Tonight I was looking for a recipe full of protein and vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Red & White Quinoa
• 3 cups of vegetable broth
• Zucchini (4-5) sliced in 1/2'' rounds
• 2 onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• Black beans
• Corn kernels
• Grilled Chicken breast

Boil Quinoa in vegetable broth, sautée zucchini, and sliced onions in olive oil with chopped garlic until tender, prepare black beans if already cooked, make sure they are drained and no liquid in them.  Cook corn kernels and dice up grilled chicken (note: omit the chicken if you want this to be a vegetarian dish)

Spread quinoa in a lightly greased baking dish, you can opt to use spray oil or butter.  Spread zucchini/onion/garlic on top of quinoa, spread black beans and corn on top, and add chicken last.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve as desired.

It's a rainy late afternoon and I am in need of bringing in a little of the outdoors to create a warm and versatile dish. While I wait for all these delicious vegetables to cook down I can plink out the recipe fresh from the garden:

• 4-5 zucchini cut into 1/2'' pieces
• 1 eggplant cut into 1/2'' pieces
• 1 red/yellow bell pepper cut into 1/2'' pieces
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms sliced
• 4-5 cloves of garlic chopped finely
• 1/2 cup organic extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sweet/smoked paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

cook all ingredients together in a cast-iron sauté pan until soft.

:-) and there you have it!

All the fresh young greens are sprouting at this time of year and pesto is a perfect recipe to carry us into Spring.  This recipe includes the new basil leaves on my basil plant and some young baby arugula from the farmer's market.  Think young vegetables and delicate leaves for Spring! I like to add arugula to the recipe for the nutty flavor.  You may also consider dandelion leaves as well and of course dandelion has a detoxification benefit for the liver.  I also like to mix my oils as walnut oil gives you all the benefits of the omega-3 fatty acids and a good source of selenium, phosphorus,magnesium, zinc, and calcium.  A well deserved recipe to carry us into Spring.

• 1 bunch fresh arugula rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup walnut oil
• 1/2 cup  extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
• Salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 lemon squeezed
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1/4 cup pignoli nuts

Blend all ingredients in your blender and serve over pasta, fish, or chicken.