We’ve been getting a lot of rain this weekend and that’s good and so are the cool looking clouds.
Miko does not agree, he and Leela are getting a little frustrated and bored.
I’ve been catching up on a lot of cleaning and a little experimenting in the kitchen. Last week I scored a huge bag of sunchokes from a co-worker, which are very interesting looking root veggies.
Cleaning them is quite a project too, I had to work on each one for awhile with a veggie brush to get all the dirt out – whew! They look a lot like larger chunks of ginger when cleaned up.
And like jicama when chopped up.
From what I’ve read, they can be eaten raw, but very tricky to and not recommended since they can cause a lot of gas and be harsh on the digestive system. So I decided to try them simmered in a quinoa recipe with balsamic and Dijon to compliment their slightly sweet flavor.
Tangy Sunchoke Quinoa
- 1/2 lb. sunchokes, washed and chopped
- 3/4 cup quinoa
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 3 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
Bring water, sunchokes, and quinoa to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until loose liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Serve and enjoy. Makes 4 servings.
This dish makes a colorful and filling one-pot meal.
The sunchokes were still crunchy and firm even after simmering for 30 minutes, and had a slightly sweet artichoke-heart flavor with the texture somewhere between potatoes and jicama, very interesting! And a hearty and filling veggie with a lot of fiber.
If you don’t have sunchokes, they could easily be substituted with potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or carrots in this recipe.
My little dog is bored out of his mind! We get one day that’s warm enough for him to get his walk in, and then it’s back to being too cold to take him out. Spring won’t get here soon enough! Those clouds are beautiful!
I’ve never had sunchokes, I’ll have to give them a try as I love artichokes.
This dish looks and sounds awesome! I haven’t done anything with sunchokes at home – I think I only have had them once – out, too – but I would love to try them again – if I can find them!