Mediterranean Quinoa

In the last 24 days I have cooked exactly twice, and that was this past Saturday and Sunday when we had company for dinner. I've done some baking for different things, but as far as meal planning goes, there is no plan around here. In fact, I cooked my first meat since Micah left this past weekend.

So what the heck are we eating? Skylar eats what she always has: fruits, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, peanut butter and noodles. (When I say peanut butter I'm not talking about a sandwich--she just wants a spoon of peanut butter. Weird.) I always offer her what I'm eating, but now that she's two she usually looks at something and says "I no liiiike that" in a whiny voice that makes me a little crazy.

I pretty much eaten whatever sounds good, a sandwich, salad, veggie burger, bean and cheese quesadilla, beans and rice, cereal.....whatever is fast and easy. I drink a lot of milk so I know I'm getting plenty of protein. I'm sure it'll get old eventually, but for now I like not having to think about what to make for dinner. Although if Micah came back tomorrow, I would be more than happy to cook for him. It's just not fun to cook for yourself and a two year old who lives on dust and air and gumballs.

Anyway, I love Mediterranean food. LOVE it. I also really like Quinoa (keen-wah) ever since I discovered it in Whole Foods a few years ago. It's a "super food" and if you aren't familiar you should read up on it. It's really high in protein, so it's a good meat substitute. But lets face it, I'm not that healthy, I just eat it because I think it tastes good. And it's easy to find, they sell it in the rice/grain aisle of any grocery store.

It makes a great side dish, similar to rice or Cous Cous, but I like to make mine into a salad. Throw a little meat on top to make the man in your life happy, and it's a legitimate meal. It's been a couple of months since I made this (I just like to photograph my food when I cook--mostly because it stands still and doesn't fight me) but lately it's been sounding really good:

There is no recipe, I just cook the Quinoa substituting chicken broth for water (per the directions on the package) and then throw in my favorite ingredients. In this case:

-diced red onion

-Kalamata olives

-cherry tomatoes

-crumbled feta (They've changed the rules--you can eat soft cheese if you're pregnant as long as it says on the package it's been pasteurized, and feta usually is).

-flat leaf parsley

It's good warm or cold. Give it a try!