Sides – a hippie with a minivan

Quinoa salad…

I hadn’t tried Quinoa until last year but since then I have been hooked.

My favourites are the coconut quinoa that Annie shared with me… and this Quinoa salad…

it is so easy to make, simple and fresh and full of flavour…

It is one of those non-recipes…where you just throw things in and adjust the taste as needed…

First, cook the Quinoa the same as you would rice….

When cooked and cooled a bit (but still a bit warm), add some chopped up veggies…I like adding peppers and carrots and celery. Then add a bit of olive oil, some salt or tamari to taste, some fresh (or dried) parsley, a bit of garlic powder and I like adding a bit of curry powder which seems to bring all of the other flavours out…

This is just a simple salad that can be eaten as a side, and because it is so complete nutritionally it can also be a meal in itself and keeps well and travels well…

Twice baked Potatoes…

We usually don’t eat that many potatoes… but with Spring here finally we decided to BBQ some steaks the other day and Simon made a special request for these…

Twice baked potatoes are delicious and so versatile…

Here is the way I make them….

First… bake the potatoes….

my favourite way of doing that is by coating the potatoes with olive oil (put some oil in my hand and rub the potatoes) then prick them with a fork and bake at 350 for about 45-50 min… Even if you are not making twice baked potatoes, this is my favourite way to make baked potatoes because the olive oil makes the skins crispy…

then you cut the potato and carefully scoop the inside out into a bowl…. (leave enough potato for the skins to hold their shape and I use a cloth or my baking mitts to hold the potato while it is hot…)

Mash the potatoes in the bowl with whatever you like (I added butter, sour cream, green onions, salt, pepper, and a pinch of garlic powder) then scoop the mashed potatoes back into the skins… (add a bit of cheese on top if you wish) and then bake again until the tops get bits of brown…

So easy and just a great way to make a baked potato more interesting…

Baked Potato…

I finally took a picture of this…

what a great way to eat a potato…

Slice (not all the way to the bottom) and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle of salt and pepper and a bit of smoked Paprika…

I have also made them with slices of garlic or onion between the potoato slices…

Bake for about 45 min at 350…

Cauliflower "popcorn"

I found this Recipe somewhere on the net a while back but I don’t remember where…

It is really simple though and the result is a great snack (or side dish) that my kids seem to love!

1 Head Cauliflower cut in small peices

3-4 tsp of oil

sprinkle of salt

In a bowl toss it all together and then spread on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 400 degree oven for about an hour…. toss it a bit about every 15 min…

That’s it!!

the cauliflower browns beautifully and the more it browns the sweeter it is…it is so tasty!!

Salt Cured Salmon…

I was buying some Cured Salmon from the fish store once in a while because I love it… but it is expensive!

A few weeks though I saw recipe and I found out that it is really easy to make… pretty much just pack the salmon in Salt and whatever else you want… So I tried it… and I can’t stop making it since then…

What I have been doing is taking the filet, brushing a bit of liquid smoke on it (to give it a bit of a smoked Salmon taste) putting a few tbsp of salt over it plus pepper, dill, sugar and granulated onion… then I weight it down with some cans of tomatoes and stick it in the fridge…

After about 12 hours I drain it a bit and add a bit of everything if needed… and then put it back in the fridge… another 12 hours later I drain it again and put a few paper towels under it to saok up the rest of the moistur and stick it back in the fridge… A few hours later it should have a slight rubbery feel to it… then it is time to slice…