May172012

Herb Thursday: Rosemary Part 2 – Medicinal Uses

By Koalaborg on May 17, 2012

I’ve been cooking a lot with Rosemary these last two weeks (and I still have recipes to put up!) and have really enjoyed the different dishes that have featured Rosemary. Read last week’s introduction to Rosemary along with links to my Rosemary recipe posts here.

Most people probably don’t think beyond cooking for rosemary, however. I was amazed at the medicinal uses for Rosemary.

I have compiled a bit of information from various resources on the medicinal or therapeutic uses of Rosemary. Books (these are affiliate links) and websites are listed below.

I will only be discussing the uses of the herbs and not specific doses (beyond how to make a tea or recipes for external use) for therapeutic use. Check out the resources and determine how much is appropriate for you.

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor, a naturopath, or an herbalist. I am just a person who is interested in herbalism and am willing to search for information from various resources.  Use herbs (as with any medication) with discretion and seek medical advice if you are unsure of anything.

Rosemary

Latin name: Rosmarinus officinalis

Part(s) used: Leaves

Externally, rosemary can be used as a stimulant – it can be added to bath water to stimulate blood circulation.

In Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health, she suggests herbal bathing for headaches and stress.

Herbal Foot Baths (Gladstar p. 58) are suggested to aid in circulation. By dilating blood vessels in the feet and drawing blood down to the feet, this can encourage improved circulation and alleviate throbbing stress headaches. She suggests a mixture of 2 parts lavendar, 1 part hops, 1 part sage and 1/2 part rosemary, along with (optional) lavendar oil is combined in a large pot of water and brought to a low simmer for 5 – 10 minutes. Pour the herbal mixture into a large enough basic to accomodate your feet and adjust temperature with cool water so that it is still hot but tolerable. Soak your feet – adding additional herbal mixture to maintain a warm temperature.

She also suggests a stimulating bath blend (Gladstar p. 140) comprised of 3 parts peppermint , 2 parts calendula, 1 part bay leaf or eukalyptus, 1 part rosemary, and 1 part sage. I already use a Rosemary body wash that I prepare (look for the recipe next week with other Health and Beauty uses for Rosemary) and love it, so taking a warm soak in a Rosemary herbal bath sounds delightful!

Rosemary essential oil can also be used externally – adding to a compress as an anti-inflamatory, or to a bath to help improve circulation. The essential oil can be used in combination with others for aromatherapy or massage to help with nervous conditions, depression, even headaches. A word of caution though – essential oils are for external use and should not be taken internally.

Rosemary can also be taken internally as a tea or a tincture.

To prepare a tea, rosemary leaves are added to a mesh tea strainer or a muslin bag and boiled water is poured over the leaves. The tea is allowed to steep for 10 minutes (longer steeping will allow more of the plant oils to come out). Typically you use more fresh leaves than dried, so 1/2 tsp dried leaves or 1 tsp fresh leaves to 1 cup water is a common amount for preparing tea. Fresh leaves can be bruised to allow for more plant oils to be extracted.

Tinctures are prepared by filling a jar with herbs, covering completely with either alcohol (vodka will do) or vegetable glycerin, and leaving in a dark place for several weeks (shaking occasionally). The alcohol dissolves the plant constituents from the leaves and bark (if using) and allows for a more efficient way of using the plant. Finally the mixture is strained through cheesecloth and the tincture is stored in a dark-colored bottle. As a caution, different herbs will be prepared differently for tincturing, so consult a herbal guide book or online to see how to prepare tinctures of specific herbs.

Rosemary is known to have many wonderful therapeutic uses.

Rosemary is known as an antioxidant, antiseptic and antispasmodic.

It can be used in treatment of arthritis, headaches, and stomach upsets.

Rosemary can be used for stomach upsets. It help prevent intestinal cramps. The antioxidant properties work to release bile which aids in digestion. Rosemary tea or tincture can be prepared and used for maintaining liver function and healthy digestion. It is also useful in treating indigestion.

Rosemary can also help relieve menstrual cramps by preventing uterine spasms. It is known to increase menstrual flow.

*** Rosemary should not be used in therapeutic amounts by those who are pregnant or suffer from heavy periods. Food amounts are okay. ****

Rosemary is also thought to have antifungal properties – it stops the growth of yeast and helps remove yeast cells from the lining of the urinary tract

One of the well-know and historical uses of Rosemary is as a memory aid and nervous system tonic. It is has been shown to be an effective support for the circulatory and nervous system.

