Quinoa Goat Cheese and Parmesan Cakes

Quinoa Goat Cheese and Parmesan Cakes (slightly adapted from Food & Spice, Servings: 6 three-inch cakes, Total Time: 15-20 minutes)

Ingredients

·         ½ cup soft goat cheese

·         1 ½ cups cooked quinoa (1/2 cup dried)

·         1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

·         2 to 3 Tbsp. unbleached white flour

·         2 green or red chilies, seeded and finely chopped

·         2 shallots, finely chopped

·         ½ tsp. ground cumin

·         ¼ to ½ tsp. cayenne, to taste

·         1 tsp. dried basil

·         ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

·         ½ tsp. sea salt, or to taste

·         fresh cracked black pepper to taste

·         1 large egg, lightly beaten

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions

1.)    Mash the goat cheese with a potato masher or fork.

2.)    In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, cheeses, 2 Tbsp. of the flour, chilies, shallots, spices, herbs, salt and pepper, egg and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Stir until well combined, adding more flour or oil as needed to achieve a fairly moist mixture that can be shaped into roughly 6 small patties.

3.)    Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat (use 2 Tbsp. olive oil if you wish). When hot, fry a few patties at a time until golden brown — about 5 minutes each side. Remove and let drain on paper towels.

My husband and I both enjoyed these cakes, although I found them better the first day that I made them.  They got a little dry for leftovers.  I liked the mix of Italian and Mexican flavors – it made for a nice mixture and no spice or flavor overwhelmed any other.  I could definitely taste the cheese in the patties, but all of the other spices melded together to make a nice little cake.  I may make these again, but unfortunately, the dry flavor of the leftovers is left in my mind more so than the nice soft consistency of when I first made them.  I did not serve them with any sauce, which may be why this happened.  

Black Bean Burritos

Black Bean Burritos (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Servings 2-4, Total Time: 25 minutes)

Ingredients

·         Flour tortillas

·         1 small onion, chopped

·         ½ red bell pepper, chopped

·         1 tsp. minced garlic

·         1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 tsp. canned green chilies

·         3 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese

·         ½ tsp. salt

Directions

1.      Heat skillet over medium heat (can use oil if desired).  Place onion, bell pepper, garlic and chilies in skillet, cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.      Pour beans into skillet, cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.      Cut cream cheese into cubes and add to skillet with salt.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.      Spoon mixture evenly down center of warmed tortillas.

It says it in the name of the recipe: delicious!  I wasn’t sure how good these would be, but I can say that I really enjoyed them.  The onion and peppers stay just a bit crunchy, and work nicely against the smoothness of the beans and cream cheese.  The filling is creamy and cheesy, but the cream cheese flavor is in no way overpowering.  I served the mixture in burritos on top of lettuce and tomato to cut back on calories and fat and amp up the vegetable content.

La Fia Bakery Market Bistro - 421 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware

La Fia is a new restaurant that opened in downtown Wilmington.  I read several positive reviews about the new bistro and was excited to try it – it also has the same owner as Talula’s Garden in Philadelphia, which I enjoyed when I went there a few months ago.  The front of the bistro is all windows and there are a few small tables inside – I think that I read they can seat 35.  There is a small market connected to the bistro.  The inside is rustic – lots of wood and exposed pipes and beams.  Pretty nice and comforting, although it can be a tight squeeze to fit around the tables.  The hostess was friendly, but advised that our table was not ready yet.  We waited about 20 minutes to be seated.  When we were able to sit down, the server was slow getting to us.  And when we did order drinks, he completely ignored my husband, only taking orders for three in our party.  We finally got that straightened out.

Looking at the menu, I saw a couple of options.  My first thought was to ask if the risotto could be made without ham and with vegetable stock, but my husband cautioned against it.  Instead, I asked if the seemingly innocent-looking pasta dish was vegetarian.  Alas!  They use chicken stock and could not make it with vegetable stock.  There were some vegetarian side dishes, so after confirming with the server, I ordered the gazpacho and the vegetable bread pudding.  We waited at least an hour for our food to come out, but they did serve various bread and rolls with butter while we waited.  My soup arrived first, and it was barely a cup-full of soup!  It was tasty – of course it had a tomato base, but there was a bit of spice to it.  It was satisfying.  My “main” was my bread pudding – they brought me out a slice that was just larger than a credit card and about ½-inch thick, for $9!  It was OK – soft and chewy with some vegetables inside, but not worth $9.  We did not order dessert.

My husband was not satisfied with his food either, so I don’t think that we’ll be giving this restaurant a second try.  The next day, both my husband and I had severe indigestion. I’m not stating that this was from La Fia, but it was an interesting coincidence.

Zesty Hoisin Chili Sauce with Veggies

Zesty Hoisin Chili Sauce with Veggies (adapted from Food.com, Yield: 1 cup for the sauce, Total Time:  10 minutes – for the sauce)

Ingredients for Sauce

·         6 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce

·         4 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

·         2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

·         2 Tbsp. honey

·         5 tsp. Thai sweet chili sauce

·         3 ½ tsp. lemon juice

·         2 tsp. dried ginger

·         4 Tbsp. chopped parsley

We picked up our bi-weekly CSA bag and it had eggplant, onion, and bok choy in it.  To me, that screamed stir fry!  I found a recipe that included ingredients that I had in the house (well, for the most part, if you look at the original recipe, you’ll see that I adapted it).  I also picked up a crook neck squash from my mom, so I decided to use that too. 

The sauce is simple to make and I doubled the recipe (above outlines the doubling) so as to accommodate the veggies and some steak that my husband was cooking for himself.  As I was working with the recipe, I found that the above combination worked just right for me, though you may want to cut back on the soy sauce or chili sauce based on your preferences.  My husband added a bit more soy sauce to his plate – not sure why, I found this a little salty as is.  There was a just a slight kick from the chili sauce – the “back of the throat” kick you don’t recognize until you’ve already swallowed.  Good!  Other than the salt, not one flavor overpowered the sauce.  I definitely plan on making it again, and may add just a bit more honey and cut back on the soy sauce by 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp.

I cooked my veggies to a mushy state (per the request of my husband) and they soaked up the sauce very quickly.  I love how it permeated each and every bite.  I hope that you try this recipe, it is delicious!