Quinoa Salad

Serves 6-10

1 1/2 cups red quinoa
1 sweet onion
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 medium apple, diced into 1/2"
1 medium pear, diced into 1/2"
3 celery stalks, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup diced strawberries (about 5 medium)
4 ounces spinach

Dice the onion. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat with a little bit of olive oil. Once the pan is hot, stir in the onion and cook until lightly brown for 5-7 minutes. Then pour in the balsamic vinegar and cook until most of the liquid evaporates (no more than a minute or so). Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar and the dijon mustard. Stir in the diced apple, bear, celery, cranberries, and strawberries. Stir in the cooked onions as well.

Now it's quinoa time. Rinse the quinoa with water, running your fingers through it for a few seconds. Strain out the water and put the quinoa in a large pot. Pour in 2 1/2 cups water and to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender but still has a little bite to it, should take between 10-15 minutes.

Take the quinoa off the heat, pour the spinach in the bowl with the vinaigrette and then pour in the still warm quinoa and stir to incorporate everything. The heat from the quinoa will make the spinach soft and make the other flavors come together. You can eat this salad warm or cold because it's great both ways.

If you're a fan of a little extra heat, I like to put some thai chile sauce around the plate and then mound the salad in the middle of the plate so when you start eating, you get a little chile sauce in every bite.

Crêpes

This is a basic sweet crêpe recipe. However, crepes can also be used in savory dishes such as manicotti (fill with ragu and cover with tomato sauce). If you are making a savory dish leave out the sugar when preparing the crêpe.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dairy free milk
1/4 lukewarm water
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter replacement, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch salt

The best way to prepare this batter is either with a blender or a stick blender. Simply place all the ingredients in a bowl or blender and blend until the mixture is smooth. When the batter is done it should lightly coat the back of the spoon.

Now, take your batter and either leave at room temperature for 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

When you're ready to make the crêpes, spray a non-stick pan and heat on medium. Ladle the batter in the pan and quickly swirl the pan to make sure the pan is evenly coated. Cook for about 30 seconds and carefully flip and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove onto a plate and continue with the remaining batter. You will probably end up throwing away the first one or two while you get your pan to the perfect heat. This is absolutely not something you want to try for the first time when you're having guests over.

Sweet Potato Soup

This is a spectacular cold-weather meal that is both healthy and satiating. It's also great to prepare for dinner parties because it can easily be made ahead of time and then simply reheated prior to serving.

5-6 medium sweet potatoes (enough for 3 cups purée)
3 chipotle chiles packed in adobo sauce + 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce
2 cups soy or almond milk, divided
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter replacement
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 fresh ground nutmeg
apple slices for garnish and several sprigs of fresh rosemary


Start off by cooking your sweet potatoes whichever way you're most comfortable doing so. Once they're cooked, wait until they cool slightly and then scoop out the flesh of the sweet potato into a food processor. With it, also put in your chipotles, adobo sauce, and 1 cup of the soy or almond milk. Purée until smooth and set aside.

In a large stock pot, heat the butter replacement until melted on medium heat and then whisk in the flour. Continue to whisk and cook until the roux becomes fragrant and light brown (about 5-10 minutes depending on whether you have a gas or electric range). Once the roux is ready, slowly pour in the chicken and broth and vigorously whisk to make sure the roux is incorporated. Then, you want to bring this to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it's boiling, add the sweet potato mixture that you set aside, the spices, and remaining milk and bring back to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes to let those flavors come together and become friendly.

When you're ready to serve, take an apple and thinly slice and immediately place the apple slices in acidulated water (cold water with a few teaspoons of lemon juice). Ladle the soup into the bowls and place a few apple slices with a sprig of fresh rosemary and serve.