My goals for this year include eating more seasonal foods and locally grown produce when possible. We belong to a CSA and get locally grown, organic produce most of the year. With the recent freezes in North Texas, the farmers lost most of their crops. We won’t get any more CSA produce until the end of this month.
I am grateful for the quality produce we’re able to get through our local grocery stores. Learning what’s in season took a little research on my part as I’m used to buying whatever I’m in the mood to eat. Trying to eat seasonally has helped me branch out into new foods.
There are many reasons to eat local and seasonal, some of the most important being:
- Produce tastes better in it’s peak season.
- Eating locally grown produce helps support your local economy.
- According to NRDC, shipping food in from foreign countries contributes to global warming and pollution. I’m not sure I want to eat a tomato that was grown in the Netherlands, shipped to the U.S., then trucked to my local grocery store. Waiting until they’re in season would make them taste that much sweeter.
I found three great resources online that will tell you what’s in season in your part of the US:
Here’s a winter salad that I love using a favorite winter green, kale. It’s light enough to be a salad and hearty enough to warm your chilly bones during the winter months.
Reminder:
My good friend, Alta, from Tasty Eats at Home is having a Xagave give-away for a free bottle of agave and a cookbook featuring agave recipes. Stop by and enter today!
This post is linked to What Can I Eat that’s Gluten Free at The Gluten Free Homemaker and Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.
This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart Living.
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic quinoa, rinsed well
- 2 cups organic chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pound kale, tough stems trimmed and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 clove of garlic, grated on a microplane
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1/2 ounce fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved with a carrot peeler
Instructions
- Place well rinsed quinoa and chicken stock in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat.
- Heat one teaspoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add kale and cook for 12 – 15 minutes until tender, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Move to a serving platter and cover. Add remaining two teaspoons of olive oil to skillet and heat. Add mushroom and cook for several minutes, then add garlic. Cook for another 5 minutes until the mushrooms start to release their juices. Add quinoa, then stir in fresh thyme and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place quinoa and mushroom mixture on top of kale. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese.
Lauren
posted on January 5, 2010 at 8:41 pm
That looks like a fantastic hearty salad! I love kale, so I’m sure that with everything else you’ve got here, this would be a heavenly salad =D.
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Alta (Tasty Eats At Home)
posted on January 6, 2010 at 7:21 am
Ooh I love this. WOuld really enjoy it for lunch!
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Emily Ziegler
posted on January 6, 2010 at 8:42 am
This is such an awesome, nutritious recipe! Thanks for sharing!
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dokuzuncubulut
posted on January 6, 2010 at 9:37 am
Beautiful presentation. What a pretty dish!
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Katrina (gluten free gidget)
posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:00 am
OMG that looks amazing! Bookmark!
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Winnie
posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:09 am
Love it! Too funny- I am just now writing a post for the shrimp and kale dish I served over quinoa last night!
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Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
posted on January 6, 2010 at 10:42 am
Sounds like a delicious way to serve up quinoa! Love mushrooms and kale….
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Noelle (An Opera Singerin the Kitchen)
posted on January 6, 2010 at 11:31 am
This is a winner!
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Dee Merritt
posted on January 6, 2010 at 11:58 am
This looks great Amy – too funny, we had quinoa last night for dinner. My husband made a Curried Lamb Quinoa dish that was sooo good.
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My Man's Belly
posted on January 6, 2010 at 2:24 pm
This looks delicious. I’ve been cooking with black quinoa lately. A little bit different flavor, but soooo good.
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Linda
posted on January 6, 2010 at 7:39 pm
That looks delicious. My husband would never go for it, but it would make a great lunch for me to eat when he’s at work.
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gunpowder tea
posted on January 7, 2010 at 12:35 am
Delicious! I love different salads because they are not only tasty but also good for health. Tha
Thanks for this salad recipe.
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Shelly @ Experimental Culinary Pursuits
posted on January 7, 2010 at 12:18 am
I love this combination. Very hearty and healthy at the same time!
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Hallie @ Daily Bites
posted on January 7, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Not being much of a mushroom fan, I normally don’t bother to read through recipes with them. But this one looks really good. Perhaps the quinoa and kale will help me to see past my aversion to mushrooms and give them a try.
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Amy Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
@Hallie @ Daily Bites, Or, leave them out and add sauteed carrots, steamed broccoli, sauteed zucchini…they’d all be delish!
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Brian
posted on January 7, 2010 at 6:20 pm
This sounds great. It looks a lot healthier than some of the stuff I’ve been eating lately. Thanks for the idea.
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gfe--gluten free easily
posted on January 7, 2010 at 6:20 pm
This looks really great, Amy! It’s only this year that I’ve learned to really enjoy mushrooms. They look wonderful in this salad. Love the shaved Parmesan cheese topping, too.
Shirley
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Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS
posted on January 8, 2010 at 10:48 am
I’m a big fan of quinoa salads (we just had one yesterday) – yours looks fabulous!
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Miranda
posted on January 23, 2010 at 4:39 pm
I have decided since Christmas to start trying to eat more healthy. I have lost 10 lbs.
Recipes like this is going to make it WAY easy to eat healthy.
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Scrumptious
posted on March 1, 2010 at 2:43 am
Thanks for posting those links to seasonal food resources. My blog is all about CSAs and local, seasonal food, and I’ve been looking for resources like that for a while! The ones you posted are fantastic!
I just came across your blog tonight and have been devouring your archives. (I am really hoping to cut refined sugar out of my baking someday soon, so you are inspiring me!)
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Ellen
posted on December 6, 2010 at 8:26 am
How does this salad hold up cold? Or is it best served warm? Looks delicious!!
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Vanessa aka Gluten Free Chickadee
posted on September 25, 2011 at 7:27 pm
This is too yummy. I changed it up a bit and added in some organic applewood smoked bacon, onion, and then mixed in some spicy mustard to the mushroom/onion and bacon mixture, then put on top of the quinoa and kale. Since I am eating dairy free, I omitted the parmesan. Oh, and I used the remaining bacon grease to cook the kale in. Almost like the spinach, onions and bacon my grandma used to make!
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Amy Reply:
September 26th, 2011 at 7:58 am
@Vanessa aka Gluten Free Chickadee, Thanks for sharing your variations, Vanessa! Sounds yummy!
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