Green Quisquis Salad – Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs

When I lived in Holland and was still blissfully unaware of my gluten problem, I sometimes used to get some lovely couscous salad from a Turkish corner shop down the road. This quinoa salad is inspired by that couscous salad.





GREEN QUISQUIS SALAD (Pronounced 'Green Kiss Kiss Salad')

3 espresso cups of white quinoa
6 espresso cups of water
2 Italian-style small cucumbers or 1 large cucumber
1 green pepper
2 medium-sized red onions
2 cloves of garlic
bunch of fresh coriander
bunch of fresh parsley (about twice as much as coriander)
gluten-free bouillon powder
lemon
olive oil
freshly ground pepper
sea salt

1. Wash the quinoa well. Add bouillon powder and sea salt to the water, and boil the quinoa in it until ready.

2. Wash the cucumber, the pepper, the coriander and the parsley and chop them finely.

3. Chop the onions and the garlic finely.

4. When the quinoa has cooled down a bit, mix it with all the chopped vegetables and herbs.

5. Add pepper, salt, olive oil and lemon juice, and serve either chilled or when the quinoa is still a bit warm. You can serve this salad either as a main course or a side dish.

Kiss kiss,
Annika

Paradis du Chocolat II - Pure Chocolate

I rarely go to regular supermarkets anymore but I'm so glad I walked into a nearby Carrefour today. To my surprise, I found chocolate with a 100% cocoa content (a minimum of 99.75%, to be exact). At Carrefour! And it only cost me 2.35 euro for 100 grams! It must be my lucky day.

Anyway, the chocolate is produced by an Italian company called Sugar Company (how ironic), and the good stuff is called Cuorenero Classic Blend 100% Cocoa:

http://www.sugarcompany.net/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/86



My dear coauthor Michael gave me a bag of organic cacao beans when I visited him in Marseille a couple of weeks ago. I've got into the habit of eating around 6 cacao beans every day now but, unless I can find that stuff (which obviously is the purest of the purest) here in Italy, I will definitely become a regular Sugar Company customer.

Enjoy the endorphins!

Un bacio nero,
Annika

Medimix - Cabbage Stew with Mediterranean Herbs and Veggies

Cabbage makes for a great, healthy base for many dishes. It keeps much better than most other vegetables, so it's a good idea to always keep a cabbage in the fridge. Here is my latest cabbage dish. It was quick and easy to make and turned out so well that I'll definitely be making it again.





Medimix

1/2 medium-sized Savoy cabbage
1 yellow pepper
1 very large tomato (or 2 smaller tomatoes)
1 courgette
1 leek
6-8 large leaves of fresh basil
fresh dill
fresh ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic
sea salt
pepper
gluten-free tamari sauce

1. Cut the cabbage in half. Remove the exterior leaves of the half that you intend to use, and cut it in narrow strips.

2. Wash and cut the tomato, the pepper, the courgette and the leek.

3. Peel the ginger and the garlic, and cut them in small pieces.

4. Wash and cut the basil and the dill in small pieces.

5. Sautee the ginger and the garlic in sunflower oil in a large, deep frying pan or a large pot.

6. Add the vegetables, the herbs, the salt and the pepper. Mix well while keeping the temperature high. Then let the mix simmer until the cabbage is soft and until all the tastes have had enough time to blend with each other. As with any cabbage dishes, they only get better as the cooking times get longer (I think).

7. Add some tamari sauce and serve.

Annika