Spicy Quinoa Salad

I hate gastroparesis. If you have it, you know why. I have a relatively mild case, my stomach is completely paralyzed but somehow I do not have the severe symptoms and can eat whole foods. I am grateful for that. But every few months I get a flareup that is debilitating. Monday I had so much pain that I could barely stand up and have had to take the last two days off of work (which for me, a type A personality, brings a whole lot of guilt and stress). One of the worse things is I also cannot eat anything I like. Last May it wasn't too bad because I didn't feel like cooking, but right now I feel like cooking new things and instead can only make plain rice, eggs, and pasta. Maybe I can use a little soy sauce but that is it. I do have a lot of recipes that I haven't posted yet, so I am going to have to go through them and wish I could eat something with flavor.

I saw this recipe as a post on Seriouseats. I was in the middle of reading Barbara Kingsolver's local food book and The Omnivore's Dilemma so I felt a bit guilty buying tomatoes and cucumbers at the beginning of October from the grocery store, but I wanted something healthy and light. I really like Quinoa. It doesn't have a strong taste and it is a great substitute for couscous. I used to make a similar couscous salad (Moroccan Couscous Salad) from Epicurious but couscous has gluten. Oh well.

Spicy Quinoa Salad

From SeriousEats

Ingredients
1 cup of dry quinoa
2 medium cucumbers
2 cups of tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
3 Tbs of olive oil
1 small red onion, minced
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1 tbs red wine vinegar
salt
ground black pepper


Cook the quinoa according to directions on box. While cooking quinoa, mix the cucumber, tomato, olive oil and a pinch of salt together. In a separate bowl combine the onion, jalapeno, lime juice, and vinegar. Let sit while the quinoa is cooking. Combine the sauce and vegetables and toss. Then stir in the quinoa. Add more salt, oil, ground black pepper or lime juice to taste.

Asian Tofu Salad with Seasoned Spinach

I just spent 4 days in Kansas City on a BBQ trip. Great trip, one that 4 years ago I would have talked about for weeks, but for me and my gastroparesis... rough. 4 days of meat 2x a day. Meat that tasted great but made me very sick, oh well. We went to Arthur Bryants, Oklahoma Joes, Gates and Jack Stack.

So back home and back to veggies. I have been waiting for them. The best I could do in KC was baked beans, which I think are absolutely the best. I dont know what they do in KC but their baked beans, especially at Gates and Zarda, but they are unbelievable. My first meal back is from the Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites. It has a crisp taste. However, next time I would press the tofu first so it was less watery. I wanted some spinach also so I made my favorite korean spinach for the bottom.

Asian Tofu Salad

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites

Ingredients

Salad

2 cakes of tofu

1/2 cup of diced red bell peppers

1/2 cup of diced scallions

Dressing

4 minced garlic cloves

4 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger root

1 teaspoon chili paste

4 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Put the tofu on a plate that is lined with paper towels. Place some paper towels on top of the tofu and then another plate. If it is balanced, you can place a bowl or something heavier on top. Let sit for 1/2 hour. While letting the tofu sit, create the dressing. Combine all the items in the dressing and whisk it together.

Crumble the tofu into a bowl using your fingers or a fork. Combine with green onions, red bell paper, and the dressing. Serve at warm temperature or cold.

Seasoned Spinach

1 pound of baby leaf spinach

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of sugar

Blanch the spinach in a pot or in microwave. Rince spinach in cold water and squeeze to remove water. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and sugar and mix into spinach.