dinner with sid

sid and i have one last sunday dinner before we move to big cities far from here. and far from each other. [pardon the excessive nostalgia that will appear here for a while, the next couple of weeks will be bringing many "lasts"] today and next week i wanted something special. these dinners had started out as multi course meals with side dishes and wine and took on average 3 hours. well the three of us who lived together is now down to one and the dinners are much less elaborate, typically with a main dish, salad and dessert. today it was a green bean salad and a brown rice dish that turned out slightly spicer than i prefer. i am a midwestern girl who was raised on a mix of traditional irish and german cooking. two cuisines that are very low on the spicy/hot scale. well sid is from india and while he always enjoys my meals, asks me when i am going to learn how to cook spicy food. i always laugh and tell him that the food he enjoys makes my eyes water. well, after three years of eating together and two years of me cooking for him, i have finally caved and made a spicy dinner, even if it was a wee bit spicier than i normally like.
Chipotle Merlot Rice
1 sweet italian red pepper
1 onion
1 cup merlot
1 large clove garlic
1 cup dry sweet brown rice
1 t honey
1 can tomato paste
1 T chipotle chili powder
1/2 t chille powder
1 T olive oil

Cook rice according to package directions. About 10 minutes before the rice will be ready, heat olive oil a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, cook until the onions are translucent. Add the merlot and chilli powders. Stir and add the pepper and honey. When rice is ready add rice and tomato paste. Cook until flavors blend and all ingredients are cooked. This can be served with plain yogurt to cool the heat. This was another creation meant to reduce the quantity of food in my pantry. It ended up quite deliciously.

The greenbean salad was just vinagrette, parmesan cheese and raw green beans. Delicious.

because i really have nothing in my fridge...

my fridge contains all the staples of a college apartment: beer (both gf and non gf for my friends), more condiments than you could shake a stick at, a wee bit of parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes. yes, that really all that is in my fridge, and i didnt feel like defrosting any of the meals that my mom made for me. it must have been the lure of procrastinating on another final project. but a pantry full (my pantry is about half of a cabinet in a teeny galley kitchen) of quinoa the wonder food came to the recue. it has replaced coucous which replaced ramen. i also decided that coconut milk is my new favorite fat. the other day i blended it with ice and coffee for a delicious treat. and tonight quinoa and some curry that my best friend brought me from india and the coconut milk made me a delicious dinner. i used the coconut milk in place of the ghee and it complemented the sweet flavor of the curry. i also used a whole onion, a clove of garlic, paprika, chili and about half a pint of cherry tomatoes.i think i eat better now than i ever did before.

damn, im good :)

i made a fabulous dinner from all things left in the apartment (i am moving in 4 weeks and am attempting to eat as much food from my pantry as possible as to avoid having to move as much of this as possible). and besides there is a forecast for snow. snow? in the middle of april? in cental illinois? yes. and i really don't want to turn my heat back on...so, hearty dinner made from the goodies in my panty.

Red Quinoa with my special sauce
(and yes i call it my special sauce...it is just that good)

ingredients:
1 cup inca red quinoa
2 cups chicken stock or water
1 can muir glenn fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 large cloves garlic (you can add more if you love garlic and don't have a hot date)
1-2 teaspoons thyme
1-2 teaspoons marjoram
olive oil
1 cup red wine (i used a wine cube cabernet sauvignon)

to make the quinoa (i used inca red simply because it looked like fun when i was shopping) put a teaspoon or so olive oil in the bottom of a large sauce pan over medium heat. when the pan heats up add the quinoa and toast (?) the grains for about 2 minutes (it will start to smell nutty) add the liquid (either stock or water) and bring to a boil. stir and reduce to a simmer stirring occaisionally for about 15 minutes (all liquid should be cooked out and the germ layer should be translucent).

while cooking the quinoi add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat. when pan is hot add garlic thyme and marjoram. cook until the carlic starts to turn gloden brown. add the cann of tomatoes and the wine. cook sauce until it thickens. add salt and pepper to taste. if you like more sauce/ toppings double the ingredients or add a can of organic tomato sauce and add more garlic, wine and herbs to taste. if the sauce is too acidic you can add a pinch of cane sugar to augment it.

mix together, and voila, red quinoa with special sauce.