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Gluten-Free Wednesdays: Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf

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Last week we look at the basics on quinoa and how to soak and cook it. Today, let’s look at some family favorite ways of fixing it.

When I went gluten-free, I had just discovered couscous and was enjoying it.  Since couscous is a wheat-based pasta, it was totally out after going GF and at the time I couldn’t find a replacement for it. Later, I discovered that quinoa was the perfect GF substitute for any recipe calling for couscous.

Quinoa’s slightly bitter, slightly earthy taste pairs exceptionally well with chocolate or fruits.  Ground into flour and put in chocolate cookies will work well. Or cooked whole, chilled until cold and tossed with fruit.  I sometimes add dried fruit to hot quinoa pilafs, such as dried apricots, as they pair well together.

My Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf is a good example of how to pair sweet and bitter. It’s an excellent sweet and savory dressing replacement and we enjoy it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, however I use it year-round as a side dish.

Last year, as I tested multiple recipes for the Christmas mailer, I quickly fell in love with this sweet and savory dish. We ate it for that meal, but the next day I reheated it for lunch and it took on a crispy crust that was awesome. So if you like a crisp, browned crust and a tender inside, spread this in a baking dish and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees until the top looks rightly browned to you.  I promise it won’t disappoint!

Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
3 Tbs lemon juice, divided
2 Tbs coconut oil or butter
½ onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1¾ cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
½ cup crispy or raw pecans, optional
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup golden raisins
1 apple, diced
½ orange, peeled, segmented, deseeded and chopped
zest of ½ orange
Dash sage, optional

In a bowl, combine the quinoa, water and 2 Tbs lemon juice. Stir and cover. Soak 24 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the quinoa, stock and salt. Stir, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the stock is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional few minutes to drive off extra moisture, if needed.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in ½ Tbs lemon juice and the remaining ingredients. Taste, adjust seasonings, and add the extra ½ Tbs lemon juice, if needed.

Can be served warm or at room temperature or spread in a pan and cooked at 350 degrees until the top is lightly browned.

This post is part of Soaking Grains Gallery.

Desserts- Nut Butter Cups

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This is a big hit here, and is my go-to recipe for a filling snack without a lot of carbs.  This recipe is from my Menu Mailer. These need to stay refrigerated or frozen, but they do great on the go or in a lunch box with an ice pack or in winter.   Kids like the mini cups best as they don’t melt before they can eat it all. I did both mini and regular sized cups and kept the layers fairly thin. A regular muffin cup-size makes a great size for an adult’s afternoon snack. These are only slightly sweet, if your family likes sweet things you’ll need to increase the honey or stevia or combine the two.

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My Story

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Note: I am neither a dietitian nor a doctor.  I do not dispense medical advice nor do I offer any information on treatments nor cures for any medical condition. Always consult a physician before proceeding with any treatment.  Our full disclaimer is at the bottom of this page.

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In June and July on the blog, we’re going to discuss gut health.  Gut health is a hot topic in the traditional foods world because so many people are not healing despite a traditional foods diet.  I became seriously ill and healed my gut before the currently fashionable diets came out.  This is my story.

A very wise man in my life often tells me, “A problem well stated is half solved.”  Five years ago, we knew all of the problems, but had none of the answers.

I was born 7 weeks early to an undernourished mother who was 95 pounds when I was conceived.  My childhood was rather uneventful health wise, other than huge tonsils and repeat ear infections.  I grew normally and had none of the digestive problems associated with celiac disease.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001 and was told I’d never had kids.   I changed my diet to traditional foods after seeing my cat, Blue, have an ‘incurable’ and life-shortening health problem healed by a species-appropriate diet. I was told he wouldn’t live long and would require expensive, difficult medication until his death.

It had worked for him why can’t it work for me?

 

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Curried Pumpkin Soup

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Jeff and I love this soup. The combination of pumpkin, coriander, coconut milk and curry is beyond fabulous. Don’t skimp on the rapadura, it offsets the spiciness and really makes the flavor pop.  This is a large pot of soup, it makes at least 12 servings.

Curried Pumpkin Soup
From the Menu Mailer

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Baby Steps- changing to healthier fats

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If you’re wishing to change to a traditional foods diet, one of the first changes to make is the type of fat you are using.

  • Shortening- if you’re new to baking your own goodies, the best substitute for shortening in baked goods is Spectrum’s palm oil shortening.  Butter will also work where the fat is cut into flour in order to create a flaky structure in a baked good.  Make sure the butter is cold before you cut it in.  If you are dairy free and making something with enough substance to hold its own structure, such as biscuits, coconut oil will work.  Again, cut it in cold.  Coconut oil will also work for any baked good cooked in a baking dish, since you don’t need to worry about the spreading issue.  Coconut oil will not work in cookies, as the low melting point makes them spread too thin and merge with each other.  Lard can also work as the fat in some pastries, such as pie crusts, for savory dishes.
  • Liquid oils- liquid oils such as vegetable oil, canola oil or soy oil can be exchanged with butter or coconut oil.  You can also use lard or tallow, depending on the dish.  If the flavor of the dish blends well with those fats, it works great.  Tallow, in particular, has a strong flavor and smell and must be used carefully to disguise it or your kids will likely reject it on smell alone.  The first time I used tallow, my husband walked into the house and exclaimed, “WHAT is that smell?!?”
  • Peanut oil- for frying.  If you’re doing french fries, lard and tallow work great.  Coconut oil also does well to fry foods.
  • Olive oil- olive oil is great in unheated applications.  It’s great for drizzling on finished dishes or for salad dressings.  However, because olive oil has a low smoke point, you should use oils appropriate for heat in cooked applications.  The best two options are coconut oil and butter.  You can also use the Spectrum palm oil shortening in heated applications.
  • Margarine- switch to butter.
  • Bacon fat-  Keep using it.  It’s great to put into vegetable dishes for flavor.  You can not absorb the nutrients in vegetables without some fat with them.  Do your best to source a quality bacon that doesn’t have nitrates and nitrites.  I prefer Applegate Farms when I can’t get a locally produced bacon.
  • Mayonnaise- switch to a quality one made with good oils, or make your own at home.  Wilderness Family Naturals makes a mayo with good oils, and is the one I recommend.  WAPF recommends Delouis Fils.
  • Lard- commercially available lards are preserved with BHT and other chemicals.  If at all possible, get lard from a local farmer who raises their hogs on pasture.  You can also make your own lard at home.

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KerryAnn Foster runs Cooking Traditional Foods, the longest running Traditional Foods Menu Mailer on the internet. KerryAnn has over nine years of traditional foods experience and is a former Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader. Founded in 2005, CTF helps you feed your family nourishing foods they will love. Each mailer contains one soup, five dinners, one breakfast, on dessert and extras. You can learn more about our Menu Mailers at the CTF website. For a free sample Menu Mailer, join our mailing list. You can also join our forum to chat with other traditional foodists and learn more.