Awesome Quinoa Beet Cold Salad

Christian and I like to try to keep cold salads on hand, so there is always a healthy snack ready to eat. So far, this is my favorite. It is really delicious. 

If you think beets bother you, I urge you to try non-pickled beets. Pickled beets are disgusting. However, roasted beets [which this recipe calls for] are really tasty and actually quite mild.

This recipe includes many nutrient rich foods:

Quinoa- high in protein. Offers calcium and iron.

Beets - High in dietary fiber. Offers Vitamin C and iron.

Kale- Very high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Offers calcium and iron.

Aduki Beans- High in protein. Offers calcium and iron.

Quinoa Beet Cold Salad

1 cup dry aduki beans [Also known as azuki and adzuki. Just depends on the brand, I guess.]

1 cup dry quinoa

about 2 cups chicken broth

2 to 3 medium sized beets, roasted [Recipe]

4 to 5 leaves kale

3/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

2 tbsp garlic, minced

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil 

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp honey

1 tsp seasoning salt or table salt

1 tsp black and red
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice [or 1 tbsp of each]

1. Prepare dry aduki beans [Recipe here. I realize that this is for garbanzo beans, but it's the same process. There is one note, though, the aduki beans only take about 30-45 minutes once simmering.] This process requires about 8 hours for the beans to soak, FYI. Once done, cool in refrigerator.

2. Prepare 1 cup dry quinoa according to instructions on package, only use chicken [or veggie] broth instead of water. Once done cool in refrigerator.

3. Prepare the kale. Pull the leafy part away from the stem. Chop into bite-sized pieces. Blanch [bring large sauce-pan of water to a boil. Add kale pieces. Allow to boil for no longer than one minute. Immediately pour  into colander.] Let cool. 

4. Once everything is cooled, gently combine beans, quinoa, kale, beets, basil, onion and garlic in one large bowl. Set aside.

5. In a medium liquid measuring pitcher [or small bowl] combine all of the dressing ingredients. Mix vigorously until fully combined. Pour on to salad and mix.

6. Enjoy

I hope anyone who tries this enjoys it as much as I do.

bears, [ROASTED] BEETS, battlestar galactica

"Why tip someone for a job I’m capable of doing myself? I can deliver food. I can drive a taxi. I can, and do, cut my own hair. I did, however, tip my urologist because I am unable to pulverize my own kidney stones." - Just one of my favorite Dwight Schrute quotes.

Roasted beets are really easy to make, so this post seems pretty obsolete. However I have some culinarily challenged friends out there, so I figured I'd make it even easier by posting step-by-step instructions in case they were interested.

Also every time we make roasted beets, I forget to take a picture of them. So, here is a nice picture of whole, raw beets.

Roasted Beets

3 medium beets
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp oil [olive, veggie, canola, safflower. Anything will do]
salt
pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. Peel beets and dice into small marble sized pieces. Place into 13"x9" pan.
3. Add oil and toss to coat beets. Add garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Toss again. [I find it easiest to do with my hands, but be prepared for your hands to look like you attacked a magenta magic marker, pictured below]
4. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until desired tenderness. Just use a toothpick to stab one and taste when they are getting close.
5. Cool and store in the refrigerator as a healthy salad topping.

I hope, like me, you find that beets are actually pretty good when prepared properly :)

Drinking Horse Mountain Trail

Ok. So, it has been probably about a month sense we hiked this trail, but it was beautiful so I will post some pictures and write about it.

This trail is actually across the highway from "The M" on a neighboring hill. There were a great variety of wildflowers that were blooming, but signs asked hikers to leave them be, so I didn't get to pick any. The views were great and it was over-all a very scenic hike. At the top there was about a 220 degree view. It was amazing in all directions. We were able to look down to valleys and also up to the mountains.

This hike tops my list of favorite hikes in the "Bozone." 

 Christian nearly gave me a heart attack when he ventured out to what can only be described as a cliff.

Another beautiful view from the top.

I am excited to snowshoe here in the winter! It was another truly remarkable hike!

"I Promise I'll Never Die."

I was trying to think of a memorable and hilarious quote from Team America that would also be decently appropriate to be the title of this blog post. Not an easy task. So, above is the best I could do. It's not my favorite quote, but most of my favorites are more than a little offensive and quite foul.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe celebration for the 4th of July. Christian and I really missed being with our Rosevillian crew - eating, drinking, fireworks, watching Team America. But, hey, time passes, things change - some for the better and others for the worse. 

We had a fun-filled day, it just didn't much feel like the 4th of July. 

We planned on hiking Sacajawea Peak, but the last 7 miles to the trail-head was what the map called "an improved dirt road" and our poor little civic did not have the same definition of "improved" that the map did, so we decided to turn back. 

Instead, we bought a soccer ball and played around in a park, which was surprisingly not crowded. It was pretty fun to have Christian teach me how to dribble and watch him try all of his old tricks. We have considered joining adult rec soccer leagues next spring [for some reason that sentence made me feel old, and I don't quite know why].

At the park, I also made a daisy-chain out of what I can only assume is actually a weed. Though, this is the only "flower" I have ever made daisy-chains with. I don't think I had made one of these necklaces since I was, like, 8 so it was a nostalgic little activity. It was a really beautiful day, which was perfect for our first venture to a park here in Bozeman.

Then, it was food time.

We started off with some Summer Tea.

Christian made an awesome bleu cheese flank steak roll.

I made a caprese salad because, really, what is better than fresh motz? Nothing, that's what!

And, no 4th would be complete without watermelon.

 So, it turned out to be a very healthy and absolutely delicious dinner for the two of us.

 We elected not to do fireworks this year because, well, we live in an apartment and we thought letting off fireworks in the parking lot would be just a smidge trashy [although we have young-college-student neighbors who intermittently have a friend who pitches a tent in the communal area outside their apartment. Seriously. So maybe we shouldn't have worried so much about being trashy]

And then we watched American Dad, we thought it would just be too painful to watch Team America without our wonderful friends and family beside us laughing at the horribly inappropriate jokes. Love you all :)