Cauliflower, Green Beans, Peppers and Quinoa Salad

I haven't had quinoa in a while and seeing my depleting stock of vegetables, I made a big pot of quinoa with green beans, cauliflower and red and green peppers, flavored with sumac, sage, and black pepper. I did pop the beans and the cauliflower in boiling water for a minute or two. I did taste the beans raw and they tasted awful and the vegetable vendor explicitly said they can't be had raw. 

Cauliflower, Green Beans, Peppers and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped green beans
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 green pepper/chilli
• 1 red pepper
• 2 leaves of sage
• 12-15 black pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sumac powder

To make:

• Chop up your vegetables.
• Cook your quinoa in 2-2.5 cups of water for 15 minutes, along with the sage leaves and sumac powder.
• In a pot of boiling water, cook your beans and cauliflower for 2 minutes. Drain into a pot of ice cold water to stop the cooking.
• Add the vegetables to the qninoa and mix well.
• Season with freshly ground black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Mixed Veggie Salad with Rosemary and Sumac

A very simple salad with finely chopped baby carrots, tomatoes, beets, peppers, and seasoned with fresh rosemary.

Rosemary and Mixed Veggie Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 beetroot
• 1 green tomato
• 3-4 baby carrots
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 3-4 sprigs of rosemary (about a tablespoon of rosemary leaves)
• Teaspoon of olive oil
• Teaspoon of sumac

To make:

• Chop all the veggies finely into roughly the same size.
• Make a dressing of the rosemary, olive oil and sumac.
• Pour over the salad.

Entered into Smitha's Best Foods You Ate Giveaway:

Red Rice with Beetroot Leaves

How many of you have had red rice? For lunch yesterday, I made a bowl of red rice and used up my beetroot leaves as well. The rice takes an awful lot of time to cook. The packet said 45 minutes. I cooked mine for 30 minutes.

Also, if you are wondering where is the all-important salt in my recipes, the answer is I havent forgotten to add that to the ingredient list. I just dont use salt. And I didnt for this recipe as well. But I would definitely recommend using salt for this one. I will next time. The taste was quite bland.

Red rice with beetroot leaves

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of red rice
• About two cups of beetroot leaves (including stalks)
• Teaspoon of sumac powder
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt to taste

To make:

Wash your red rice, drain, and soak the rice again in water for approximately 20-30 minutes before cooking. Cook for 30-40 minutes, along with the sumac and salt, with almost thrice the amount of water as the rice. Start off with a little less - keep adding water as you go along.

Chop up the beetroot leaves.  

Once the rice is cooked, let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Then add the chopped leaves and mix well.  Finish off with a dash of olive oil on top.

Green Tomato Salad

Sad to say, up until yesterday, I had never tasted a green tomato. I'm still not a big fan of tomatoes, but the green ones are more palatable than the ripe red ones. Also there is so much possibility to play around with the green hard ones. Make a salad, cook them like a proper vegetable, or even fry them to make fritters. I decided to go with a salad - a very small batch this time - of green tomatoes, sumac powder, sage and mint.

Sumac, for those of you who dont know, is a middle eastern/african berry. When powdered, it has a tart flavor that is not quite as overpowering as lemon. I'm told you use it in any dish where you'd normally use lime/lemons.

Green Tomato Salad

Serving: One small bowl

Ingredients

• 1 large green tomato
• Tablespoon of olive oil
• Teaspoon of sumac powder
• A handful of sage and mint leaves, finely chopped

To make:
Slice the tomato into thin round discs.

Roll the mint and sage leaves into a tight ball and then chop it up finely.

Add to the olive oil and sumac to make a dressing. Drizzle over the tomato slices.