Quinoa-Zucchini Cakes

So I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked great, but it was in UK units and I wasn't fond of the spices that were called for, so I tweaked it a bit and now it's amazing!

We are working on getting fit for the wedding. Not that we should need a reason to get fit and eat healthier, but it's good motivation. I keep reminding Denver that with technology these days, we can count on our great-great-great-great grandchildren seeing our wedding photos, so we ought to look good in them!

I don't know what "type" of diet food this fits into.... I believe it's gluten-free, boarder-line Atkins friendly, might be Primal, but most importantly, these are super delish! Rembmer, the nice thing about cooking is how flexible a recipe can be, so I encourage people to swap out things and see how it works.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw quinoa (1 1/2 cups cooked)
1 medium zucchini (roughly the size of a women's forearm, ~4 cups)
1 medium onion
1-2 garlic cloves (or 1 tsp garlic from a jar)
Italian Seasonings (or whatever your favorites are: rosemary, cilantro, sage?)
1/4 cup shredded or flaked parmesan cheese
1 cup plain yogurt
4 Tbs. flour (I use half coconut flour & half almond flour)
oil (for cooking veggies, I use olive oil)

*The mixture needs to cook before cooking, so plan to make ahead of time.

1.) Start by making your quinoa according to the directions on the bag.

I fell in love with truRoots quinoa, from Costco

2.) While the quinoa cooks, prep your veggies.
     - Grate half of the zucchini, and strain to get rid extra moisture
     - Dice up the other half of the zucchini
     - Dice the entire onion
     - Dice your garlic (if using fresh)

You should get a fair amount of liquid out, don't skip this step.

3.) In a large skillet add oil and turn heat to medium.
     - Add chopped garlic
     - When oil is hot, add HALF of the onion. Heat until caramelized brown.

4.) Add all of the zucchini to the cooked onion mixture, stir.
     - Stir occasionally, until zucchini are hot.
     - I don't measure herbs- just sprinkle your herbs over the veggies like you are putting pepper on.
     - Sprinkle parmesan cheese over veggies and stir.

If you have a wok I would use it for this!

5.) Empty quinoa and zucchini mixture into a large bowl.
     - Add the other half of your onions (still raw)
     - Add yogurt
     - Add flour (I like to mix this into the yogurt to make sure it isn't clumpy)
     - Mix well.

6.) Once mixed, these puppies need to cool before cooking. Cover mix and stick in the fridge.
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7.) When you are ready to cook your cakes, heat a skillet with oil to med or a little higher.

8.) I start by making the mixture into balls (somewhere between a golf and tennis ball size). Make sure to pack them tightly. After all of your mixture is balled up, start flattening them like hamburger patties, but be very sure to keep them compresses.
     - Lay the patties in the hot oil. Don't move them until they are ready to flip.
     - Once they are a golden brown on one side, flip and brown the other side.

... Be gentle, they aren't the most stable little cakes.

Finished product!

9.) Eat and enjoy!!



Don't be shy about using your own tweaks! Here are some ideas I've thought about trying
- Use broccoli instead of zucchini
- Adding 2 eggs to help with stability, and raise the protein. (To do this, and ensure the eggs get cooked, mix the eggs and the cooled quinoa in a bowl. Then add this to the zucchini mix on the stovetop and heat. It will also be cooked during the frying process at the very end.)
- Change up the spices and herbs!
- Fall is coming. Use butternut squash, and thyme and sage, maybe even a dash of cinnamon.

Let me know what other variations you have tried and enjoyed :)

Wedding Style

Well... I've picked the big things (venue, date, bridal party, etc) so now I'm just working out the details :)
The men will be in camo tuxes and the girls will be in mix-match green dresses. Our primary colors will be chocolate and olive, with burnt orange as our accent. Striving for a lot of leafy and natural accents.

Here's a sneak peak at what I'm thinking:

Wedding Idea Pinboard

DIY yogurt

For my first blog I'd like to share a DIY that is easy, fun, and a money saver!

When I got Ice, my Border Collie, a few years ago he was a very nervous dog and had bad breath. I decided to try giving him plain yogurt as a probiotic to see if that would help his breath. Although it didn't seem to help, years later all three dogs demand their scoop of yogurt in their kibble.

