Golden Quinoa Salad

I do not like calling things "healthy", but I do enjoy eating healthy things if that makes sense.  For some reason the word healthy sounds like unappetizing bland food, but it doesn't have to be.  I was feeling like I needed something protein packed and energizing, and well I guess you could say nutritious, so I got to work creating a grain salad.  Since quinoa is a powerhouse, I thought it would be the perfect base for my salad.  I raided my fridge and came up with a color scheme, gold!  Mostly because I needed a bit of sunshine, even in my food being that it is winter.  I grabbed a golden beet, a carrot, some golden raisins, as well as some pecans, and walnuts for protein.  For my dressing I made a citrus vinaigrette laced with tumeric to give my salad a lovely color.  The finished salad was delicious but most importantly it was satisfying and beautiful!  The bright citrus along with the toasty nuts, sweet raisins and crunchy veggies was wonderful!  Here is the recipe if you would like to eat a bit of sunshine!

Golden Quinoa Salad

Serves 3

2 cups water

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 medium golden beet, cut julienne
1 large carrot, cut julienne
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1 cup golden raisins

Dressing:
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste

freshly ground pepper to taste

Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed about 15 minutes, or when all the grains have turned from white to transparent, and the spiral-like germ has separated. Drain, and let cool. When quinoa is cool, combine with the beets, carrots, walnuts, pecans, and raisins.  Whisk together dressing ingredients, and pour over salad.  Toss to combine, and for best flavor let sit a few hours or overnight in the fridge before serving. 

Winter Kiss

It was up to 40 degrees yesterday in Minnesota, and it felt downright tropical!  The snow was melting by the buckets...then today hit and it a chill filled the air.  The temperatures dropped and the ice pellets fell.   Why ice pellets?  It is supposed to snow this time of year, not send down tiny hail!  When I got to my car after work, I discovered that the ice had formed a thin, but rock hard, and immoveble layer of ice on my windows.  I had no choice but to stand and scrape...and scrape, and scrape some more.  It hardly budged, and as I was driving home trying to warm my fingers and see through the small holes I had scraped in the windows, I was dreaming of something warming I could ingest when I got home.  Yes, I could make a hot cocoa, or maybe a hot toddy...but I wanted to be creative, and since it is New Year's Eve, I thought it would be a good night for something a bit more special.  Bourbon sounded wonderful!  I wanted to include bourbon since it warms you from the inside. 

I had this really good drink at Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul recently called the Cardinal's Kiss with bourbon, walnut liqueur, and bourbon soaked cherries which was delicious!  I thought why not make my own twist on it, since I had some bourbon soaked cherries in my fridge.  So I combined lemon and orange juice (so the drink would not be entirely booze, plus it gave it a nice citrus note), cherry soaking liquid, and a dash of almond extract (for a nutty flavor) with bourbon.  It was warming, and like a warm kiss...everything that walking outdoors right now was not.  The perfect drink to shake off the winter chill.  If you are chilled, you should fix yourself one of these!  Happy New Year everyone!

Winter Kiss 

Makes 1

4-6 large ice cubes

3 oz Maker's Mark bourbon

1/2 oz cherry soaking liquid*

3 oz orange juice
1 oz lemon juice

1 tsp pure almond exract

4 bourbon soaked cherries*

Citrus zest for garnish

In a martini shaker add the ice, bourbon, cherry liquid, orange juice, lemon juice, and almond extract and place top on shaker. Shake until well blended. Place about 4-5 bourbon soaked cherries onto a skewer, and place in a lowball glass. Pour drink through a strainer into glass, and serve with a citrus zest garnish!
 
Bourbon Soaked Cherries:

In a glass jar, cover 1 cup dried bing cherries with enough bourbon to cover.  Place lid on jar, and let sit at least overnight before using.  Store in the fridge. 

Ruby Slipper Martini

Tis the season for pomegranates, and beautiful shades of red.  This is exactly why when I was deciding what type of drink to create I wanted to include the striking red fruit.  Now, I know there are many variations of pomegranate martinis, but this one was not going to be strictly pomegranate, it would contain another fruit that is plentiful this time of year, orange!  The orange would serve to sweeten a little more than the pomegranate would on its own, and balance out the flavor.  I decided to use bourbon in this drink, because to me bourbon is a warming liquor, and it goes well with citrus and things that are slightly tart. My Mom always made hot toddies, and grapefruit sours from bourbon in the winter, and I guess I think of it as being a good base for a winter drink!  The finished martini was beautiful as well as delicious.  Its red color cheery and bright, and its flavor delicious sweet and slightly tart, very smooth on the tongue.  But what to call this concoction?  I decided on the "Ruby Slipper".  So make yourself one, click your heels 3 times, repeat the phrase "there is no place like home" and prepare to relax... 

Ruby Slipper Martini

Makes 1

4-6 large ice cubes
3 oz Maker's Mark bourbon
2 oz pomegranate juice
1 1/2 oz orange juice
pomegranate seeds

In a martini shaker add the ice, bourbon, pomegranate juice, orange juice, and place top on shaker. Shake until well blended.  Place pomegranate seeds into the bottom of a chilled martini glass. Pour drink through a strainer over seeds, and serve!