Quinoa Soup

It took me nearly ten years to see Bolivia again. In my mind, I built up Bolivia to be this magical place where not only my childhood took place, but a place untouched by the evilness of industrialization, mass production, and globalization.

(Lomas de Arena: Sand Dunes, Santa Cruz, Bolivia)

Of course, a lot of things have changed.

(La Paz, Bolivia)

When I lived in Bolivia, I barely left my city, Santa Cruz. The cuisine of the altiplano (or the high altitude regions) is pretty different from the cuisine of the lowlands. La Paz, the capital, is dry, cold in the shade, hot in the sun, and you're basically living amongst the clouds. People here eat a lot more quinoa than they do in Santa Cruz. Most of the quinoa comes from the altiplano because quinoa is hardy and it can grow in high altitudes. The andes are the perfect place for quinoa to grow. During our trip to La Paz and the Salar de Uyuni, we had a lot of quinoa soup and cooked quinoa instead of rice. European backpackers rejoiced.

Quinoa has been cultivated since the Incan times and they believed the crop was sacred. Quinoa means "mother of all grains" but when the Spanish conquered Bolivia, they scorned quinoa as "food for Indians." How ironic that now, in 2011, quinoa is recognized for what it is - a superfood, and people all over the world are shelling out the big bucks to get some quinoa in their diet.

In most of the world that now sells quinoa, it is usually sold in boxes or pre-packaged containers and it has already been pre-rinsed for convenience cuz let me tell you, rinsing organic, uncleaned quinoa is a step and a half!

The quinoa that I brought back from Bolivia is not pre-rinsed so the first step is to remove the saponins (natural laxative) by either soaking the quinoa in water for a few hours, then changing the water and resoaking, or rinsing the quinoa in ample running water for several minutes in a fine strainer. There's also small stones that I have to sift through, which is definitely easier to do when it's not cooked yet.

One of the things I love doing is making things ahead of time. Since quinoa can be eaten hot or cold, I like making them in batches to last throughout the week. My favorite dish though, has to be the Quinoa Soup. The European backpackers were gushing over it the entire tour of the Salar and when we got to our salt hotels and the lady brought us over some Quinoa Soup, we all felt this intense connection with the land, the people, the history, and the community.

This is my rendition of the Quinoa Soup that I had at Salar de Uyuni, the highest and largest salt bed in the entire world, containing more than 50-70% of the world's lithium.

Those little dots are people, not dirt on your computer screen. If you ever have a chance to visit the Salar de Uyuni, it's a once in a lifetime experience. Mostly because after seeing the beautiful landscape once, you probably won't want to go back again because the altitude sickness is no joke and riding around in an SUV for a few days in unpredictable terrain is nerve-wracking and not for the easily nauseous. But, pictures can do no justice to the immense beauty that you will experience when you see it with your own eyes.

Coming back home, one of the first things I knew I had to make was quinoa soup. I might be able to (or want to) go back to the Salar de Uyuni again but I sure as hell will miss having quinoa soup, the cute European cafe's hearty breakfast, and the coca tea that was the only saving grace when my altitude headaches were at its peak.

Quinoa Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon butter
1 cup diced onions (I use sweet yellow onions)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (or just paprika)
1 teaspoon of Ancho Chile Pepper
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
.5 teaspoon of white pepper
1 teaspoon of 21 seasoning salute (Trader Joe's)
1 pound of beef
10 cups of water
2 cups peas (I used frozen)
2 cups cooked quinoa
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
4 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro if you have it on hand
salt to taste

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. This is where the rest of the soup will go in so make sure you get a big enough pot.

2. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, seasoning, cook for 5 min, stirring often.

3. Add the beef and cook until meat is browned.

4. Add the water, increase the heat and bring it to a boil.

5. Then, lower the heat to medium low and cook for around 40 minutes to an hour, until meat is tender.

6. Add the potatoes, peas, carrots, cooked quinoa, and bring to boil again.

7. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 min until the potatoes are tender.

8. Add herbs and salt (Unfortunately I didn't have any herbs on hand but it was still awesome).

9. Serve piping hot! 

I love Quinoa Soup. This soup keeps really well but it won't last long, I promise!

