Quinoa: do-it-yourself for the aspiring yuppie

The newly-discovered miracle grain, quinoa, has made quite a splash among health food gurus and Whole Foods shoppers alike. Whether to supplement their diets with protein or simply to make them feel like they're eating healthy, countless Americans have turned to this south-American cereal. In fact, it's hardly an exaggeration to say this is the staple nutrient in the yuppie diet. Just stroll through the quinoa shelves at Whole Foods - you'll see what I mean. 

In all seriousness, though, it is an amazing new addition to the culinary toolkit. Versatile as it is nutritious, quinoa can be prepared as one would rice, oats, grits, or tabouleh; it can be sauteed, tossed, pureed, or baked into patties; it can complement savory, sweet, or spicy dishes. If you are the type of chef that arrives home tired and tosses together an assemblage of whatever you find in the fridge, keep some quinoa around for such occasions. It can literally be made to go with anything!

I was recently faced with just such a last-resort situation: a couple friends and I decided to get together and cook dinner after work, with the added complication that we wanted to be "classy." We live in Washington D.C., and anyone unfortunate enough to have searched for housing around here knows that the cost of living leaves little spare cash for buying expensive groceries. We therefore decided to be creative and throw something together with what we already had: two tomatoes, an avocado, feta cheese and an onion. What could pull these disparate ingredients together? Nothing so well as quinoa.

One of my fellow chefs was having some performance anxiety, being more accustomed to prepping caseroles than to home-cooked haute cuisine (she's from Indiana). Fortunately, the recipe devised here is very user-friendly. We cooled off from the August humidity with some pinot grigio, and after a couple glasses she was ready to tackle task #1: chopping a white onion and several cloves of garlic.

Meanwhile, I started to boil the quinoa. Begin with two parts water to each one part quinoa; as the water boils off, test the grain for flavor and texture, and if necessary simply add more water. It will be finished when the kernels have "opened" and taken on a nutty taste.

We sauteed the onions and garlic to soften their flavor, while chef #3 diced the tomatoes. Black beans (the only item purchased specifically for this meal) went into the sautee for a couple of minutes.

When the quinoa was cooked to perfection we tossed all these ingredients in a bowl together. This part of the meal was inspired by Tabouleh salad, and serves as an extremely healthy foundation, in place of starchier carbs like potatoes or even rice. It is complemented by salt, pepper, Spanish oregano to taste and - most importantly! - half a lime squeezed on top, which lends an acidic bite to the otherwise mellow flavor milieu.

What brings this hearty but inelegant mixture to the level of haute cuisine? Two show-stopping ingredients: avocado and feta cheese. Each is distinctive in flavor and texture, and each is capable of refined appearance. The soft, creaminess of the avocado contrasts with the bite of salty feta cubes. Though they are generally associated with vastly different regional cuisines, this dish transcends geography. Assemble the two side-by-side on a round plate, garnish with half a lime and voila! 

By sheer luck, we had on hand the perfect dishware and glass table-top to aesthetically complement this meal. By the time we were ready to serve the Pinot Grigio was long gone, and we transitioned over to a red blend (which we drank out of mason jars - again, our host was from Indiana).

In a small group, we were able to serve ourselves one-by-one with a scoopful of quinoa, several slices of avocado, and a handful of feta. If I were to make this again for a more formal occasion or larger group I would prep each plate in advance (as pictured below). Because these ingredients are not usually thought of together, it is necessary to persuade your diners that they really do belong on the same plate - the best way to do so is through artful presentation.

This meal was simple, delicious, and packed with deceptively healthy ingredients. You can have complete confidence preparing it for epicurians, aesthetes, and yuppies alike; most importantly, even the most bashful cooks can be persuaded to take part in preparation. Bon chance!

Farfalle, Avocado, Pesto, and the endless combinations

Our friend Sarah was probably the most faithful attendee to our college dinner parties. A proud devotee of the bay-area lifestyle, Sarah exudes a love of long outdoor jogs and fresh California vegetables. Her reverence for avocados borders on worship. To satisfy our best customer's yen for avocado (and also to utilize the ingredients that she so generously supplied) we developed this variation on pasta salad. Like Sarah, it is healthy, satisfying, infinitely variable, and can be adapted to formal and informal contexts alike.

The fundamental elements of this dish are pasta, avocado, and pesto. Use a small pasta - farfalle is best, but penne or rigatoni will work - to match the other ingredients in size.When it has been cooked and drained, toss it liberally with pesto. Pesto provides plenty of oil and salt here, so taste before adding more of either. Finally, chop the avocado in chunks about half the size of a farfalla and stir them vigorously in to the pasta while it is still warm. The heat from the pasta will soften the avocado so that as you mix the dish becomes creamy (without ever adding actual cream!). This is healthy-food substitution magic!

In addition to these three elements, there are countless exciting additions that add pizzazz to the dish and tailor it to the particular occasion (kind of like Sarah adding accessories to her outfits). Asparagus spears can be chopped into 3-inch sections, then blanched for no more than 2 minutes in a saucepan of boiling water and thrown into the mix. The crispiness of appropriately cooked asparagus contrasts perfectly with the softness of avocado and adds a fresh flair. It is perfect for Springtime picnics or lunches on the patio.

I believe strongly in balancing the color of a dish. If you look at it an feel a hue is missing, a flavor is probably missing as well. With that in mind, I like to add warm-colored vegetables to this dish. Sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and chili flakes all go well with the otherwise soft-toned palate.

Speaking of warm hues, this should definitely be served with red wine. We were pleased with the Neprica that we served with it, and also had success with a red zinfandel.

Depending on the amount and potency of the cheese in your pesto, additional cheese can be added as a topping. Like the avocado, this will melt into the warm pasta when stirred, adding to the overall creaminess of each bite.

This pasta shines best at a casual lunch, and is a go-to for potlucks or garden parties. It is great to prepare on steamy summer days because it requires very little cooking, so your kitchen will not turn in to a sauna - your guests will appreciate this! Because of its unrefined appearance this should not be the centerpiece of anything formal, but can certainly serve as the main course for a dinner among friends. This is a vegetable dish that does not feel like it is lacking meat, so vegetarians and carnivores can enjoy it together. If your diet-conscious friends are resistant to eating pasta, remind them that there is very little fat besides the natural omegas from the avocado, while all those vegetables are packed with nutrients!

Serve in a bowl. If you find the dish lacking in kick, sautee chopped garlic in olive oil and pour some over each bowl. Refill many times. Refresh your palate with a sip of wine after every bite.