Girly Nights

As my husband is currently dedicating a large proportion of his time to grad school, I have the house to myself more often than I’m used to.  And alone time is something I covet.  I remember being in high school, and being so jealous of my friends whose parents went out and about, leaving them with free reign over the remote.  That almost never happened to me.

I’m making up for it now.

Now that I’m an adult, when I have the run of the place, it means getting sucked in to Pinterest, Joy the Baker Podcasts, and girly food for dinner.

Quinoa is girly food.  Men don’t love it.  It’s a little too out there for them.  But it’s grown on me, now that I’ve found a couple great ways to make it.  My suggestion for any of you who’ve tried it without loving it, is to find a recipe where it’s not used as a substitute for rice or pasta.  Quinoa isn’t rice and it isn’t pasta.  And if you use it as such, you’re going to be disappointed that you’re not eating those carbs.  Find a recipe where it’s used in it’s own right.

These are Heidi Swanson’s Quinoa Cakes from her latest cookbook, Super Natural Every Day.  Normally, I find Heidi’s food to be slightly intimidating.  When she says super natural, she means super natural.  Beyond crunchy granola.  But these little cakes contain nothing too out there, nothing I couldn’t easily pick up at the store.  And they had both Linsday and Joy’s stamps of approval.

After whipping these up, I was not suprised at how great they are.  With two of my favorite bloggers’ endorsements behind them, I knew they’d be a sure bet.  Plus, I’ve made great quinoa cakes before.  What shocked me was how filling they are.  Though I started with three on my plate, only two of these little cakes were all I needed (well, two of these and a vegetable of my choosing) to call it a meal.

To make a dozen, you will need:

• 3 C cooked quinoa, cooled (I cooked 1 1/2 C raw in 2 1/4 C boiling, salted water, which made more than enough)
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 C Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 C mushrooms, small diced
• 1/3 C chopped parsley
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1/2 C panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• olive oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in large bowl, stirring until a thick mixture comes together, and ingredients are well incorporated.  Form about 12 patties, by scooping out 1/4 C quinoa mixture, and flattening slightly with damp hands.  Set on plate.  Heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add 4 or 5 quinoa patties at a time, cooking till brown on one side, about 4 minutes.  Flip with spatula and cook till brown on the other side, 3 more minutes.  Set quinoa cakes on plate lined with paper towels, and repeat process to cook remaining patties.

If you want to make this ahead of time, mix up the ingredients and shape patties the day before, or earlier in the day.  Keep in refrigerator (Lindsay says uncovered, and I’ll trust her) till you’re ready to cook.