In Bolivia, I discovered quinoa in many forms and in many different types of food. From quinoa flour to pasta, it was everywhere. But, the most fascinating form was popped quinoa, which they call Quinoa Pop. This kind of quinoa can be eaten like cereal, or combined with cereal, as well as a topping on ice cream, yogurt, and it even reminds me of rice krispies in chocolates.

So far, I haven't seen this form of quinoa in the U.S. so I'm savoring each bag of Quinoa Pop!

Best Apple Pie I've Ever Had - Higgins, Portland, OR

I've never been to Portland, OR but I've read enough food blogs to know that there is a lively food and beer scene. So when my hubz tells me he's always wanted to go to Portland and books our trip there as a winter getaway, I get schoolgirl giddy.

This time, I leave everything up to my hubz so I don't have to plan a thing. I don't research food blogs or read restaurant reviews. I just sit back and relax as my hubz creates an itinerary for our winter getaway. He deftly calls on his foodie friends who have been there before and through all the recommendations, we have a food and hiking plan.

Portland is a beautiful city. Lively, even when it's soggy. I get a lot of mileage out of my yellow rain boots as we walk the downtown streets. It's great to take a break from driving everywhere in LA. We decide to check out Higgins, based on a few friends' recommendations. Located on the corner of Broadway and Jefferson in Downtown, Portland, we wade through rain with our loaned hotel umbrellas from Hotel Lucia.

We pass by the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, where a line forms to watch Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band. WTF? I never knew Woody Allen HAD a band. I'm the worst film school student ever.

There are two parts to Higgins. The restaurant and the bar. The bar is obvious from the outside as it is the one that has the fogged up windows while the restaurant is dimly lit and quiet. The ambiance is that of a serious gourmet restaurant in that old school kind of way. The food, however, is very much up to date.

The menu is all locally sourced. Our server has a fun sense of humor and one of the servers zig zags throughout the restaurant with his dancing feet.

We start with the House-made charcuterie plate with Higgins pickles ($15.50). The salami, lardo, the thinly sliced salami, mortadella, pate, terrines, the Italian cookies, and the pickled asparagus and vegetables are out of this world and only made better knowing that everything is made in-house. It's plentiful for two people, probably better shared for a group of three or more. The only thing I'd question is the plating. That looks awfully sexual.

 

At Higgins, ordering beer is just as easy as ordering wine. Their beer menu is extensive and the markup isn't bad. We get a bottle of Delirium Tremens ($16) and a bottle of Lindemen's Framboise ($9).

My hubz orders the Rigatoni pasta with spicy fennel sausage, broccoli, garlic cream and pecorino romano ($20.50). He likes it, doesn't love it.

 

Nothing really jumps out at me from the menu except the oysters and my hubz is allergic so I opt for their special that night, the Flat Iron Steak ($30 something ish) that comes with cauliflower, potatoes, and collard greens. The steak is perfectly cooked but the sides made the dish. The potatoes, cauliflower, and the collard greens round out the dish and it all goes down well with my Delirium.

 

The best part of the entire meal and the reason why I'm even writing this post, is the Apple Pie. I know what you're thinking. It doesn't even look gooey or gelatinous - how could it be good? Well, I'm telling you... this apple pie expands your mind. Look, I don't want to feel like I put on ten pounds eating a slice of pie. I just want to enjoy it.

The menu's description doesn't do it justice, "Warm pie, cheddar crust, bay leaf ice cream." From the rum soaked raisins that dot the plate to the cheesy contrast to the warmth of the apple pie in juxtaposition to the cold and creamy ice cream makes this dessert the best thing ever. I'm not even mad that I can't taste the bay leaf flavor in the ice cream. It's very subtle.

There is no way to describe this apple pie than saying that it's the epitome of culinary contrast in a bite - cheesy/crusty/creamy/warm/cold/sweet/salty/herby/subtle/flavorful. My hubz just says the pie is "erotic" and come to think of it, that might be the best way to describe it.

