Spice Infused Quinoa and Wendy's Sherried Ginger-Gingered Sherry

I'm still on the quinoa kick. I just love a good bowl of quinoa, black beans and Thai Crystal. My sweetheart accuses me of just making food as a vehicle for Thai Crystal. I'm not saying he's wrong. Making this quinoa made the apartment smell like the holidays. The cinnamon and peppercorns and anise gave off the most heavenly aroma. It was great. The resulting quinoa has a nice, subtle taste to it. One of those tastes that make your eyebrows lower in concentration and you just keep eating in an effort to grasp exactly what that is. I probably won't make it all the time but it certainly is a nice change up. I also tried Wendy's Sherried Ginger. I'm so glad I stumbled onto this trick. I have only recently, in the past year, started cooking with ginger (Thanks, Elena!). The smell of fresh ginger alone is enough to make me stop and smell again. It's fantastic. However, I'm always left with little ginger stubs that eventually shrivel up and go dry before I can use them. Dropping ginger 'coins' in sherry keeps them fresh until I need to use them! BRILLIANT! Sure, the ginger smelled a bit too sherry-like at first, but after I pressed it, it smelled (and tasted) just like regular ginger. Now I can have fresh ginger when I need it without making a special trip for it. CD and Wendy - you two rock!

Pilaf of Oats with Ginger and Jalapeno

I don't think I've ever had pilaf before but I grew up on oatmeal so we've plenty of that on hand. I was a little hesitant. After all, it's combining my trusty oatmeal with jalapenos, ginger and tomatoes. Not to mention onion. Onion and oatmeal. YUCK! But, as usual, CD is right on. The flavors bounce nicely off one another and this is delightful. I ate the whole batch over two days (sorry sweetheart!) but we had a potluck at work today for the Seniors' club. They liked it too(after I convinced them that the weird looking lump was eatable). The only trouble I had with it was that the heat required to toast the oatmeal is too high for the mustard seeds and they start popping right away. I suggest turning the heat down and having the onions ready to throw in as soon as the seeds are done. Enjoy!

Sugar-Glazed Peas with Radishes and Greek-Style Green Beans

I know, I know: I haven't written in ever. We moved - AGAIN. Long story. But we're of the school of thought that the month before a move, no new groceries are bought so as to move less stuff. It works great except that it means mandatory grocery shopping right after a move. Not exactly high on my list of things to do. But finally, today I made up a list and set off for the store. I love the Sugar-Glazed Peas. I'm not surprised. I have loved peas for so long that, once, in high school, my Physics teacher (Bob Garcia) was explaining that grocery stores use plastic over their chest freezers to save electricity and, thus, money. When he said how much money (it was a LOT) he said, as a joke, "They would have to sell a lot of peas to make up for that." And I, seemingly unable to stop myself, announced, "I'd buy them, I LOVE peas!" No surprise, my yearbook is inscribed with that exclamation in more than one place. At first blush, I thought I'd over salted the peas (my cooking pet peeve) but the sugar played so nicely off the salt, I couldn't stop eating them. This dish will be even better when I make it with radishes out of my dad's garden next summer! And, as always, I love that this dish was quick and easy to make. In fact, why isn't this dish in the quick and easy section?
Greek Style Green Beans. GREAT! They do take awhile to make, but they were so , so easy. Make them. I always think it's a sign of good cooking when something has layers of taste and this has it in spades. My only tip is that if the beans don't look shriveled after 30 minutes, feel free to continue cooking them. I think it's better to cook longer over a flame that is too small than to burn them by cooking with a flame that is too high. Done right, they will fall apart and melt in your mouth.
Either way, these two dishes made for a fantastic dinner. My husband is probably jealous - he's "working" in Hawaii while I'm enjoying delicious food. Who do YOU think is the winner?

CD's Neo-Traditional Chili

BEST. VEGETARIAN. CHILI. EVER. If you've been searching for a passable, delicious veggie chili, look no more. This is GREAT. You can serve it to any omnivore and I highly doubt they will know the difference - just don't omit the tofu. Plus, it's just great. We had this at a backyard BBQ after the Banco Popular Half Marathon (something else I highly recommend!) and it really hit the spot. Though costly the first time you make it due to all the spices, it is worth every penny. I can't wait to try all the variations CD includes (like the cinnamon?!) so c'mon old man winter - bring it on!