I’m bored with every single one of my cookbooks. It’s not that I’ve cooked every single recipe, but each book has its own vibe and well, as much as love them…I’ve found myself restless and in need of fresh blood. In lieu of heading over to the bookstore (which will happen very soon), I found myself cruising the Food 52 website for inspiration and boy did I find it. Lemony, springy goodness in two very simple and delightful recipes. The first, is a quinoa recipe that I tweaked ever so slightly by replacing the basil with fragrant handfuls of mint. This dish will brighten your mood and likely your day. The second recipe is my first attempt at macaroons. I admit, I was a wee bit nervous having never made macaroons before, I’ve always imagined the cookies to be complicated with lists and lists of steps. Not so…at least not with these cookies. So simple and so good. Airy and crisp with hints of lemon and thyme, you could easily eat the whole batch in one sitting.
Would love to hear what books you’re cooking out of these days!
Cheers!
Lemony Quinoa with Mint
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, dry
2 cups water, cold
1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup Fresh mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup shelled hemp seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1 grind of black pepper
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Rinse the quinoa in cold water and strain.
Place quinoa in a pot with the 2 cups of water bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and place lid partially askew.
Cook quinoa for 15 minutes, remove from heat and let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes.
If you’re using frozen peas simmer them in water for a few minutes until thawed and plump.
Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey salt and pepper together.
Place the quinoa in a large bowl and stir the peas, mint, hemp seeds and dressing.
Serve warm or cool.
Lemon Thyme Almond Macaroons
The original recipe suggests a light hand with the lemon and orange zest, but I think
the cookies would be fabulous with a more intense lemon flavor.
Ingredients:
2 egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1 large pinch of sea salt
2/3 cup almond meal, freshly ground or store-bought
1 teaspoon, total, lemon and orange zest
t teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
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If you have thick cookie sheets you can skip this step. Stack cookie sheets (for insulation) and line the top sheet with parchment paper.
Using a mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Beat in the salt.
Beat in sugar until whites are shiny and stiff.
Fold in the almond meal, lemon and orange zest and fresh thyme leaves.
Spoon about a teaspoon of the batter onto the parchment leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
Warm your oven to 350.
Let the cookies rest on cookie sheet for about 30 minutes.
Place cookies in oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Turn oven off and keep cookies in oven for another 10 minutes.
Remove the cookies for the oven and let cool on cookie sheet.
