Mexican Quinoa Casserole

The vegan Daiya-brand cheese doesn't melt too well....

After weeks of procrastinating, last night I finally prepared this Spicy Mexican Quinoa Casserole. I found the recipe on TakePart.com, which posts meat-free recipes as part of the popular Meatless Mondays campaign, but the recipe is originally from another blog, The Iron You.

My overall take? This dish is healthy (quinoa is high in protein and in fibre!) and simple to prepare. Its required ingredients are not obscure, and the dish is such that you can easily modify and adapt it, adding or subtracting spices and produce to accommodate your preferences or to make its flavors reflect a different cuisine (e.g., use a curry spice mixture, subtract the cheese [or use paneer] and jalapenos, and perhaps add some cauliflower or okra...and you've got an "Indian" Quinoa Casserole!).

The real test of a recipe is whether or not it becomes a part of your repertoire. I do not think I will be making this again anytime in the near future; the recipe, if followed precisely, is a bit bland for my tastes and not "spicy" as the title states. A major issue was my decision to use vegan cheese substitute as opposed to dairy cheese.

Shrimp, Spanish Tapas Style

Not Julia Child's Ratatouille

I had been meaning to make Smitten Kitchen's Ratatouille's Ratatouille for a while and I finally did this past weekend. Of course, mine looks nothing like SK's in terms of both actual appearance and photography, but it was pretty and tasty and lasted about 24 hours before being completely gobbled up. The thing is, this dish has the appearance of being multi-layered when in fact it is only a single layer of thinly sliced zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, and red pepper on top of a modest portion of tomato sauce. So unless you double the portion in making this recipe, it will be finished rather quickly (provided that you like it!) Good news is that it's healthy and vegan if you don't top it with goat cheese; otherwise, it is vegetarian. As is, this ratatouille makes for a great side dish, but it can be a complete meal if served with a whole grain, such as quinoa or brown rice, and a dollop of goat cheese. I paired it with Chavrie's Basil and Roasted Garlic Goat's Milk Cheese, and it was divine.

this spread has no preservatives!