Dixie's Quinoa Recipe

• From 1993-1997 I lived in Golden, CO in a cooperative house called The Owl House. I moved there when I was pregnant with Keara, she was born in Denver. I had many different roommates who went through that house, several really great ones! Really it was, so far, my favorite and most cooperatively functioning household I have ever lived in.
  
• At one point in the Owl House we had 6 adults living there, Keara was a baby and another couple had a daughter who was 6 months older than Keara. Then there was another married couple who had no children yet then(they have 4 now!). Everyone worked 9-5 jobs except me and the other mom, we stayed home with the babies.
  
• My favorite part was the way we shared meals(other than just the great people I lived with!). Every adult picked one cooking night per week and that was your washing dishes day too. Also we each pitched in $20/per week for groceries and that was it. Everyone was vegetarian so it worked great.
  
• Basically for $20 a week we got a gourmet, balanced dinner every night and only had to wash dishes and think about 'what's for dinner?' once a week! We had some guidelines for making it a healthy meal that were so easy I often still go by them today. Since being vegetarian everyone says it is so hard to get enough protein THIS IS NOT TRUE, actually all you need to do is eat dark colored vegetables, whole grains and beans, seeds or nuts throughout the day and the combination of them makes complete protein!! Anyways, we made those our guidelines for our dinners and really it was so easy. For example lets say someone made rice and vegetables for dinner. All they need to do is make sure there is a dark colored veggie(carrots, spinach, yams, beets, kale, squash etc..) in it, brown rice is a whole grain and then for the bean, seed or nut you could at the very least just sprinkle on some seeds or nuts at the end(or add tofu, beans or tempeh etc to the dinner)..
  
• I always keep some sorts of raw nuts and seeds in my refrigerator to sprinkle on at the end if needed. It's amazing how much more complete your food tastes just adding a few seeds at the end!
  
• Try sprinkling on a few sesame seeds or cashews on your salad then serve it with a slice of whole grain bread for complete protein. Also if your salad dressing has nut butter or tahini in it that also would complete your protein. There are many simple ways to do this I wish everyone knew so I wouldn't have to hear ever again 'oh you're vegetarian, how do you ever get enough protein??' I'm so tired of hearing this over and over and over, like eating a steak is the only way or something...(sorry meat eaters but it does get a little annoying explaining my simple and easy diet over and over and over....) oh also I get alot of 'so what you just eat salad then?' this is so funny for a vegetarian to hear because there are so many things to eat out there. Yes I eat salads and it should be my main food(I would be so healthy then) but there is so much more...
• Ok so when I lived in CO I met a girl named Dixie and she introduced me to eating Quinoa(pronounced Keen-wah). This recipe is the first Quinoa dish I've ever eaten and since then I have made this same dish possibly hundreds of times. It is my favorite grain and I have even named my dog after it! I'm posting a picture of my dog also, speaking of Quinoa!!
• This simple recipe is a hit every time and you can easily make it ahead and chill it and bring it to a potluck! Everyone likes it and it is a complete meal, and protein, in itself!
• Let me know if you try it, it's a good one!!
  

My first post: Making Pot Pie

• Hi! I can't seem to figure out how to get my main page quite how I want it, please bare with me, I will be working on it as I go. I just don't want to wait any longer to start my blog... I will have to figure it out later when I have one of my computer nerd friends over here to help me.
  
• I've been dying to try out my re-do for this recipe. I don't always have enough time to cook something that takes 1 1/2 hours, which is unfortunate, but makes us all appreciate it a little more when I do! The original recipe called for different veggies and just to use water not veggie broth, buttermilk and other things I never cook with. When I cook and keep a recipe I like it to be very versatile. Anyone can try it hopefully with what you have all ready in your fridge. Don't be afraid to switch things up a bit.
  