Rosemary tea is also good for headaches caused by poor circulation, colic and nervous conditions, such as depression.

As you can see, there are a wide variety of uses for Rosemary. I am listing several online references as well as herbal remedy books (note that these are affiliate links) that are great sources of additional information and recipes to try if you want to incorporate Rosemary into your natural medicine cabinet.

Books to check out:

Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health - this book should be in your personal library!

Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: The Definitive Home Reference Guide to 550 Key Herbs with all their Uses as Remedies for Common Ailments - this is a very detailed guide to herbal remedies. Wonderful full color pictures!

Natural Healing for Women: Caring for Yourself with Herbs, Homeopathy and Essential Oils - This is a wonderful book for women, as it goes through all of the health issues unique to women. However, it is also a wonderful source of information for herbal medicine and homeopathy, which can be applied regardless of gender.

Websites to check out:

Mountain Rose Herbs – Rosemary – in addition to being a great place to order bulk herbs along with many other tincture, soapmaking and natural body care supplies, Mountain Rose also provides a TON of wonderful information on  the herbs they have available. *** I am really excited to have recently become a Mountain Rose Herb affiliate, so if you are planning on ordering rosemary (or anything else) from Mountain Rose Herbs please consider clicking through my affiliate link on the right to help support my website***

Livestrong Uses for Rosemary Tea - great overview and be sure to check out the links to additional resources

Rosemary: Botanical.com A Modern Herbal - history of the medicinal uses of rosemary and modern usages

University of Maryland Medical Center Complimentary Medicine – Rosemary Medical Uses - medicinal uses of rosemary along with precautions and interactions

Posted in , , Leave a Comment

May142012

Mommy’s Time-Out

By Koalaborg on May 14, 2012

I took an extended time out over the last several days. Somewhere around Wednesday afternoon/early Thursday, my brain decided it didn’t want to do anything.

I have a tendency to burn the candle at both ends, and every once in a while, my brain decides to put a stop to it.

These last four days, I have found myself unable to read the Unconditional Parenting book I am working through, write the several posts I had hoped to post over this weekend, or even work on some home organization projects I have started.

Here’s what I did accomplish: I watched two four episodes of Hoarders, I went with my family to see The Avengers, and this weekend I watched two seasons of Sister Wives. You read that correctly – two seasons. I have fallen asleep with Kyri every night when I have put her to bed, and haven’t gotten back up like I normally do.

My body was tired. My brain was tired.

I actually complained to my husband how useless I have felt the last few days. It’s like I have been unable to do anything but mindless tasks. He was quick to remind me that I managed to get things done, like going to the farmers market and a few different grocery stores. We even managed to bath all four dogs today! And even though the laundry is piled up – its clean laundry. Him telling me this made me feel a lot better.

Sunday night the fog started to clear. I got the dirty dishes loaded up, the coffee made, and I even managed to set up a bowl of beans to soak overnight for Monday’s dinner.

Here are a few things that I have reflected on after the last couple of days:

1. I need to take more frequent, shorter breaks. A movie night, a coffee and bookstore afternoon. Something to recharge and unwind. Otherwise I end up being braindead for four days.

2. I get more done around here then I like to give myself credit for. Not nearly enough as I think I should, but not as little as I think I do.

3. TV melts your brain. Seriously. Anyone who knows me, knows that I do not sit around watching TV all day. It’s an anomaly. The last time I watched this much television was last summer when I was very pregnant and I went on a weeklong Farscape binge. Otherwise, I watch the occasional documentary or movie (and Family Guy…), but little else. The last two days, I have had a low-grade headache from zoning out watching TV. I’m pretty sure my brain was starting to melt. Just sayin’. I don’t know how people do this all day, every day.

This has been a much needed brain break. I’m feeling pretty good now (minus the TV headache). Time to get back on track!

 

 

Posted in Leave a Comment

May102012

Toasted Walnuts with Rosemary

By Koalaborg on May 10, 2012

Last week when I made the Roasted Green Beans with Rosemary, the walnuts really stole the show. So I decided to prep a batch of walnuts alone with rosemary.

These are awesome for snacking or for topping a salad. The rosemary isn’t overwhelming, and toasting the walnuts really bring out the flavors.

