Our weather has been oddly dry for this time of year, so dry that there doesn’t seem to be enough hand lotion in the world. I’m not complaining, it’s nice not needing my rain jacket or rain boots for the mud pit this area usually is this time of year. But the excessive dryness is doing a number on my sinuses making for some interesting runs and unhappy insides. So dinners for the last few nights have been simple comfort meals like the hemp nacho dip sauce from Kristen Suzanne’s Raw Vegan Hemp recipe book poured over lightly steamed broccoli and raw spinach.
Ah, raw vegan comfort dinner.
Miko is quite the fan of Kristen’s sauce too.
Hopefully I won’t have a fire-powered chihuahua later.
I also came up with a simple creamy creation to loosen up the sinuses at bit using a jalapeno from our garden. Last year the jalapenos we planted had no heat, they were so mild I could eat one whole and raw. Turns out I was over watering them with the rest of the veggies. So this year we planted them in a separate pot and made sure not to over water and the result is the complete other end of the spectrum, they’re almost too hot! One tiny jalapeno was the perfect amount of heat for this recipe.
Spicy Quinoa Stew
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 small jalapeno
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 cup shelled hemp seeds
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 2 zucchinis, chopped
- 1 cup green beans
- 4 cups veggie broth
In a large soup pot, saute onions in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Place veggie broth, jalapeno, garlic clove, and hemp seeds into a high speed blender and blend until mixture is frothy and white. Pour mixture into soup pot, add quinoa, carrots, zucchini, and green beans and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Then serve, makes 4 servings.
Since our jalapenos are so hot, slicing them is a nerve-racking experience wearing gloves and rinsing the knife and cutting board immediately after to avoid skin and eye contact. Tossing the whole pepper into the Vitamix and letting it do the mixing is much easier!
The soup base looks very creamy with the hemp seeds blended in.
The stew hit the spot for a little kick and warm comfort on a chilly winter evening.
The heat from the jalapeno is present and was the perfect amount for me, hubby would have liked a little more heat which you can drizzle pepper sauce over it for. This was also a great pre-run dinner not being too heavy.
“Hopefully I won’t have a fire-powered chihuahua later.” <– if he gets indigestion, just give him a Pepcid AC. Was reading another blogger's post the other day who's dog had GI stuff going on & the vet prescribed it. And pediatricians do it all the time, too, for babies with GERD.
Great eats. Glad the whole family enjoyed it :)
Interesting on Pepcid, I’ll have to remember that. Thanks!
That hemp dressing looks amazing! I’m running out of hemp seeds and your post has reminded me I must get some more!