• A few tips along that line:
  
• Root veggies are usually interchangeable; carrots, potatoes, parsnips, yams, sweet potatoes, beets(watch out though everything will turn pink or red!) etc..
• Margarine can always be substituted for butter, although some people will disagree with this, if you are vegan and have been for a while you no longer need the butter sensation(hard to believe, but true). After that, cutting out margarine, I know that the next move(health-wise) is to cut out hydrogenated fats(like almost all margarine). This recipe could technically be made with olive oil in the biscuits instead of butter, with a little experimenting. (My diet has reverted slightly since moving to Wisconsin 5 years ago, I was practically vegan and now eat cheese and butter probably more than I should, what can I say, I live in WI now..the great excuse)(still no cow milk or eggs for me though!)
• I like to use organic corn and peas that have been frozen(they have a nice fresh taste if not over-cooked) as opposed to squishy canned veggie flavor, but I'm sure it would work if that's all you have. I think part of the reason a lot of kids(and adults too!) don't like veggies is because of bad experiences eating over-cooked veggies, like frozen spinach-yuk!! I do love fresh spinach though!!
• You can use any kind of broth, I use vegetarian bouillon cubes reconstituted in water. I stock up on them when they are on sale at our local co-op. They are sort of like cheating to me but sure speed up a meal and make it tastier(as opposed to cooking your own broth all day long!). Instead of broth I do like to use leftover soup in recipes, if it's too thick just water it down a little. You can ALWAYS use water instead but may then want to add more seasonings...
• Enough with the tips all ready, here's the recipe:
• Easy Veggie Pot Pie
  
• Serves 6
  
• Ingredients: 1-2 Tbsp Oil(I used Olive, any will do)
• 2 cups chopped onion(or 1 large onion)
• 1-3 cloves garlic(more if you want your pie to have a garlic theme),sliced
• yam(1 large), cubed
  
• potatoes(2 large, any variety, wash but leave the peel if no bad spots),cubed
• carrots(3 large), sliced
  
• So that's 6-8 cups total root veggies, can be more or less of any!
• 3 cups veggie broth
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp Tamari(or soy sauce) optional
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• For the biscuit topping(mmmmm...)
• 2 heaping cups unbleached white flour
• Yes it is important to use(and always buy) unbleached flour, why? because it's not good to eat bleach!
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder(don't forget this or your biscuits won't rise!)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 Tbsp melted butter(or margarine)
• 1 cup soymilk(plain)(rice, almond, or hemp milk would work too)
• 1 tsp dried dill(or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped dill)
• That's it for ingredients, like I said, don't hesitate to try variations with what you have. I think any thick leftover soup would be transformed if poured in a pan, a few days later, and had this biscuit topping added to it and baked... Just an idea!
• Ok so put the 1-2 Tbsp oil in a soup pot on med heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
  
• Add yams, potatoes, carrots and the veggie broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat again, simmer until veggies are just tender, 15-20 minutes.
• Add cornstarch/water mixture. Stir constantly for a couple of minutes.
• When mixture starts to thicken mix in; peas, corn, tamari and salt(if needed).
• Pour into lightly oiled 13x9 inch baking dish(I used a glass one).
• Set aside
• Now preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Mix dry biscuit ingredients in a bowl; flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda
• Melt butter in a small pan, turn off heat, add soy milk and stir well
• Mix butter/milk in with dry bowl ingredients with a wooden spoon stirring as little as possible(if you stir too much your biscuit topping won't be as fluffy)
• Drop by heaping spoonfuls(this part would be fun for a kid to do)
  onto veggie mix in baking pan, covering as much as possible
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until you can insert a knife and it comes out with no biscuit topping on it. Top should be lightly browned!
• Serve immediately!!
• I wanted to take a picture of my pie before cutting it but I forgot as everyone was starving and sat down with heaping bowlfuls immediately. That was when I remembered. After the first few bites were gone and believe me no one wanted to wait then either for my picture. It was so good everyone wanted to keep on eating!
• This is not my usual pot pie recipe but is a much easier version(long version will be added on a less busier day!) which I can see now being added to my regular recipes! This was so delicious and a meal in itself! Totally satisfies that comfort food craving!
• I would love to hear if anyone tries this recipe and any comments or questions anyone may have!
• ENJOY!!