My curiosity was piqued. I will confess, I have never had Brussels sprouts. My mom doesn’t like them so she never served them. Thus, I have never eaten them.

Then, I start seeing recipes for them all over the place! Here I am, seeing recipe after recipe involving the sprouts.  Bloggers adore them.

Some people may be tempted by elaborate cakes and cookies, whereas I am in a tizzy by new vegetables. There are so many (cruciferous) vegetables I have yet to try. Today is the the day to try something new.

I noticed a trend: people like their sprouts caramelized either through roasting or pan-frying. They like to be off-set with something sweet – caramelized onions or shallots, or even dried fruit, then finished with nuts for crunch. Usually served as a side, I wanted to beef them up as a main-course salad. Enter the lentils.

I based this dish off of my Mujaddara, which is a Middle Eastern dish lentil and rice dish with caramelized onions. I replaced the rice with caramelized roasted Brussels sprouts, omitted the cinnamon from the simmering lentils and added some toasted pecans. A simple warm salad that is more than the sum of its parts. The earthy lentils lend a base of the sweet yet earthy sprouts, contrasted by the sweet caramelized onions with a crunch from toasted pecans. And the Brussels sprouts? They taste like little dense cabbage. Sweet, after the roasting. I think I’ve found a new veggie friend.

This is my submission to My Kitchen, My World for Belgium, to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays, and to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend.

Maple Pecan Muffins

Not all muffins are created equal.

I was salivating when I spotted these muffins at Eat Me, Delicious: maple, pecans and Ashley declared: “[These] are my new favourite healthy-ish muffins, and possibly my new favourite muffins period. I adore them.“   I made them, hoping to bring them as a dessert with ample leftovers for a friend who had just had a baby.  I, obviously, didn’t read the next part where Ashely commented that these were dry like cornbread. I think the tip-off that these were not suitable for dessert was when Ashley said they were healthy muffins.  Thankfully I ate one before I brought them over to my friend’s house, as these are not dessert muffins. They are healthy breakfast muffins.

Not too sweet, despite a half-cup of maple syrup, but crumbly and dry, likely from the half-cup of wheat germ and whole-wheat flour, these muffins are packed with a lot of good nutrients, but the texture was off for me. I’d prefer something a bit more moist and sweet. Granted, once I accepted their fate as breakfast muffins, ate them with a big glass of milk, they grew on me and I slowly appreciated their beauty.

And then I had to whip up another portable dessert for the new mommy.

This is my submission to this month’s Breakfast Club, featuring muffins, and to Blog Bites #6, potluck-style, hosted by One Hot Stove.

Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Coffeecake

Can a coffeecake be served as part of breakfast or brunch? Sure! I love how, in theory, most of my dishes for breakfast or brunch also double as desserts. What a sweet breakfast! In actuality, I usually have a pretty standard breakfast of Bob’s Red Mill Old Country Style Muesli with maybe a fruit thrown in on the side, and the baked goods get added to my lunch as dessert.

I liked the following pumpkin coffeecake from A Harvest of Pumpkins and Squash by Lou Seibert Pappas. It wasn’t in-your-face pumpkin flavour, more mellow with a hint of spice, but there was an interesting texture with the cornmeal and nicely moist. The walnut topping added a nice crunch. I doubled the amount of fresh cranberries (to 2 cups) which was good, if not bursting with cranberry. Only 1 cup would have been piddly.  I don’t think I have professed my love of fresh cranberries, yet… but I will.. with one of my many cranberry recipes in the draft folder.

Enjoy!