Weather you are buying small servings of yogurt or large half gallon tubs like we do, it's not all that cheap. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long, but I have started making my own yogurt, and it's SOOO easy!! Until you get it down, it's best to start the process early or mid-morning on a day you will be home most of the day. The process does not involve constant supervision, but you will want to check on the temp and progress every few hours until you have a system down.

Fun fact... did you know that yogurt is practically lactose free?! The bacteria that make yogurt what it is consume the lactose (sugar) as food.

How to make your own yogurt

Ingredients:

Whole milk *amount of milk used = amount of yogurt produced

~2 Tbls plain yogurt  *this is your 'starter', so make sure the container says "live active cultures"

Storage container with lid for your yogurt *mason jar, glass bowl, tupperware, old yogurt tub

Heating pad or crock pot *optional

Candy thermometer (meat thermometer will work if need be)

Directions:

1. Measure out milk. 
      To make sure you make just enough, pour milk into the container you plan to store the yogurt in to measure the amount you need.

2. Transfer milk into a sauce pan.

3. Heat milk to 260°F slowly. Stir frequently to keep from scorching. 

      It's easiest to use a candy thermometer to watch the temp, but if you don't have one, you want the milk to get just below a simmer. The milk will get frothy at this temp.

4. Scoop out about a 1/4 cup of the warm milk and set aside too cool. When this milk gets down to 110°F, add the 2 Tbls of yogurt starter.

      This helps thin the yogurt so it will mix easily. BUT, don't mix in yogurt too early or you will kill off your starter!

5. Keep the milk at this temp for up to 30 mins (still on low-med heat on the stove). 

      This process helps to get the proteins ready for the yogurting process.

6. Let milk cool now until it's 110°F.

     The yogurt cultures grow best at 110°F.

7. Mix in the yogurt starter mixture into the warm milk and place in storage container.

8. Now you have three options (play around and see what works best for you):

        A.) Place the warm milk mixture inside a crock pot and fill the surrounding with warm water. Turn the crock pot on the lowest setting to keep the mixture at ~110°F for 7 hrs.

*Personally, my crockpot's lowest setting is warmer than 110°F, so I turn it on for ~20 mins, then turn it off an keep a heavy towel over it to keep in the heat. 

      B.) Place the warm milk mixture on the heating pad and set to low to keep mixture at ~110°F for 7 hrs. Place a beach towel over the container to help keep the heat in.
      C.) Turn oven on to 110°F, place yogurt in oven. Turn oven off, leaving the light on.              Periodically turn oven on to re-heat oven.

Which ever method you pick, you want to keep an eye on the temp once and a while to make sure you're staying close to 100-110°F. Too hot will kill your cultures, too cool and the yogurt will not thicken up.

9. The yogurt cultures are happiest growing in warm and still conditions.

       At ~2 hrs check your yogurt, by now when you lift the lid it should start smelling tangy like yogurt and be getting thicker. 

       At 7 hrs check your yogurt. It should look thick like yogurt and have that tangy smell.

      

10. Give the yogurt a good mix until it's very smooth and stick it in the fridge.

      Tomorrow, you may feast!

Notes: 
*Growing/resting time determines how tangy your yogurt will be. After your first batch decide if you want to add or reduce the 7 hr growing time.
*To prevent growth of the wrong bacteria, treat this as a sterile process. Wash the tub you will use to store the yogurt in with hot soapy water, or if glass, scald in boiling water. Make sure all utensils are clean during the entire process. Keep your fingers out of the resting mixture, etc.

Making Greek Yogurt:

If you want to make Greek yogurt you simply strain the whey.

BUT you must take into account that you will lose up to 50% of yogurt as whey, so 1 cup of milk will yield 1/2 cup whey and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (now you know why it is so expensive).

1. After making the above recipe of yogurt, take the chilled yogurt out of the fridge.

2. Line a strainer with cheese cloth (plenty so you don't lose your yogurt out the sides!) 

       Make sure you catch the whey that is draining out- there are many uses for this by-product!

        Let the yogurt sit, stirring occasionally to help the liquid drain. The longer you let it drain, the thicker it will be.

3. Carefully transfer your yogurt back to your storage container and store your whey in a mason jar.

More tips to come in the future on using whey :)

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