Quinoa for Breakfast...

I love mango and I love coconut, but I'm not so thrilled about quinoa...yet. I found this recipe on Joy the Baker's blog (which you should DEFINITELY check out...just don't compare her pics to mine...they're fabulous!) and it was rather tasty. Quinoa is definitely an acquired taste, and lately I have been seeing recipe after recipe for it. I will not give up yet! Especially since it was uber expensive at the grocery store and I have a ton of it left. This recipe definitely made progress in the "I'm getting to like it" direction. The only downside...it took me two tries to get the coconut right. Who knew toasting coconut would be the hardest part?!

Keen...Wa

This little mystery plant was new to me until very recently. Apparently, it's a great protein source, but it cooks up like rice. I tried it tonight with Salmon and Asparagus, and I felt healthier just standing in its presence:-) I mixed mine with lemon juice, fresh dill, a little butter, and a little salt. I love discovering new things like this! And thanks to my dear sister-in-law, I now know how to pronounce it...Keen-Wa!

Mmmmm....

I have a confession to make....I did not share any of this half of the squash. I ate it all myself because it was so delicious. And the funny thing is, I am not regretting it one bit as I sit here, pleasantly full, looking at it once again!

I figured we might not be seeing these veggies too much again until next fall, so I enjoyed using up my butternut squash. This recipe stemmed from someone saying 'stuffed squash' and I began to think..."what could I stuff into a squash?" Turns out this particular combination of ingredients worked great, so I'll share it with you, although it's the kind of thing I'm pretty sure you could wing with whatever is in your fridge and it would taste good:-) Nonetheless, if you're a recipe kind of cook, here goes:

1 Butternut squash

1 c. Wild Rice

1/2 c. Brown Rice

1 pint Brown Portabella mushrooms

2 handfuls Pecans

1/2 c.Vegetable broth

An unknown number of Fresh Thyme sprigs (to your taste)

1 Granny Smith Apple

Happy Feasting:-)

Not your ordinary Sandwich...

I found this recipe in Real Simple Magazine and thought it would be a fun twist on an ordinary sandwich. I love the bright springy colors too! It's made up of a boiled egg, tomato, lettuce, kalamata olive spread, and a drizzle of olive oil. I haven't eaten it yet, so I'll keep you posted:-)

A Classic treat with a Twist~

I baked these yummy Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies for a friend's birthday, and it's probably best that I'm giving most of them away....soon because it's hard to say 'no' to a jumbo, ooey, gooey, chocolately cookie! These seemingly classic looking cookies have bits of sweet and sugary coconut hidden inside, which I think adds a nice texture. This recipe was a Taste of Home recipe that I followed more or less, using what I had in my cupboard. Here's the recipe if you'd like to make them yourself!

The First Grill of the Season...

It's always exciting to me when I get to use my little gas grill, especially for the first time this season! I had heard of a pineapple burger before but didn't have a recipe, so I made it up myself. I used a can of crushed pineapple (with the juice drained), soy sauce, egg, and bread crumbs. They turned out really well and went great with swiss cheese, tomato, and lettuce. There was just a hint of pineapple flavor in them, which made it feel slightly tropical:-) So, even though it's cold and snowy today, Happy Spring everyone!