Peg Kerr's Journal

Recipe:

Quinoa Amaranth Timbales

Be sure to rinse the quinoa well under running water using a fine sieve; quinoa has a bitter surface coating (a kind of natural insect repellent) that must be rinsed off before use.

Zest and juice of one orange
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 small onion, finally diced (I used less than this, hoping Delia wouldn't notice)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup quinoa, well rinsed and drained
1/4 cup amaranth (couldn't find this at my co-op, so I used an equal amount of cornmeal)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
5 dried apricot halves, finely diced
1 TB pine nuts, optional (I didn't include these)

Zest the orange and set zest aside. Juice the orange into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup and add enough water to equal 1 1/2 cups. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Saute the onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Add cumin and cook 30 seconds, until cumin is fragrant. Add orange juice/water mixture and salt and bring to boil. Remove from heat and slowly add the amaranth, whisking constantly. Add the quinoa and cinnamon and whisk to combine.

Return pan to heat. When water boils, reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook on low heat until all liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender, about 25 minutes (it was about 15 minutes on my stove).

Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until lightly toasted, about four minutes (watch carefully, because they can burn easily).

When grains are done, stir in the dried apricot, pine nuts, and orange zest. Stir briskly until well incorporated.

Spray your mold(s) with nonstick spray. Pack the quinoa mixture firmly into the mold, the immediately turn it out onto a serving dish or container, tapping on the bottom to help it release.

I'm not vegan, or even vegetarian, but I started using the Laptop Lunchbox when I started reading the blog The Vegan Lunchbox"> [veganlunchbox]. Jennifer McCann is a vegan educator who started this blog making the most exquisite lunches for her son and then photographing them. She made lunches look like fun (something that seemed awfully cool to me, after years of bringing Healthy Choice frozen lunches day after day after day after day . . . . ho hum.) Her cookbook, The Vegan Lunchbox, has sold out, but a new edition is coming out this summer.

You can get lots of ideas for lunches by checking the Flickr groups, Laptop Lunches and Bento Boxes.

Also helpful is the syndicated feed lunch_in_abox2 to Lunch in a Box, which is more Japanese bento-oriented. Check out her site; she has tons of tips about packing lunches in a speedy manner, while keeping food safety in mind.

Hope these sites help!