Toasted Walnuts with Rosemary

4 cups walnuts

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

salt to taste

Preheat over at 475°

Add walnuts and rosemary to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle olive oil into bowl and mix with spatula until walnuts are thoroughly coated with oil and chopped rosemary. Spread evenly onto a baking dish (I prefer stoneware but metal is fine).

Toast in oven for 15-17 minutes (a minute or two longer if using a stoneware pan). Halfway through, use a spatula to stir the walnuts so that they are evenly toasted and not getting too dark. Remove from oven and let cool.

Store in airtight container in fridge.

Posted in , , Tagged , , Leave a Comment

May072012

Homeschool Classes in the Community

By Koalaborg on May 7, 2012

One of the fun things about homeschooling is taking advantage of the classes available in the local community. There are so many opportunities we have to pick and choose, or else we will be so busy we will always be out of the house!

We have a wonderful homeschool community here in San Antonio, so there is a constant stream of information for homeschool parents, letting us know when opportunities are available that might interest our children.

Taking classes in the community has many benefits – hands-on learning experiences you really can’t replicate at home, expertise in a field that you may not know a lot about, time to interact with other homeschoolers, and an opportunity for your children to have different teachers, possibly in a ”classroom” setting.

Here are three recent homeschool classes we participated in this Spring:

Cibolo Nature Center

Homeschool Class at the San Antonio Botanical Garden

Homeschool Day at the Witte Museum

Do you take advantage of homeschool classes offered in your community?

***While I still write about homeschool topics here at the vegan bee, I have started to shift some of the more specific content to Kyriandra’s Big Day, which is the online portion of our homeschool portfolio. I try to link to the content I post over there, if not in dedicated posts, then through Twitter and Facebook. I hope you will check it out regularly to see what we have been up to.***

 

Posted in Tagged , , , Leave a Comment

May062012

Shared Journaling for Children

By Koalaborg on May 6, 2012

Our daughter is 5 years old,  and so we do a lot of narration in our schooling. She is becoming a more confident writer but at this age, it is through narration that her thoughts are clearly communicated and recorded.

As we deal with tantrums and acting out, one problem we struggle with constantly is an inability on our daughter’s part to explain what it is she is so upset about. Asking her what is bothering her, what is she so upset about, just leads her to clam up. She stays upset and I become frustrated because I can’t help her if I don’t know what the problem is.

One day, after struggling with a tantrum and trying in vain to have her talk to me about what the problem was, I finally asked her if she wanted to write it down. She immediately calmed down and shook her head. I’ll admit to being surprised at her response. I suggested it on a whim, not really expecting her to respond in the positive. So I went and got a new spiral notebook from my office and sat down with her. I asked if she wanted to write herself or would she prefer to narrate.

Getting started is usually the hardest part. When I first asked what she wanted to talk about, she got shy and started whispering and mumbling.

I finally got one word out of her.

Good, I can work with this.

So I used this one word as a starting point. I started writing in the first person, “helping” her make complete sentences and thoughts in her journal.

“I want to talk about _________________.” The first sentence was written down.

What about “blank” do you want to talk about? If she gives me a one or two word answer, I write down her words (helping to fill in complete sentences but never altering her thoughts). I ask questions to try to encourage her to go into more detail about what she has just told me. I write down her complete sentences if she says them. If she gives me words or phrases I suggest complete sentences and then write them down.

I do not comment directly on what she is narrating. I do not try to explain or argue or in any way discuss the topic. Discussion comes (sometimes) after we are done writing, when we read over what we have journalled. This can be tough because she sometimes is narrating her frustration with me and my initial instinct is to respond, defend what I may have done or said to upset her. But I know to hold my tongue and just write.

The first time we journaled, she told me a laundry list of things she didn’t like that I was doing. I asked her what was upsetting her.

“yelling.”

“Okay”, (writing) “I don’t like it when Mommy yells at me.” She nods and approves of the sentence I have given her.

“What else?

“Time-out.”

Making progress. “I don’t like it when you put me in time-out.” She nods and I write it down. We go on like this. Her mood visibly improves as she gets her feelings onto paper.

This went on and eventually she started giving me silly things to write down. I gently wrapped up our session and read over what we had written together.

“Okay, now its your turn,” she says to me. I was surprised when she turned things around on me.  It was quite unexpected.