Higgins Restaurant

1239 SW Broadway 

Portland, OR 97205
Directions
(503) 222-9070

Mon-Fri 11:30am-12:00am
Sat & Sun 4:00pm- 12:00am

"Nutty Asian" Butternut Squash Soup

It's what always happens. I have a whole bunch of film-related projects to finish and I get distracted looking up recipes online. It's getting chilly these days so I'm in a soup-y kind of mood. Last week, I made a slow-cooker turkey chili that's been the go to meal when we're too busy to sit down and eat. The hubz and I have very different eating schedules and he is so food-challenged that if I don't make these one pot meals for the week, he'll just end up eating white rice with dried, shredded pork (Vietnamese dish) that sits in the fridge. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just so boring. I guess it's better than eating cereal for dinner.

Anyway, on twitter, SkinnyJinny posted this picture of his curry cashew butternut squash soup with coconut yogurt that he made using Sensual Foodie's recipe and I KNEW I had to make a batch, or at least a rendition of it.

I call this the "Nutty Asian Butternut Squash Soup" because in some weird way, I feel like I find my identity in soups. I'm a nutty Asian, especially when my ADD gets the best of me and I put everything on hold to perfect my cravings. But, on the realz, it actually contains coconut milk and cashews which are NUTTY and curry and turmeric which are ASIAN.

The taste is very similar to Me's coconut curry that I make all the time, except it's sweeter and more squash-y (if that's a word).

Nutty Asian Butternut Squash Soup (serves a crap ton of people, or a few people a lot of times)

Ingredients

1. One whole butternut squash
2. 4-5 Large carrots
3. 1 whole white onion
4. Enough chicken stock to cover (I used about 3-4 cups)
5. 1 can coconut milk
6. 1 cup soaked cashews
7. 4 cloves of garlic
8. 2 tbs butter
9. 1/2 tsp of curry powder
10. 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
11. A dash of paprika
12. salt and pepper

Directions

1. Soak the cashews in a bowl of filtered water. Put water just a little more than to cover it.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve the butternut squash lengthwise and stick it in the oven until it's roasted. Roasting it makes it much easier to handle. *You can skip this step and peel the butternut squash and cut it into same similar size cubes as the carrots.
3. Meanwhile, chop up all the carrots and onions into little one inch chunks. If you want to chop the butternuts instead of roasting it, do it now.
4. In a sauce pan, heat the butter over medium and then sauté the onions stirring, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Salt as needed.
5. Add in the carrot chunks and the squash if cubed. Add the stock, just enough to cover and bring to a boil.
6. If you roasted the butternut squash, this is a good time to take it out of the oven, let it cool slightly and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Then, scoop out the flesh with the spoon onto the boiling pot.
7. Lower the heat so that the soup stays at a gentle simmer and add the coconut milk, curry, and turmeric. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the carrots and squash have softened completely.
8. Transfer the contents of the pot to a food processor or a blender and add handfuls of soaked cashews with the soup. Puree until smooth and make sure to do it in batches. If you have an immersion blender, you can blend it straight into the pot and add the cashews to your pot.
9. Bring it all back into the pot and simmer a little longer to make sure they're all the right consistency. This is a good time to season.
10. Serve: Pour soup into bowl and add a little sour cream or yogurt, olive oil, and pepper. Cumin and yogurt will go very well together and you can create cute little swirls in it too.

This soup is amazeballs. My husbands eyes popped out of his head when he tried a few spoonfuls. It's also really hearty because of the nuts and the coconut milk so you will feel full after just a small bowl of it. It comes out really thick but you can always thin it out with more chicken stock. Yay to Nutty Asians!

Carrots, Squash, Onions simmering in chicken broth

After adding a can of coconut milk, simmer until squash and carrots are soft

blend, puree, process in whatever blending contraption you have until silky smooth

do it in batches

I put it back in the pot and let it simmer a bit more 

to get all the batches to even out

Top with sour cream, creme fraiche, yogurt, whatever cooling white thing

I also drizzled some garlic olive oil and cracked some pepper

Make cute swirly designs. Thick.

Can thin it out with more chicken stock. I like mine thick.

