The downside(or benefit depending on how you look at it) of making things like quinoa in big batches is that you have the same old food meal after meal. Luckily, quinoa is one grain that’s easy to dress up. You can eat it in the morning in place of oatmeal, or later on in place of rice. Here I used it to make a tasty, higher protein version of fried rice.

I’ve never really found rice interesting, even as fried rice from a halfway decent Chinese takeout restaurant. This, however, I could eat meal after meal. The vegetables and egg add a play of textures and the quinoa has a nice nutty flavor to it to compliment the sesame oil. Add some stir-fried tofu or chicken and you’re good to go.

Of course, if you have leftover rice you could make the same recipe subbing in rice for quinoa and have a more traditional dish.

Fried Quinoa

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(makes 2 servings)

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce(use wheat-free tamari for a gluten-free meal)
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped into bite-sized chunks
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 4 eggs

Method:

1. Heat the oil and soy sauce in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until the oil starts to bubble.
2. Add in the onion and sauté until translucent.
3. Add in the quinoa, pepper, and bean sprouts. Toss the pan to mix. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa on the bottom of the pan begins to pop.
4. Crack the eggs directly into the pan. Lightly mix them in with the other ingredients. Continue mixing until the all the whites and yolks have cooked through.
5. Plate and serve hot. Can be kept in the refrigerator and reheated as leftovers for up to 3 days.

I ate this as leftovers and it was most definitely better the next day, with a strong, nutty sesame flavor and crunchy bean sprouts.

This school year I’m doing something different. For the first time, I’m completely off of meal plan. That means I’m making every meal for myself, 3(who am I kidding? 5) times a day.

I did enjoy dropping into the cafeteria and piling up options from the salad bar from time to time, or bumping into friends to have dinner with. But this undoubtedly feels better for me. I feel comfortable grocery shopping and making meals for myself, even if half of those meals are made in a microwave and completely unphotogenic. And it’s still easy to eat meals with friends, just at different places.

There are times, however, when it’s inconvenient. Tuesday and Thursdays I have class all day. There’s simply no time to cook. Because of that, I usually make meals like this frittata the day before to heat up and serve when I’m in a rush—a much better option than fast food. While a traditional frittata is baked, this one is made entirely on the stovetop; it’s for no reason other than I hate moving things around, and this is easy enough that anyone can do it. . 

Stovetop Kale And Mushroom Frittata

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 3 or 4 servings):

• 12 medium eggs
• 3/4 cup mushrooms
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 cup chopped kale
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. In a large bowl, crack and beat the eggs. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a 9 or 10-inch frying pan with a lid over medium heat. Sauté the onions and mushrooms until both are cooked. Remove these from the pan briefly.
3. Put the pan back on the stove and pour in the beaten eggs. After 10 seconds or so, evenly distribute the mushrooms and onions throughout the batter.
4. Gently press the kale on top into the raw egg and put the lid on the pan.
5. Leave the frittata on the stove for 10 or 15 minutes undisturbed as it cooks. It will be ready when the egg in the center of the pan has set.
6. When cooked, remove the pan from the stove and gently jiggle it to unstick the frittata from the bottom. Move to a plate to cut and serve.

I get about 3 meals out of one pan. Frittatas are great because they work for any meal of the day. I’d happily eat this for all 3.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions on tempeh recently. I want to put all my thoughts into a post about it but until then you’ll only get recipes, which is pretty good considering half the time I eat tempeh it’s raw, cold from the fridge. I would not suggest eating it that way if it’s you’re first time; it would be a horrible, bland introduction to something that can be so tasty.

If tofu is soy chicken, tempeh is soy beef. It’s much firmer, earthier and has a chew to it. Naturally it’s a great vegetarian substitute for beef in Asian dishes, like beef and broccoli. Since broccoli was one of the three vegetables I liked growing up(the other being carrots and olives), beef and broccoli was what I always chose on Chinese take-out night. This recipe keeps all those same flavors and textures, but with whole food ingredients anyone can enjoy.

