A veggie- & protein-packed Quinoa Fried Rice from Keys to the Kitchen by Aida Mollenkamp! A healthy, easy vegetarian weeknight dinner. Gluten free.
Time to get excited – I have another giveaway!
Aida Mollenkamp’s new book, Keys to the Kitchen, is a new food bible. I planned to post this yesterday, but the book has so much that summing it up in a post is a nearly impossible task. In fact, it took me about 20 minutes to explain why I love this book to Jack (and I talk fast, so you don’t want to know how long a post that would be). Simply put, the book is beautiful, informative, helpful, and will make anyone, at any skill level, a better cook for having the tools it provides at their disposal. If you cook at home, you want this book.
One of my favorite things about the book is how each recipe has a “takeaway” and some suggested “riffs.” Aida takes you through the basics of a recipe and then shows you how to get creative… which is the part of cooking that I love the most. I was immediately drawn to the quinoa fried rice – I always have some quinoa in the fridge, Jack will never say no to having “eggs” and “fried” in his dinner, and fried rice is one of the most “riffable” dishes you can make. This turned out delicious, and I’m sure I’ll be riffing on this one pretty often.
this giveaway is now closed, a winner has been notified.
special thanks to Chronicle Books for hosting this giveaway.
Mushroom & Edamame Quinoa Fried “Rice”
- ½ tablespoon grapeseed or olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed & sliced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- A few handfuls chopped kale
- 1½ cups cooked quinoa
- ½ cup frozen edamame
- ¼ cup thinly sliced basil or cilantro
- 2 (or 3) large eggs, beaten
- 3-4 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
- Sriracha or red pepper flakes
- Sliced almonds & sesame seeds
- Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
- Seared tofu or other protein (optional)
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, and swirl to coat the pan. When the oil shimmers, add the garlic and green onions and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and ginger, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the kale, quinoa, edamame, and basil, toss to coat with oil and heat through. Cook until the grain is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Make a well in the center of the mixture, exposing the pan bottom. Put the egg and soy sauce in the well and stir until just cooked through. Break up the egg mixture and stir into the grain-vegetable mixture, stir-frying until the edges are golden, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with sriracha or red pepper flakes and additional soy sauce.
- Top with sliced almonds, sesame seeds, and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil & serve.
I’m not the best cook, so I don’t have any great tips. My favorite is to simply clean as I go. I get distracted by mess, so having a clean kitchen makes me focus more on the food. 🙂
one of my favorite kitchen tips, which is especially helpful when baking/cooking a lot, is to make a fresh batch of dishwater before you start to “clean as you go”. mise en place is also very important: getting tools and ingredients ready before you actually start.
this book looks great! 🙂
Woo Hoo! I have everything to make this in my kitchen right now! I love making healthy non-greasy Asian inspired cuisine at home. One of my time saver tips is to make easy breakfast sandwiches on the weekend and then freeze them. So during the week when you are rushing around before work all you have to do is microwave a sandwich for one minute and then you are ready to hit the road with breakfast in hand!
While using lots of dishes for meal prep keep the sink filled with warm, soapy water and place dirty dishes into the water. Later they will be easier to clean.
Starting out with all ingredients organized on the counter and then eliminating the mess as you go makes cooking/baking easier.
I like to plan my week’s meal out by going through cooking magazines (mainly old Gourmet and Veg Times) for that month in the past years and cookbooks. I write out all of the meals I want to cook (usually 4-5), write down the source and page the recipe is on and then I make a grocery list of what I don’t have in my kitchen stock. It takes less than 30 minutes, it saves time and money due to being organized and it helps me get energized to cook by seeing beautiful photos and imagining how delicious it will be!
Love the cookbook! My tip is to always to pound my chicken breasts before cooking….they always cook up evenly.
My favorite kitchen tip is to take your time! There is nothing worse than rushing through a recipe only to realize that you forgot a key ingredient like baking soda!
I always use a lid to boil water! always! no matter what!-that’s it, that’s my tip.
it looks so delicious! and I really appreciate the mass quantity of gluten free recipes, which are hard to find-without specific flours, and as healthy as everything here! If I had the time, I would make all the recipes in your blog and simply never stop!
I love (and try) ANY kitchen tip that has to do with keeping our sliced avocado from turning brown before we can eat it up. (not like that usually takes that long.)
Hi Kelly, will you share your avocado tips? I squeeze lemon or lime on mine… I’ve heard the trick about storing it with an onion… if you have more, I’d love to know/share!
My favorite kitchen tip is using mise en place when cooking. Having everything measured and ready to go makes my cooking so much more streamlined and efficient, which is important for someone who is not always the most organized person.
My tip is to make large portions of basics like brown rice, cooked veggies, and protein so meals can be put together quickly when youre crunched for time!
My favorite kitchen tip is to always put used dishes in soapy water in the sink while cooking – that way food won’t get stuck to pans, even if you don’t have time to wash them right away!
Always rinse a microplane or knife after using if you don’t intend to wash immediately — cleaning is much easier (no stuck-on bits that make it dangerous to wash!).
Don’t be afraid to use salt! It makes everything taste better (especially chocolate-y things, in my opinion!)
I love this one because it’s one of the first tips my mom taught me when we would bake Christmas cookies: don’t throw away butter wrappers, keep them and use the to grease your baking supplies!
My new favorite kitchen tip is to plan our meals ahead of time, I have cut down our food bill and we have very little food that goes to waste. A win win!
I have a lot of food allergies (dairy, eggs, nuts, and coconuts), which can sometimes make cooking and following delicious/healthy recipes difficult. However, I always keep soy milk, Ener-G egg replacer, and unsalted soy margarine at home so that any recipe is easily modified! I also keep plenty of olive oil, and I’ve found that substituting olive oil for butter in recipes makes it just as good! There is yet to be a good substitute for a whole egg, but I keep my hopes up that there will be one eventually! And cleaning as you go helps too 🙂
My tip is to measure all the ingredients before you start putting it together. When It helps me me avoid making mistakes because I am not rushing to measure, read and mix at the same time.
Nice music, measured ingredients and a clean kitchen make for a smooth experience.
This cookbook sounds amazing! My tip is to involve your children in cooking/baking early so they don’t leave home not knowing the basics!