With its bright, sprightly flavors, this is a wonderful springtime dish. But there’s nothing to say you can’t serve it with a green salad in summer or roasted vegetables in winter. To make the sunflower seeds more easily digestible, soak them overnight beforehand.
3 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
1 cup raw sunflower seeds, presoaked if you like
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Bring the water and salt to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Add the quinoa, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, toast the sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are aromatic and start to pop. Add the sunflower seeds to the quinoa, along with the lemon juice and oil, and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.
Variations
Quinoa with Herbs and Toasted Sunflower Seeds: Increase the amount of sunflower seeds to 1 1/4 cups. Omit the lemon juice and increase the amount of olive oil to 7 tablespoons. Add 1/2 cup of chopped marjoram or oregano leaves when you stir everything together. Taste and adjust the seasonings; you may want more salt.
Quinoa Tabouli: Add 1 cup of chopped parsley and 1 cup of chopped scallions when you stir everything together.
Swap pumpkin seeds for the sunflower seeds.
Forgo toasting the sunflower seeds; instead, add them to the saucepan when you add the quinoa.
Published by Editor in Chief of Modern Hippie Mag on May 9, 2012
Interest in gluten-free foods has surged as an increasing number of people have been diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye, or have discovered that they have a wheat allergy or sensitivity.
Those facing dietary restrictions due to a gluten allergy or sensitivity, take heart! Organic Gourmet Leslie Cerier presents gluten-free, vegetarian recipes the whole family can enjoy! In her new cookbook, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook (New Harbinger, $17.95), Leslie includes recipes for a wide variety of whole-grain foods including pancakes & waffles, casseroles, pasta dishes, and pastries! Within the pages of her cookbook you will find a wealth information about gluten-free whole grain flours and rice that can be used to create flavorful and delicious appetizers, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts.
As a pioneer organic chef, Leslie is a national authority on wheat-free baking. In addition to innovative recipes, her cookbook offers fun and easy tips for:
shopping green and using seasonal ingredients
understanding nutrition basics
incorporating fiber in your diet
creating food combinations for complete proteins
More about Leslie:
Leslie teaches exciting “garden to table” hands-on cooking classes in some of the most prestigious centers of holistic evolution and organic lifestyle worldwide. Her New England based business includes custom culinary work for private clients, as well as private and group cooking instruction and coaching. Cerier is a pioneer and national authority on gluten-free cooking and baking, the entire spectrum of whole grains, and cooking with wild foods. Her specialty in culinary nutrition has led to her being much sought after by health professionals and private clients to help them translate challenging dietary allergy issues into culinary success and meal satisfaction.
Amazing Fruit Crisp with Teff Flour, Maca, Almonds, Organic, Local Berries and Apples
Whether you are gluten-free, vegan, or omnivore, who can resist fruit crisp hot out of the oven? I have been baking and eating fruit crisps using teff flour for over 20 years and loving it. Here is a tasty variation, where I swapped a tablespoon of super food maca for some of the teff flour. You can do that with any flour; swap a little maca for about a tablespoon of flour. You will find yummy fruit crisp recipes in my cookbooks, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook and Going Wild in the Kitchen. Also, you can add some almonds to the sweet maple syrup sweetened crumble on top. I also love to use extra virgin coconut oil. Local organic apples, along with fresh picked then frozen strawberries, raspberries and wild cranberries line the bottom of the baking dish before the crumble goes on top. Delish! Feel free to mix and match seasonal fruits all year round! A generous touch of organic cinnamon and organic vanilla extract “Spices this Up” and makes this a “Great Meal with Great Grains”. “Improvisational Cooking for Health and Vitality and Pleasure, too. All major themes of my cooking classes and cookbooks.
Serve it for breakfast with yogurt on top, or for enjoy as a snack or dessert with whipped cream or ice cream. Since oats are a complete protein, this is a great meal with great grains any time of day!
This is the best brownie recipe I know of-gluten free or otherwise. Enjoy them warm out of the oven. Or, in the unlikely event that you have leftovers, rest assured that they get better every day.
2 eggs
1 cup apple or pear juice
1/4 cup melted extra-virgin coconut oil or butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup finely ground raw hazelnuts (skins on) or hazelnut flour (see page 00)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a 9-inch round pan or a standard loaf pan.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients, holding back 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, and stir until thoroughly combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, scraping the bowl to get every last speck of chocolaty goodness. Decorate the top with the remaining chocolate chips.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with only melted chocolate on it). Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and eating-if you can wait that long!
