I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Being that it is a short week here with Labor Day being on Monday, it has been a busy couple of days over here. I have had a lot of different projects and tasks on my plate this week, so I have been a busy little lady. I have some really fun guest posts coming up that I have been working on and I cannot wait till they are live so I can share them with you.

I made this delicious quinoa dish for dinner last night as a nice way to highlight the delicious kale and tomato berries from our CSA share from Porter Farms. Each week the farm sends an informative newsletter with the shares, it always contains a list of all of the items you are receiving, plus some updates on the farm, their crops, how the weather is affecting them, storage tips and a recipe! This week’s recipe was for a whole wheat pasta dish that sounded quite tasty to me, but I had made a pasta a few days prior and I was really in the mood for quinoa, so I changed the recipe and adapted it to work for some delicious sprouted quinoa I had in the pantry.

This quinoa dish (I suppose it could be called a salad, but I served it warm and it seems like so much more than a salad), was absolutely incredible. The flavor from the garlic and red onion with the nutty flavor from the quinoa and of course, the toasted pine nuts, plus the bursts of flavor from the tomato berries and the star of the show, kale. Oh my! I have to mention that the kale from Porter Farms is hands-down THE very best kale I have ever eaten. It was tender and full of flavor, but not too bitter as kale can sometimes be. I am not sure what it was about it, but it was just better than any I have ever eaten. It was perfection. I honestly get so excited about the food I get from our local farmers, nothing makes me happier than to know that the money I spend with them goes directly to them, there is no middle man, no grocery store, it is just going to support their crops, pay their workers, etc. If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen the post I put up this past Saturday after I picked up my CSA and went to the farmers market, but if you didn’t it is worth repeating:

SUPPORT LOCAL!! For less than $40 I just brought home a huge haul from our CSA and the farmers market this morning that included: watermelons, beets, red onions, Roma tomatoes, regular tomatoes, tomato berries, green and purple bell peppers, poblano peppers, cubanelle peppers, kale, zucchini, corn, pears, eggplant, basil, cilantro, brown eggs, sweet onions & scallions.

Can you even believe all that?

Do you belong to a CSA or go to your farmers market?

[print_this]Sprouted Quinoa with Garlicky Kale, Tomatoes and Toasted Pine Nuts – Gluten-free + Vegan
Serves 4
Inspired by this recipe from Real Simple

1 cup uncooked sprouted quinoa (regular quinoa would work, too)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 bunch kale, thick stems removed and leaves torn into bite-size pieces (about 8 cups)
2 cups tomatoes berries (aka grape tomatoes), halved
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Rinse the quinoa in a strainer with cold water and rinse until the water runs clear. Heat a medium-sized saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add your quinoa to the pan and toast, stirring, until the grains have separated and begin to smell fragrant. Just a couple of minutes. Add the broth, a pinch of salt and bring it to a boil, once boiling reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the quinoa is tender and translucent and each grain displays a little thread.

While the quinoa is cooking, you can cut up all of your vegetables. Once the quinoa is done you can start preparing the rest of the dish.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for about a minute longer. Add the kale and cook, tossing frequently, until tender, 5-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tossing frequently, until the tomatoes begin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes more. In a large serving bowl, toss the cooked quinoa with the kale mixture, season to taste, if needed. Top with toasted pine nuts just before serving. Serve immediately while warm or it can also be served room temperature or even chilled. [/print_this]