It has been a looooong day here that started with dashing out of the house a 7am with a gym bag and a loaded slow cooker for our office potluck. The timing of Christmas this year is kind of tricky for recipe planning with my full time work schedule, I haven’t really been into preparing elaborate holiday meals this year because time is an issue between work and family gatherings. I have to rush home after work tomorrow to get food and gifts ready and dash out the door again to a family party, no leisurely time to get creative in the kitchen this year. That’s okay though, I think I have everything ready.
Clearly I’m not the only one feeling a little stressed.
The pups have been perfectly happy to relax at home and enjoy the fireplace.
I spent a good amount of time in the kitchen yesterday preparing a massive quinoa dish for an office potluck party. After looking at many vegan holiday and potluck recipes online, I ended up writing this recipe thinking it’s slightly spicy, sweet, decadent, but still healthy and simple. And the leftovers freeze well if my co-workers decide it’s too healthy since I work with a lot of twenty and thirty something IT guys that won’t eat anything with green that didn’t come from a drive thru.
Curried Quinoa and Raisins
- 3 cups quinoa, rinsed
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
- 3 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 cups of raisins
- 2 tsp. salt
- 6 cups of vegetable broth
In a large pot, saute the coconut oil, onion, and garlic over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add vegetable broth and quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a high simmer and stir in raisins, salt, lemon juice, curry powder, and nutritional yeast. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes, until loose liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Serve and enjoy. Makes 8-12 servings.
The quinoa absorbed the liquid nicely while the raisins added a nicely gooey texture.
I loaded the entire dish into my slow cooker and stored in the fridge all night. Then plugged in the slow cooker at the office this morning and set it on low so it would be nice and hot by lunch. I also poured in a little extra veggie broth to keep it from drying out and burning to the bottom of the slow cooker.
As I suspected, there weren’t a huge amount of vegan options at the potluck, there was a veggie and fruit tray, and chips and salsa. I ended up with a pretty healthy and colorful plate, I think mine was the prettiest one at the table.
Like most potlucks, there was way too much food, so I got to bring plenty of leftovers home which was great, I was feeling a little wiped after the gym and had more quinoa for a simple dinner tonight.
And I’m not tired of it yet! The quinoa has a nice curry flavor with a slight spice, but also a gooey and sweet thing going on from the raisins making a nice dish to appeal to a larger crowd.
Oh WOW! Yummy Foods! LOVE the expressions on the dogs faces, too! Priceless!