I was featured as a guest blogger on ListProducer.com
Paula Rizzo says, “I became acquainted with Leslie Cerier, The Organic Gourmet, through The Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham and his wife, Zoe Helene and she knows her stuff when it comes to gluten-free grains. Here’s a few that she thinks everyone can try with ease.”
10 Gluten-Free Grains For Everyone
by Leslie Cerier
Amaranth is a tiny, slightly nutty flavored ancient grain. The Aztecs believed it held the secret to long life and vitality and celebrated holidays by eating toasted amaranth. It’s a complete protein, has more iron than most grains, and is also a great source of many other minerals. Whole amaranth is delicious on its own or cooked in combination with other grains in pilafs, and in warming morning porridges with oatmeal, dried fruits, and coconut.
Buckwheat is a complete protein, rich in iron, selenium, and zinc, and a fair source of B vitamins. It cooks very quickly (just fifteen minutes). Buckwheat groats are white to pale green and have a mild flavor. You can cook them as is, sprout, or roast them, and buy them already roasted, also known as kasha. With its eastern European roots, kasha is a natural in stuffed cabbage rolls, in croquettes, marinated salads, and kasha varnishkes, a dish made with sautéed onions and pasta.
Corn is unusual in being both a fresh vegetable and a grain available in a rainbow of colors, each with a slightly different nutritional profile, so mix it up and cook with different varieties. Like amaranth and quinoa, corn has a long history of cultivation in the New World and was venerated as a sacred food. Because all varieties of corn are low in tryptophan and lysine, it isn’t a complete protein, but all varieties of corn are a good source of magnesium and thiamin, and a fairly good source of a few other minerals and B vitamins. Corn grits, millet and teff can be cooked together in the same pot since they all take 15-20 minutes. Corn grits and polenta are delicious for a quick breakfast, or at any time of day. For a super main dish made with grits, add sautéed onion, kale, and cheddar cheese.
Millet is a small, round, yellow grain originating about five thousand years ago in China, where it’s still a staple. Like most grains, it tends to be a little low in lysine, so it isn’t a complete protein. It is, however, a great source of magnesium, and a fair source of other minerals and some of the B vitamins.Millet has a wonderful sweet taste. You can toss it into any soup or stew about twenty minutes before it’s ready (this is a great way to thicken a dish that’s turned out too thin.) When cooked, it sticks together, and once it cools you can slice it, making it a great choice for polenta, croquettes, and loaves.
Oats are often grown in close proximity to wheat and also often processed in the same facilities. For those with wheat intolerance, this shouldn’t pose a problem. However, if you have celiac disease, be sure to look for packages labeled gluten-free, which are carefully processed and packaged to avoid cross-contamination. Oats have a variety of health benefits. They can help lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, and prevent heart disease and cancer. They also enhance immune system function, help stabilize blood sugar, and may even be helpful for insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, and a variety of other health problems. Oats are a complete protein, high in fiber, thiamin, and minerals. Oats make a delicious breakfast cereal, cooked alone or with amaranth, teff, or goji berries, coconut, or whatever dried or fresh fruit you like, and maybe a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Quinoa, similar to amaranth and buckwheat, doesn’t come from a cereal grass, so it isn’t technically a grain. Like most of the other psuedograins, quinoa is a great source of protein—one of the best plant sources, in fact—because it contains all of the essential amino acids and is rich in folic acid and several minerals. Like corn, quinoa comes in a rainbow of colors: tan, red, and, black. Each has a slightly different texture and flavor, but generally speaking, quinoa has a light sesame-like flavor, cooks in 15 minutes; tastes great on its own or mixed with other grains, and it works beautifully in stews and salads.
Rice, Whole grain rice is fairly rich in fiber, niacin, a few other B vitamins, and several minerals. But when it’s processed into white rice, almost all of its valuable nutrients are lost, so it offers little beyond starch. For those on a gluten-free diet, rice comes to the rescue as pasta in the form of numerous types of Asian noodles, as well as a few good brands of rice pasta that you’ll find in most natural food stores. Rice has been bred to survive and thrive in a broad range of conditions, leading to countless varieties in existence today.
Sorghum, also known as milo, is a small round grain with the texture of pearled barley. While it isn’t a nutritional powerhouse compared to other grains, it is a good source of iron, potassium, and fiber, and also provides a few B vitamins. It’s even lower in lysine than most grains, so the quality of its protein isn’t as good. When buying sorghum, look for sweet white sorghum. It’s the best-tasting and most digestible variety. And don’t be put off by “white” in the name. That’s not white as in refined, it means the grain itself is a pale color. It has a flavor similar to untoasted buckwheat, and a texture that makes it a good stand-in for barley. Try it in marinated salads, pilafs, and soups.
