Category: Food

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 C water
• 1 lb organic or farmers market strawberries
• 2 cups finely diced cucumber
• 1/4 of a red onion, very finely diced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 C water
• 1 cup Italian parsley chopped
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
• 2–3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• fresh cracked pepper to taste

*optional additions: feta, goat cheese crumbles, toasted pistachios , toasted almonds, avocado

Instructions:

1. Rinse quinoa well, then drain. In a medium pot add 1 ½ Cups water and quinoa. Bring to a boil. Cover, and turn heat down to low , and cook for 15 minutes. Turn heat off, leave covered 5 more minutes. Fluff and chill quinoa. ( You could do this a head and refrigerate overnight)
2. Add cooked, chilled quinoa to a large bowl. Finely dice strawberries and add to the bowl. Finely dice the cucumber and red onion and add to the bowl. Chop mint and parsley. Gently Toss.
3. Pour in olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and mix. Let salad stand for a few minutes to allow the salt and acid to absorb. Mix again. Taste and adjust salt and lemon, adding more if necessary. The quinoa will soak up some salt, so check again right before serving. Serve on a large platter, scattered with fresh herbs, or over greens.
4. Optional for more flavor and texture-add feta or goat cheese crumbles, avocado, or toasted pistachios or slivered almonds.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Italian eggplants (about 2 small-to-medium eggplants)
• 2 medium cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ cup tahini
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing the eggplant and garnish
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch of smoked paprika, for garnish
• Optional: warmed or toasted pita wedges, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, etc.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the eggplant from sticking to the pan. Halve the eggplants lengthwise and brush the cut sides lightly with olive oil. Place them in the prepared pan with the halved sides down.
2. Roast the eggplant until the interior is very tender throughout and the skin is collapsing, about 35 to 40 minutes (may be longer if you are using 1 large eggplant). Set the eggplant aside to cool for a few minutes. Flip the eggplants over and scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, leaving the skin behind.
3. Place a mesh strainer over a mixing bowl, then transfer the flesh to the strainer and discard the skins. Pick out any stray bits of eggplant skin and discard. You want to remove as much moisture from the eggplant here as possible, so let the eggplant rest for a few minutes and shake/stir the eggplant to release some more moisture.
4. Discard all of the eggplant drippings, drain and wipe out the bowl, and dump the eggplant into the bowl. Add the garlic and lemon juice to the eggplant and stir vigorously with a fork or whisk until eggplant breaks down. Add the tahini to the bowl and stir until it’s incorporated. While stirring, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Continue stirring until the mixture is pale and creamy, and use your fork to break up any particularly long strings of eggplant.
5. Stir in the parsley, salt and cumin. Season to taste with more salt and more lemon juice, if you’d like a more tart flavor.
6. Transfer the baba ghanoush to a serving bowl and lightly drizzle olive oil on top. Lastly, sprinkle parsley and smoked paprika on top. Serve with accompaniments of your choice.