Quinoa Cloud Cookies

It's spring here. I know because I'm standing in my kitchen, looking out onto the porch, watching a robin gather bundles of dried grass (from a neglected planter) to use as bedding in her nest. I was feeling bad about the state of my patio garden, but this makes me feel a bit better. I'm watching the robin, the sun is out, and I have a batch of cloud-shaped cookies in the oven. Even better, I'm excited to finally put my hand-crafted cookie cutter from Herriott Grace to use.

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Quinoa Salad w/ Roasted Pumpkin and Orange

It is totally autumn here in the South of New Zealand; everything has turned yellow, gold and beautiful orange. Inspired by autumn; this salad is a celebration of warm sweet flavour and brilliant burnt orange colours. Roasted sweet pumpkin, wedges of orange, chickpeas and walnuts tossed through delicate quinoa with rocket, feta and dressed with a balsamic reduction. The orange really shines through and adds such wonderful flavour that really makes this warm salad.

Choose a nice piece of kent or butternut pumpkin and large juicy oranges. Although I haven’t tried it, I really think this salad would also work well with couscous instead of the quinoa, if you prefer. This is a truly yummy warm salad; full of flavour, texture and plenty of hearty ingredients to make a wonderful vegetarian meal or warm side salad. Enjoy!!

Preparation time: 35mins
Serves 4 (as a main)

1 cup quinoa1

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Quinoa Skillet Bread

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The farmers' market up the street from my house just started again. It takes place one night a week, now through early fall. Last week a stroll through the twenty-some booths revealed a bounty of fava beans, strawberries, local micro-climate honeys, pea shoots, mandarins, king trumpet and lion's mane mushrooms, artichokes, and English peas. In the midst of all this, I stumbled on a farm I'm particularly excited about, Fifth Crow Farm - new to me. They were selling organic wheat berries, heirloom popcorn, farm fresh eggs and leeks. I picked up a couple bags heirloom Sonora whole wheat pastry flour (grown at neighboring Pie Ranch), and set them on my kitchen counter when I got home. I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to use it at the time. This flour is a bit coarser than the pastry flour I typically use, flecked with tiny hints of brown and gold.

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