“What’s upsetting you”, she asked me as she reached for the notebook. I kept it simple and gave her short sentence answers. She wrote them down, asking me to spell words as necessary. I didn’t turn it into a lecture, I just gave her simple sentences of what upset me.

“I don’t like it when you flop on the floor.” I don’t like it when you don’t listen to me.”

Getting her thoughts (and mine) out and clearly expressed helped us both feel better, and allowed us to have a calm discussion afterward and what was bothering us. Now when she is upset about something, she often will ask to write it down.

I find journaling therapeutic. It helps me to organize my thoughts, work through what is going on in my life, my emotions, etc. I want to encourage Kyri in this, and I think starting young, in this fashion, introduces her to the concept of writing about our feelings as a way to process them.

Shared journaling allows us to communicate about something that might be hard to talk about (anger at mommy for example) in a different, neutral medium.

Here are some suggestions for shared journaling:

1. Have a devoted notebook – it doesn’t have to be fancy. We use a spiral-bound 1 subject notebook. But it is officially “our journal.”

2. Gently encourage your child to share what is bothering them. You might have to ask them to repeat themselves or speak clearly if they are mumbling, but if you can get a single word from them, seize it and help them form a sentence to write down.

3. Clearly explain your role as scribe. You are merely writing down what they want to talk about, and possibly helping them form complete sentences and thoughts. You aren’t initiating a discussion about what is bothering them, you aren’t defending yourself if they are upset with you. You are just writing. I think it’s this safe zone of knowing you aren’t going to respond in any way that helps them open up.

4. Stay calm and neutral if their complaints are about you. I had to write down Kyri’s desire to have a new mommy during one session. My initial reaction was hurt. Then when I gently probed for more details, I found out this new mommy should have an orange shirt with a caterpillar on the front, and that I should be the new mommy. Whew!

5. Ask simple questions to get them to explain further what it is they want to talk about. If they tell you they want to talk about mommy yelling, write down the first sentence and then gently ask questions to probe a little.

What about mommy yelling do you want to talk about?

How does mommy yelling make you feel?

Write their responses in complete sentence form. Probe further if necessary or ask them what else they want to talk about.

6. Be prepared to redirect or gently wrap us. Once Kyri started feeling better after we had written a fair amount, her statements started to get a little silly. She started to come with issues with the puppies that “upset” her. If you can tell they are getting a little silly you can redirect back to the more serious topics or wrap up the session.

7. Read over what  you have written in the journal. It may or may not lead into a discussion. Sometimes just writing and then reading it back helps them

8. If they ask to write down your feelings, be wiling to share. Keep your statements simple.

Don’t turn it into a lecture.

“I get upset when you don’t listen to what I ask you to do.”

I get upset when you flop on the floor.”

Single sentences. Don’t elaborate or make it a discussion. Help them write your sentences down by spelling words if necessary.

This has really made a difference in our communication. Really knowing what bothers her helps me help her. Shared journaling has opened up a line of communication between us, and has also led her to trust me. Trust that she can tell me things, even things that might upset me, and I won’t react. I’ll just write them down and let her share. This is the age where this trust is either built up or destroyed and I want Kyri to know she can always talk to me.

Posted in , Tagged , , 4 Comments

May032012

Herb Thursday: Rosemary

By Koalaborg on May 3, 2012

I love herbs, and have been interested in their many uses for years. I think the best way to learn about herbs is to focus on one herb at a time – spend some time reading up on their properties, their lore, their traditional uses, the current research. Become well acquanted with one herb before moving onto the next one, so that you feel confident when you turn to this herb as part of your herbal medicine chest.

Herbal medicine does not have to be complicated, expensive, or exotic. Many of the herbs we use in our kitchen have wonderful properties beyond their ability to season a meal. I wanted to spend some time focusing on one herb, compiling information from herbal guides, materia medica resources, and online resources, and then looking at some uses of each herb for culinary, medical and cosmetic (health and beauty) purposes. I think one week would not do each herb justice, and so I would like to spend a few weeks on each herb. I’ll focus on everyday kitchen herbs since that is what people are most familiar with.

One thing that is great about blogging is that is gives me a way to organize my thoughts and research on a topic – for myself. If someone else finds what I put up useful, then that’s even better.  I’ll include links to books and websites that I am pulling from – I am not adding anything that isn’t already available.

