Only nine you ask? Who am I kidding! There are like 90 reasons why I love quinoa! To start, it’s a healthier option than rice, it doesn’t make me as full and bloated as white or whole wheat pasta does, it’s high in protein, is easy to make, is delicious served hot or cold and oh yeah! It has all 9 essential amino acids in it; Methionine + Cystine, Lysine, Tryptophan, Valine, Threonine, Phenylalanine + Tryrosine, Histadine, Isoleucine and Leucine. What a mouthful or handful to type!

And don’t think I’m wicked smart or anything- I totally cut and pasted that from Wikipedia! However if you don’t know what an amino acid is, I can help you there. Amino acids are the organic compounds that make up proteins while proteins are the building components of all living cells. All amino acids are made of the same fundamental elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sometimes sulfur. As my Ma would say, “You learn something new everyday!” I whipped up this super quick dinner the other night using produce from Talley Farms in SLO and red organic quinoa. Oh! And my new favorite thing is to slice corn off the cob and add it to my stir fry!

Veggie Quinoa Dinner- serves two 

Ingredients:

-1 cup dry quinoa

-1 corn on the cob (slice corn off)

-4 carrots, sliced thin

-1 yellow squash

-1 heirloom tomato

-1 bunch scallions

-1 handful basil

-salt and pepper

-olive oil

-2 T Carrot and Ginger Dressing (use what you have if there’s not a Whole Paycheck around)

Directions:

1. In a medium sized pan, cook the quinoa according to the directions on the box.

2. While quinoa is cooking, chop up all the veggies.

 

3. In a large pan, add some olive oil and all of the veggies. Cook for 10 or more minutes or until everything is browning.

4. Add the cooked quinoa and the Carrot and Ginger Dressing into the veggies and stir well.

5. Garnish with a sprig of basil! All the taste, not on your waist!

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I’ve gotten a lot of questions about tomatoes and what to do with an abundance of them and I’m here to show you my favorite way to enjoy them for a snack, simple lunch, or appetizer before dinner. This is soooo Italian, but soooo am I so it’s all good! I like to slice up a nice juicy heirloom and add some salt, pepper, basil, a drizzle of olive oil and lots of good Balsamic Vinegar. Seriously easy, seriously good!

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And if you have a ton more, try my Gaucho Gazpacho recipe below! It’s always a crowd pleaser!

Gaucho Gazpacho- serves 6 or more 

Ingredients:

-5 ripe tomatoes

-1 red pepper

-1 cucumber

-1 red onion

-2 cloves garlic

-2 celery sticks

-2 cups V8 tomato juice

-1/4 cup sherry vinegar

-1 T siracha

-cilantro

-avocado

-1/4 tsp salt

-pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop up all the vegetables as finely as you can. Place in a large bowl.

   

2. Mix all the ingredients together, except for the V8, and let marinate for one hour.

3. Mix in the V8 and stir well.

 

4. Garnish with fresh sprigs of cilantro and slices of avocado! Enjoy!

Okay so lastly, Andy and I are headed to Paso Robles on Sunday for the Heirloom Tomato Festival at Windrose Farms. It’s from 1-6 p.m. and there are over 40 varieties of tomatoes to try! And the best part.. we’re meeting one of my oldest friends Christine (second time in six months!) from Rhode Island who lives in L.A. with her hubby Ray. Cannot Wait! Check it out!