LA Food and Wine Festival 2011

This year I got to go to the first annual LA Food and Wine Festival held at LA Live as a freelance producer for KCET Food. I covered the Red Carpet, HEAT (LA's spiciest after party), Grand Tasting 1, Rick Bayless Demonstration, and Grand Tasting 2.

Check out the KCET Food version on their website. At least for now, it's on their front page! Thanks KCET Food for letting me go and eat like a pig for a few days, interview chefs, connect with other food lovers, and be a part of something huge that I wouldn't have been able to take advantage of with my lowly film school student budget.

The video on here is the song I initially chose for the event to capture the energy of a celebration for a first annual event of this magnitude. Unfortunately, for copyright reasons, I had to change it.

My favorite food part of the food festival was, Roy Choi's subtle jerk chicken, David LeFevre's meatballs (no pics, just in video) and:

 

Ray Garcia's bacon wrapped bacon

 

 John Sedlar's corn flan with quinoa 

(I can't believe I got to have it again after eating it for the first time in Mexico!)

Another reason to visit Rivera asap)

 

Graham Elliot's foielipops (foie gras discs covered in pop candy)

Daniel Boulud's terrines and assorted meat jams,

 Mark Peel's mussels

 

Foie Gras Lollipop (thanks, Lexus!)

 

The Foundry's famous grilled cheese sandwich 

(won best grilled cheese last year)

Celestino Drago's truffle boar angolotti pasta

(check out those black truffles)

 

Wolfgang's WP Catering's Bouillabaisse aka amazing soup

 

You really have to see it in all the angles

(possibly the best thing I had)

FIG's biscuit and gravy

(the biscuits were heavenly soft, though in the pic it looks like it could be hard)

 

Stefan Richter's red wine lollipop

Check out these posts from other food bloggers:

The Minty

Ravenous Couple

KCET Food

Caesars Restaurant - Tijuana, Mexico

 

On the second day of our epic Tijuana trip, we head to the famous Caesar's restaurant for a "light" breakfast. 

Call me ignorant, but I never knew that this was the place that the Caesar's Salad was invented. I always thought it was Italian, or at least European. Who woulda thunk that it was created in this small restaurant on Calle Revolucion in Tijuana.

The interior is really vintage and there are pictures of its history all over the walls. We file into the separate room and try to squeeze into this gigantic table.

Impossible. We add a few more sections to make it a bigger table.

When the bread and pastry come out, I think this is the light breakfast so I eat more than I should.

But then the fruit comes out. Well, that's also "light" so I eat it all.

Then the chilaquiles, mushroom and cheese omelette, and refried beans come out. Now I'm screwed. Especially since we're about to head out to the Baja Culinary Food Festival, where we'd be eating all day. I only eat about a third of this, even though it's pretty good.

The fresh squeezed OJ and coffee jolt me awake.

Afterwards, Abby from Pleasure Palate says there is a churros place she MUST go to. I'm not the biggest churro fan but I do enjoy the good kind so I follow.

Along the way we see ads for viagra, and a zebra painted donkey.

I don't understand who first thought about painting a donkey to look like a zebra. It's just so degrading. Poor donkey.

 On calle Juarez, we hook a left and we see this small stand for Churros Rellenos.

Here's a little bouquet of churros. If someone ever got these for me for my birthday, I'd probably squeal in happiness.

It's crispy on the outside, soft and melty on the inside. I get the chocolate and dulce de leche filling. They have vanilla, cajeta, and other flavors that change every day.This is the first time I've ever gone here but will not be the last. This has to be a regular TJ stop!

On the bus, on our way to the Baja Culinary Food Fest. 

P.S. Videos of the trip to come. I am now freelancing for KCET Food and will be filming more food related content. I'll be linking a few of my projects here. I even filmed a few things during this trip that will hopefully make it to the KCET website. A few noted foodbloggers will be starring. Stay tuned!

• Caesar's Restaurant
• Calle 5, Tijuana, Mexico
• (664) 685-5608

Churros Rellenos
Calle Juarez  and Revolucion, Tijuana, Mexico

Check out Wasima's churro write up.