Mini Quinoa Patties and Cleanse Day 3

It’s day 3 of the cleanse and I feel amazing. My skin is glowing, my tummy is taut and I have so much energy. Just kidding. I feel like shit. The only positive so far is that the detox drink is starting to taste a lot like a jalapeno margarita.

Last week (before I was eating raw vegan) I made these mini quinoa patties. They are so freaking good. I ate them for lunch, dinner and in between lunch and dinner. I highly recommend.

Mini Quinoa Patties (adapted from Super Natural Every Day)

1 1/4 cooked quinoa, at room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup seasoned whole grain bread crumbs (I used garlic and herb)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the chives, cheese, and garlic. Add the bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.  Make small patties (around 2 inches in diameter, 1 inch in height), they don’t have to be perfect – just make small balls using your hands then gently flatten.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the patties and cook (covered) for about 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are deeply browned. Flip the patties and cook for 7 minutes, or until golden.

 

Easy Summer Recipes

I’ve been cooking. Yay! Nothing fancy, but I lean towards easy as hell and light. I made like 2 lbs of quinoa last week and pretty much ate some variety of it every day. Cumin-scented black beans and quinoa, lemon-scented chickpeas and quinoa, zucchini-scented carrots and quinoa, etc.  Also, I made a pretty divine cauliflower soup that is my favorite go-to recipe in the summer. We eat it with bread and wine much like everything else. Easy as hell recipes below.

Images by moi!

Cumin-scented quinoa and black beans

Quinoa (obviously)
Olive oil
1 onion
A couple cloves of garlic
As much cumin as you can stand (I like about a tablespoon)
1 can of black beans
A few tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Cilantro

Cook giant batch of quinoa according to instructions on box. Heat about one tablespoon olive oil in a pan and saute onions with cumin for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook additional minute. Add beans, quinoa and tomatoes, cover and simmer for a few minutes until beans are heated through. Salt and pepper to taste and garnish with cilantro.

Quinoa and chickpea salad

Quinoa (cold)
3 cloves of garlic
Handful of chives
Some parsley
A few tomatoes
1 can of chickpeas
Olive oil
1 lemon
Salt and pepper

Chop garlic, chives and tomatoes and mix well with cold quinoa in a bowl. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with parsley. This makes an amazing lunch too!

Cauliflower soup

1 head of cauliflower, chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced into tiny cubes
1 small yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 cloves of shallots
1 cup aged cheddar
1 tblsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth
chives
salt and pepper

Saute onions and shallots in olive oil over medium high heat for about two minutes. Add garlic, potatoes and a pinch of salt, cover and cook until potatoes are near tender. Add cauliflower and broth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender (or transfer to a regular blender) to puree the soup. Add half a cup of cheese and blend some more. Transfer to bowl, season with pepper, top with cheese and chives and chow down.