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor, a naturopath, or an herbalist. I am just a person who is interested in herbalism and am willing to search for information from various resources.  Use herbs (as with any medication) with discretion and seek medical advice if you are unsure of anything.

Rosemary

For the first herb of this series, I wanted to focus on Rosemary. Who doesn’t love rosemary? If you have read some of my previous posts, you probably know how much I love the San Antonio Botanical Garden. One of my favorite areas of the garden is the walkway that crosses over the Conservatory. The sidewalk is lined with large rosemary bushes, and as you walk along  you are just surrounded by this wonderful aroma. We have spent a lot of time recently at the Garden and this is actually what inspired me to start the series with Rosemary.

Latin name: Rosmariunus officianalis

Type of plant: an aromatic evergreen mint

Part(s) used: leaves (fresh or dried)

Culinary Uses: Rosemary is added to foods as an antioxidant and a stabilizer. It is often used in desserts and savory dishes. Rosemary is used dried or fresh. Having mainly used dried rosemary in recipes when I was younger and less experienced in the kitchen, I have to say I prefer cooking with fresh. I usually step outside and cut a sprig, slicing off and chopping up the leaves. While I tend to use the entire sprig, fresh rosemary can be stored in the fridge – just wrap in a damp paper towel and put in a bag.

I’ll admit to not being very adventurous when cooking with rosemary. I don’t usually stray beyond potatoes with garlic and rosemary, or throwing a little into a nice batch of marinara. But when I started reading about rosemary, I wanted to expand my recipe box. I found a few recipes that caught my eye, and have enjoyed experimenting.

This past week I have tried a couple new dishes with rosemary, and I have a few more that will be posted later this week.

Rosemary Recipes

Quinoa with Walnuts and Rosemary - This was an awesome dish! This was the second dish I did combining rosemary with walnuts. I had no idea what an wonderful combination these two ingredients were.

Roasted Green beans with Walnuts and Rosemary - The walnuts alone were amazing roasted with rosemary. Look for a post sans green beans this weekend.

Roasted  Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary – I figured this would be a nice change up to my tried and true roasted potatoes. Look for this recipe soon.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Russet Potato Salad – We will be doing a large Cinco de Mayo day in the park, and a potato salad is the perfect dish to bring. I’ll be posting this over the weekend.

Vegan Honey Rosemary Apple Crisp -Bonzai Aphrodite’s recipe for an apple crisp seasoned with rosemary. I’m so excited to make this! While its been awhile since I’ve seen honeycrisps (and there is really no comparison!) in the stores, I did pick up some Fuji’s to try with this. I’ll post my results over the weekend.

Nutritional Information: I did a little reading online to see what vitamins and nutrients were found. There is some variation in amounts of some of the nutrients depending on whether the herb is fresh or dried, but it didn’t seem to be significant.

Rosemary is high in manganese, calcium, iron, Vitamins A and C, folate, Vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, copper and thiamine.

I’ve included links to helpful websites with additonal nutritional information.

Additional Links

Help with Cooking’s Herb Guide:Rosemary – including culinary uses and vitamins found.

Livestrong article about the benefits and vitamins found in rosemary

Self’s Nutrition Facts for Rosemary

 

Next week, I’ll be posting about medicinal uses of Rosemary.

Posted in , , 3 Comments

May012012

Quinoa with Walnuts and Rosemary

By Koalaborg on May 1, 2012

It should be apparent that I am on a bit of a quinoa kick lately. It’s just that awesome.

This is another Rosemary recipe to lead into a series I am starting here this week called Herb Thursday. This recipe is adapted from a quinoa casserole dish at Savvy Vegetarian. Simple to prepare – perfect for a lunch or a side dish. Cook time (including prep time) should be around 45 minutes.

Quinoa with Walnuts and Rosemary

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 cups vegetable stock (I use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Stock)

3 green onions, chopped

3 ribs celery, shopped

3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 cup walnuts

olive oil or cooking spray for sauteing

 

Combine quinoa and vegetable stock to medium saucepan and heat on high until boiling. Cover and drop temperature to low. Cook until quinoa is transparent and liquid is absorbed, approximately 20 minutes.

Soak walnuts in hot water for 30 minutes, rinse and drain. Chop into smaller pieces

Heat wok over medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil or cooking spray, Add green onions, celery, carrots, garlic, rosemary and bay leaf to wok. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 – 15 minutes, until carrots are almost cooked through. Add walnuts and cook an additional 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cooked quinoa, stir to combine and serve.

