Kaniwa from Roland Products, pronounced “Ka-nyi-wa”, is a staple grain of the ancient Aztec and Incan cultures whhich has been cultivated for thousands of years throughout South America.

The crunchy, earthy grain is loaded with protein and makes a complete meal when mixed with vegetables.

Kaniwa Plant

Roland Foods offers a wide variety of specialty foods from around the globe and was kind enough to send me this box of Kaniwa to try at home.

I have cooked with Quinoa in the past and I love it.

Kaniwa is similar to quinoa but seems to feel hardier and denser.

I gathered all the vegetables I could find and chopped them to equal size.

1 package of Grape tomatoes cut in half, 7 green onions, 1/2 of a red onion, 1 can of pinto beans, 2 cups of corn, 1 red pepper, 1/2 of a English cucumber, 1 bunch of cilantro,the juice of 3 limes, 1/4 cup of olive oil and salt to taste.

I garnished with avocado.

I put all of the chopped vegetables in a bowl, cooked the 12 oz. box ( about 2 cups ) of Kaniwa and added to the veggies.

I added it hot to the vegetables to bring them to peak flavor.

I find that adding hot grains to the veggies gives off just enough heat to liven the flavors.

I mixed everything then added the olive oil and the lime juice.

Serve and garnish with half an avocado.

Add salt to taste.

This was fantastic.

Everyone loved this vegan, protein rich meal which could also be great as a side dish with grilled salmon.

We have making pizza down to science here.

And I must admit that this is due to the secret weapon in my kitchen; My Daughter!

She has the perfect touch when it comes to preparing the dough; which we buy at a local pizzeria, and she has the perfect touch when it comes to layering the ingredients!

She gets the dough just right. Thin but not too thin and she has a light touch with the cheese, which is key to proper cooking.

Her specialties include but are not limited to the Margarhita and pepperoni pizzas.

We were so confident with our skills that we threw these pizzas on the grill! First time ever and they were perfect!

Fresh oregano made the pepperoni especially delicious for th meat eaters but the overwhelming favorite was the Margarhita with basil fresh from the garden and fresh mozzarella.

I tried my hand at something a bit more fancy; spinach and red onion with mushroom and goat cheese topped off with a balsamic vinegar reduction.

The reduction came out perfectly, it was my first attempt! I simply poured about 1 cup of balsamic vinegar into a small frying pan and on meduim heat let it cook until it started to thicken.

My mistake was to pour it over the pizza before baking. I should have drizzled it over the pizza when it was finished cooking to keep the thick texture that I so proudly created!

Lightly blanche the spinach before layering on your pizza. It can dry and burn if you don’t.

Tr your hand with your favorite ingredients. Be patient. Cook with loved ones and Enjoy!

This amazing potato salad recipe has endured a handful of incarnations.

Originally, it included bacon so I, a vegetarian, have been on a quest to replace that bacon flavor with a handful of substitutions.

I have tried avocado in the dressing, toasted pine nuts, immitation bacon; spices. You name it.

Nothing really captured not only the flavor of the bacon but the crispy texture or greasy mouthfeel, either.

Fried leeks were my next attempt to capture all of these elements that have always seemed to be missing from the veggie version of this very popular dish.

Recipe:

Chop and boil 4 lbs. of red skin potatoes

Chop 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper

Chop 7-8 green onions

Chop 1 red onion

Fry 2 leeks until crispy

Add ingredients together when cooled

Mix togehter about 2 cups of Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise with about 2 Tbsn of yellow mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Learning about leeks was the next step.

My very knowledgable girlfriend gave me some useful tips when dealing with leeks:

Clean them very well as they have dirt in between the leaves and use only the white to bright green portion when frying or using for salads.

The dark green leaves can be used for soups and stews.

This corn on the cob cooks on the grill. What could be easier!?

Open the husks and remove the silk

Mix together butter and crushed garlic and rub all over the corn

Close the husk and place on the grill. Delicious! and Easy!

I used 1 medium eggplant and sliced into thick planks.

Then dredged them in flour, egg wash and Italian style bread crumbs and fried until golden.

Then I place them on a baking sheet and kept them at about 325 degrees until we were ready to make our burgers.

I toasted the buns with a bit of olive oil and made a mayo/spicy barbeque sauce to serve on the side.

My very handsome date, Wolf!

Meatless Monday! is gaining momentum! And for good reason. Protein is everywhere! We can afford to give the planet a break at least one day a week.

Portobello mushrooms stuffed with spinach and feta were amazing!

Nutritious mushrooms are yummy and good for you.

Delicious olive oil drizzled on everything created a rich and filling burgeresque sandwich.

I dug out the stem and brushed the tops with olive oil and broiled for about 10 minutes.

Cooking makes them meatier and tastier so don’t hesitate to brown them well for maximum flavor!

I blanched spinach for about 5 minutes and added feta cheese and mixed well, then stuffed the mushrooms, drizzeled olive oil on top and broiled them until them until things started to bubble and smell good.

I also broiled the whole wheat buns with a little bit of olive oil until toasty!

Tomato and red onion added the final touch.

Yogurt sauce would have aslo made a nice condiment compliment but we were ravenous!

We couldn’t wait to dig in!

Something light and “springy” was on my mind today.

A chill in the air did not stop the sunny skies from inspiring a salad full of all my favorites; avocado, black beans, corn, red onion, scallions and cilantro!

Lime and olive oil dressed this salad and allowed all the flavors to come through and keep it light.

You can get really creative with tomatoes, olives, peppers…I used what I had on hand.

I tend to go heavy on the cilantro!