Smelling our way to supper

W brings home a few bags of packaged salad. I choose one, open it, and dump it into a big bowl. As I inhale deeply, supper comes to me.

W shaves 2/3 of a ripe pear into the bowl and I toss in:

• a big handful of pine nuts
• 2 sliced fresh mushrooms

and raid the cupboard to whip up a dressing:

• 2 tbsp. blueberry maple syrup
• 2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• flower pepper (Trader Joes)
• S. African smoke seasoning (TJ)
• seasoning salt (Lawrey's) 

It sits on the counter until we're ready to eat, the flavors mixing and combining.

We're hungry so don't have a lot of time to prep a main course. We have leftover rice, which starts my nose twitching. I heat 2 tbsp. of oil and stir-fry:

• 2 c. cooked rice
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 diced carrot
• a sprinkle of dried onion
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped garlic

When it's almost done, I add:

• 1 tbsp. of reduced sodium soy sauce. 

I'm getting better at tossing things around the frying pan without dropping them all over the stove. The chef at NU told me practice makes perfect and boldness in the flick of the wrist is a good thing. She was right!

Before the rice goes to the table, I stir in 1 tsp. sesame oil.

The salad and rice are quite yummy, especially with a few tiny pieces of smoked salmon on the side.

Rating: 4/5
Taste: savory, sweet, and satisfying. A handful of fresh blueberries would have rocked the salad. The fried rice - very good but it occurs to me post-meal that I could have added 2 tsp. smoked black sesame seeds for color and texture.
Time to fix: 10-15 minutes
Calories: 700?
Tea: Jasmine green

Keen on Queen-what? (Quinoa)

Before I know it, it's 12:30. My stomach has long since passed along breakfast and wants refilling. I head for the kitchen when it strikes me: I'm hungry for quinoa (keen-wah), a high-protein grain that we hardly ever eat.

The package says 1/2 c to 1 cup water or broth. I still have vegan broth cubes that my sister-in-law brought from Germany. They're old, so I should use them up. Old old. (About 3-5 years old?) I pop one into water from the hot tap and let it sit while I measure out the quinoa.

After everything's combined in a pot and happily boiling away 15 minutes, it's time to think of accompaniments. At the top of the pantry is a bag of wasabi peas. Perfect! They'll add crunch and heat. But not yet.

Back in the conservatory, I snag the tops off a head of romaine, a carrot, an onion, and a lemon. There's an avocado beside the sink, so I think, "Lemon and avocado. Yup," and put them away for a side dish. Later.

After everything gets washed, I mince a small slice of onion, grate the carrot, and slice the lettuce into fine strips. A splash of oil in a small non-stick pan, onions go in on medium until they wilt, then I add the grated carrots, stir, and turn off the heat.

It's time to finish the quinoa. I turn off the burner, toss the carrot and onion mix on top of the grains, and put the lid on.

What plate shall I use? The meal is colorful, so I choose a subdued pewter green with beautifully ruffled edges (Pier 1 Imports).

Time to cut the avocado and squeeze lemon juice on it. Put lettuce and a few last shavings of carrot line the bowl.

I lift the pot lid: ah, what savory scents. A few stirs of vegetable and grains, then some spoonfulls on top of the lettuce. Time to open the bag of wasabi peas - oh! it's got individual portions. (Goodie! the rest will stay fresh for another time.) Last thing to do is sprinkle peas on top before I take a bite.

What a superb and unexpected mix of fresh flavors! Sweet carrot and lettuce, savory onion and grain, zippy peas, creamy and slightly sour avocado on the side...

Rating: 4/5 I'd make it again. Even for company.
Taste: Excellent texture, taste, and surprises as I bite down on (crunch!) the occasional pea.
Calories: 550
Tea: Lavender Earl Grey, as dessert