 

Posted in , , 3 Comments

Apr282012

Place Value Visual Aid

By Koalaborg on April 28, 2012

We have been spending a lot of time working on place value mastery. Manipulatives are helpful – we have been using small river rocks to count and group into tens – but I wanted something a little more visually impactive.

I printed up simple tiles onto cardstock, with 1, 10, 100, and 1000 printed. I also included single digits from 1 to 9, several zeros, as well as some grids to build numbers. The concept is simple.

I use my individual numbers to build a number on my grid. Kyri uses the tiles to show me how many 1′s are needed for the number in the one’s column, how many 10′s are needed for the number in the tens column, how many 100′s for the number in the hundreds column.

I also made a two-row grid, along with plus and minus symbols,  so that I could build addition or subtraction problems. This is especially helpful for doing addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers. When doing two-digit math problems on paper, Kyri doesn’t always “get” that she needs to line up her numbers by place value.

By putting the problem onto the grid, the math problem is aligned correctly and she can easily see that the ones add  or subtract with the ones, and the tens add or subtract with the tens. For example, for 25 + 12 she would put two 10′s and five 1′s, and then add one 10 and two 1′s. Then she can see how many 1′s or 10′s are in her final answer. Usng this has really helped her more fully understand place value, and why it is important in arithmetic.

*** I’ve added the Place Value (doc) file to my Downloads page if you are interested in using this. I’ll get the pdf put up shortly. ***

Posted in Tagged , , 3 Comments

Apr282012

Roasted Green Beans with Walnuts and Rosemary

By Koalaborg on April 28, 2012

Because I am focusing on Rosemary for my upcoming Herb Thursday, I wanted to prep a couple of dishes that use rosemary as the sole herbal seasoning. I admit to not venturing far beyond garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes (its never been my go-to herb, like cumin or oregano…), so trying new dishes using rosemary has been a lot of fun! I found this recipe at Vegetarian Times. I’ve modified it slightly.

This is such a simple dish. You need maybe 10 minutes for prep time and 20 minutes in the oven. Perfect for a side or for the next vegan potluck. I thought this was a great dish. I love walnuts – in baked goods, hot cereal, raw to snack on. I have never roasted them before. My next kitchen task: roasted walnuts with rosemary (hold the green beans) for snacking or salad topping.

Roasted Green Beans with Walnuts and Rosemary

1 1/2 pounds greens, washed and trimmed (keep long, just trim the ends)

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 475°.

After washing and trimming the green beans, toss with chopped walnuts and rosemary in large bowl . Add in olive oil – stir with spatula to thoroughly coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread out on baking sheet. Bake for 15- 17 minutes (add a few minutes if you are using a stoneware pan).

Posted in , , , , Tagged , , , 2 Comments

Apr272012

Vegan Thai Fried Quinoa

By Koalaborg on April 27, 2012

I am on a bit of a quinoa kick. I suppose there are worse kicks to be on, right? A friend passed on a non-vegan recipe that looked awesome and very easy to veganize, so here is the final result.

This dish was amazing! I definitely consumed more than I should. Total time to cook/prep was 30 – 40 minutes.

Thai Fried Quinoa

For the quinoa:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup vegetable stock

Bring stock and milk to near boil in pot on high heat. Add rinsed quinoa and drop temperature to low-medium (2 or 3 on my stovetop setting). Cook 20 minutes or so until grains are transparent and liquid is absorbed.

For the stirfry:

3 green onions, chopped (white and green)

1 Tbsp grated ginger (I used fresh but use tube stuff if you need)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 cups peas, frozen or fresh

1 pound firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp lime juice (or juice from 1/2 lime)

~ 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts (optional)

Using cooking spray or a drizzle of olive oil in wok, heat green onion, ginger and garlic over medium heat – 1minute while stirring so as to not burn garlic.

Add peas, tofu and cilantro. Let cook for 10-15 minutes. You want your tofu cooked through but it doesn’t need to be browned.

Add in cooked quinoa and mix thoroughly. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce and lime juice, and then drizzle over the stirfry. Stir to mix in. Sprinkle the peanuts on top and serve.

Posted in , , Tagged , , , 4 Comments