Autumn Quinoa + Spiced Apple & Avo Salad

I took these pics for the Beautiful Plate Challenge and wanted to share the recipes—especially for the Autumn Quinoa, since it is so yummy!

In general, I find plain quinoa can be a little, shall we say, blah-tasting on its own. But cooking it in veggie broth with seasonings makes it taste great! For convenience, I like to use plain water and a powdered veggie broth mix but feel free to use boxed (or your own homemade) vegetable stock or broth instead.

Quinoa is a high-protein seed-like grain and very easy to digest. It is one of the grains that is most well tolerated by people with IBS and those on a low-FODMAPS, GAPS or SCD diet.

Enjoy Autumn Quinoa topped with a lightly cooked pastured egg (as shown above) or keep it vegan with a drizzle of lemon-tahini dressing and a sprinkle of sesame/hemp seed or raw cashew pieces. 

You can also pair this dish with any salad of your choice (as in the Spiced Apple & Avo Salad, shown below).

Autumn Quinoa

1 cup yellow quinoa

2 cups water

1 tsp Seitenbacher's Vegetable Broth powder

1 Tbs toasted onion flakes

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/8-1/4 tsp minced fresh hot red chili pepper, or chili flakes to taste

1 tsp minced green onion tops 

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until all water is absorbed. Stir in minced hot pepper and green onion tops, recover and let sit 5 minutes. 

Spiced Apple & Avo Salad

1/2 Honeycrisp apple, diced

1/2 ripe avocado, diced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

cayenne sprinkled to taste

Stir all 4 ingredients together. The lemon juice keeps the apple and avo from turning brown; the cayenne turns up the heat and makes this a warming dish, even though it's raw. Eat at room temperature for best flavor and to help beat the chills.

Sweet Brown Rice & Toasted Sunflower Seed Salad

White balsamic vinegar and fresh mint are the star ingredients in this simple brown rice and sunflower seed salad. To make a complete meal, I served mine with hummus, diced avocado and two kinds of salsa on a bed of chopped romaine lettuce and homegrown mung bean sprouts.

Sweet Brown Rice & Toasted Sunflower Seed Salad

For the Oil-free Vinaigrette:

2 Tbs white balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs coconut aminos or tamari

1 medium clove garlic, minced or grated

1 tsp honey or agave

1/4 tsp cayenne 

Combine dressing ingredients, mix well with a fork and set aside while preparing the brown rice salad. 

For the Brown Rice Salad:

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup toasted sunflower seeds

3/4 cup diced tomatoes

3/4 cup diced cucumbers

8 black olives, pitted and chopped 

10 fresh peppermint leaves, minced

Start toasting sunflower seeds in a dry cast iron pan over medium to low heat, stirring as needed to prevent burning. While seeds are toasting, prep remaining salad ingredients. When seeds begin to brown nicely, remove pan from heat and allow to cool. Store cooled seeds in an airtight container until final step.  

Add brown rice to a large mixing bowl. Pour dressing over rice, stir well and allow it all to soak together for a few minutes.

Add tomatoes, cucumbers and olives. Stir gently to combine.

Stir in mint leaves, cover and chill. When ready to eat, mix in about two thirds of the toasted sunflower seeds. (This is done last so that the seeds will remain crunchy and crisp!) To serve, top salad with remaining seeds and garnish with additional mint leaves. 

This salad can be made ahead and keeps nicely for two or three days, even after the sunflower seeds are mixed in and become chewy rather than crisp. Enjoy leftovers as part of a composed salad, as shown below. Bon appetit! 💚