Friday, May 18, 2012

Tahini Stir Fry Sauce

For about a year now I have been making the sauces that I use in stir frys.  Given how ridiculously easy it is, I don't know why I used to buy the stir fry seasoning packets that you add water too.  I usually just eye ball it and add some chicken or vegetable broth, some soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil.  One key ingredient that makes most Asian food taste better is fish or oyster sauce.  A tiny splash of it can really change the flavour.  I had heard about tahini a while ago and had NO IDEA what it was.  I kept thinking it was like tzatziki sauce or tamari.  Regardless, I was clueless.  After some googling I realized it was sesame seed puree...kind of like sesame seed butter.  I bought some having to idea how I would use it!  As a side note, I have been doing this alot lately (buying new foods) and have been having fun trying to find recipes to make with the random and new (to me) ingredients I pick up.  I decided to doctor up one of my usual sauce recipes with same tahini and here you have it..my new go to stir fry sauce.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Cranberry Quinoa Squares

Call me a princess but I don't like to eat the same thing for dinner two nights in a row.  Leftovers for lunch the following day are totally cool though.  I know some people who have a severe aversion to leftovers. They cannot fathom eating something that has to be re-heated.  Not me.  I would prefer leftovers in my lunch sac (I sound like I am in grade 3:) over a salad or sandwich any day.

The other day I made a double batch of quinoa thinking I would use it the next night in a different way...didn't happen.  The following day I realized this quinoa was going to get tossed if I didn't use it up.  I came across a recipe for dark chocolate quinoa bars and decided to use that as a starting point.  This recipe turned out really well.  Not only are these bars Kevin approved (have the icon ready but need to figure out how to post it) they are also endorsed by his bike team.  The majority of this batch got sent along with the team on a road trip to a race.