You can substitute rice vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar for a more traditional ingredient list. I like apple cider vinegar here because it replicates the sweet, fruity flavor of plum sauce common in Asian cooking.

Tempeh And Broccoli(inspired by Caitlin)

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(makes 2 servings):

• 1 block of tempeh, diced
• 6 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon soy sauce(or wheat-free tamari)
• 2 Tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, preferably toasted
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups broccoli, steamed
• 1/2 onion, julienned
• 1 bell pepper, julienned(optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Combine the tempeh, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, agave, and chili powder in a large pan and heat it on a burner set to medium-high.
2. Cook for about 5 minutes flipping once until the liquid thickens up like a sauce.
3. Add in the broccoli, onion, pepper, and garlic powder. Continue cooking over medium heat until the moisture has boiled off of the pan and the onions turn soft(about 5 minutes).
4. Remove from the heat and season with salt. Plate and serve hot.

When this is cooked the tempeh should be fork-tender with a sweet, nutty flavor and fall apart in your mouth. It’s a great introduction to a food that could become your best friend.

Until I started reading food blogs, I would have sworn capers were a type of fish that came in a can that no one except for old ladies and Nigel Thornberry ate(Does anyone know what I’m talking about?). But then I saw them, green little pearls that sort of look like fish eggs, except they were being used in vegan recipes. That only confused me more.

One day I was working in my restaurant and our job was to make the salsa verde used as a pork topper. The ingredients for it are simple: Parsley, jalapenos, shallots, and capers. I asked my shift manager what capers were, figuring she’d know having gone through culinary school, but her guess was as good as mine.

I went home that night and looked it up online and found out that capers are actually buds from the caper bush that are pickled to give a tart flavor to—the perfect touch to any dish(Side note: How did people know things before the internet? Seriously, I have no clue). I was excited to find them in Trader Joes and even more excited to make a dish with them. I’m leaving town on Friday and had a few too many open cans of beans in my refrigerator so I combined them to make this delicious bean salad.

Bean Salad With Capers

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings:

• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup cannellini beans
• 1/3 cup sliced black olives
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons capers, drained
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Method

1. In a large bowl, toss together the beans, olives, capers, and oil until evenly mixed.
2. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve room temperature.

If you want to make this starting with unopened cans of beans, use a full can of chickpeas, black beans, and cannellini, 1/2 cup of olives, 2 Tablespoons of capers and the same amount of oil.

Fess up: Did you know what capers are?

I really love making beans from scratch. It’s kind of like the vegetarian version of roasting a chicken: You take something from inedible to edible making the whole house smell great in the process. I probably hadn’t made this recipe for a good year, which is a shame because I liked it so much the first time. The flavor is incomparable to store-bought brands—truly unique. It’s sweet with a spicy kick that lingers.

There’s also a homemade Worcestershire sauce recipe at the bottom since looking for a bottled vegetarian/gluten-free sauce is sort of like looking for the Holy Grail.

Spicy Maple Baked Beans

Ingredients:

• 1lb dry white beans
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and halved
• 2 bayleaves
• 1 6oz can of tomato paste
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground mustard seed
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika

Method:

1. Soak the beans in water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain the water and put the beans in a large pot with new water, the bayleaves, and the onion.
2. Boil the beans for 70-80 minutes, scooping off the foam that forms on top of the water. Once done boiling, remove the pot from the stove and drain the beans from the water, also removing the bayleaves.
3. Combine the beans with the rest of the ingredients in an oven-safe pot or a Crockpot. Bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours or simmer on high for the same period of time until the beans have darkened and most of the moisture has evaporated. If the beans dry out too much, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking.
4. Remove from the oven and serve hot when ready.

Homemade Worcestershire Sauce

Ingredients(Makes about 1/3-1/2 cup):

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce or wheat-free tamari
• 1 tablespoon cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Method:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small pot over the stove.
2. Keep between a boil and a simmer for 8-10 minutes until reduced to half its original volume.
3. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.