Teff nutrients concentrate in the germ and the bran and because it is so tiny, smaller than the period at the end of this sentence, the germ and bran make up almost the whole grain, making it impractical to refine, so any form of teff is a whole-grain product, by default. It offers fairly high-quality protein, but like most true grains is somewhat lacking in lysine. It’s high in fiber, iron and some of the B vitamins and is also a good source of calcium, and other minerals. Teff’s tiny grains have a texture like poppy seeds and a mildly sweet flavor reminiscent of chocolate, hazelnuts, and molasses. (The flavor of ivory teff is milder.) Whole grain teff cooks quickly (just fifteen to twenty minutes) and blends well with a wide variety of vegetables, seasonings, other grains, and fresh and dried fruits.
Wild Rice is a better source of protein than most true grains, containing a fairly good amount of lysine. It’s also high in many minerals and some of the B vitamins. It has a delicious nutty flavor and a pleasantly chewy texture. It blends well with other varieties of rice, making it a natural for pilafs. True wild rice has defied domestication, so most of the wild rice sold in the United States is from hybridized versions grown in rice paddies in Minnesota and California. Support the natives (plants and human) and seek out truly wild rice.
Adapted and excerpted with permission from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook By Leslie Cerier (New Harbinger Publications) www.lesliecerier.com
Living Without’s Favorite Books: Gluten-Free Vegetarian
Concerned that dietary restrictions may mean the end of menu variety? Worry no more. Organic chef Leslie Cerier’s Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook (New Harbinger) will open up your culinary world. Known for her no-holds creative cooking and appreciation of the earth’s natural bounty, Cerier brings the best out of gluten-free whole grains in a way that is simple yet sophisticated. This seasonal, vegetarian cookbook instructs on creating sauces, dressings, gravies and other toppings to enhance flavor and appeal, includes info on shopping green and covers important nutritional basics, like food combos for complete proteins for vegetarians. Intelligent recipes to delight and expand the palate.
Cook like an artist. Think about color, texture and shape. Heighten your creativity while engaging your senses.
Corn Grits with Sauteed Onion, Kale and Cheddar from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook by Leslie Cerier, and Photograph by Leslie Cerier
Here is the interview I did with Eileen Williams December 3rd, 2010: WE discuss how to cook like an artist, what to make for great holiday brunches, holiday meals, what is gluten; what grains have gluten and which grains are gluten-free; which gluten-free whole grains are complete proteins, gluten-free gourmet vegan recipes and vegetarian recipes for the holidays, quick and easy vegan recipes and vegetarian holiday recipes, and more. Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook, Leslie Cerier’s new cookbook has it all:
Sara Karl taking a photo of me taking a photo of the breads in my organic gourmet kitchen
Pressured Cooked in a ceramic Insert for a moist cake-like bread
Sara Karl taking a photo of me taking a photo of the breads in my organic gourmet kitchen
Tastes like cake, moist and delicious: Here’s a tasty sourdough bread that I mixed up with all Organic Ingredients: local wheat and spelt flour, Cambodian Mekong Flower Rice™ and coconut flour. I pressured cooked this delicious sourdough bread inside a ceramic crock inside a pressure cooker instead of baking it.
Rice Bread
Here is a delicious variation of the sourdough bread that I made last night. This one is from my The Quick and Easy Organic Gourmet cookbook. And there will be recipes of how to cook gluten-free grains using inserts in my upcoming cookbook: Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook due out this July.
Simple to make.
3 cups leftover rice, even better if sour
3 cups whole wheat bread flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Add water to knead about 1/8-1/4 cup
Put rice and flour in a mixing bowl. Rub them together to break up the rice. Add salt and water. Use your hands to knead into a dough. Knead for 10 minutes. Cover it with a damp, warm, thin towel. Let it rise for 8 hours.
Knead the dough again for 10 minutes inside the big mixing bowl or on a lightly floured pastry board. Add more wheat or another kind of flour, if dough is very sticky. Oil the insert, or a bread pan. Put the bread dough inside. Cover with a warm damp towel. Let it rise, at least, 8 hours or overnight.
TAKE OFF THE TOWEL! Pressure cook in the insert for 1 hour. OR
Bake the bread at 300 degree for 15 minutes, then, at 350 degrees for 1 1/2-2 hours.
Open the insert when the pressure comes down. When you look at bread, the top may seem wet, but it will dry out as it cools. Take out the insert. When it is cool enough to handle, turn it upside down onto a cooling rack. Bread slides out easily.
Interest in gluten-free foods has surged as an increasing number of people have been diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye, or have discovered that they have a wheat allergy or sensitivity.
