Yum Recipe and news about the food industry

Hey all!

Today is a good day...just finished my miso soup and loving the cloudy day around me...was on the internet and ran across 2 interesting things, a recipe listed on VegNews Mag from chef Tal Ronnen's new cookbook "The Conscious Cook" and an article in Time Magazine about the high price of cheap food.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458-1,00.html

Yummy Quinoa Salad:

Serves 4 What You Need: For the quinoa: 1 cup quinoa, cooked in vegetable stock according to package directions and cooled to room temperature ½ jalapeño, minced 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, minced 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Juice of 1 lime Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste For the sweet potatoes: 1 sweet potato, peeled and ½-inch diced 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the dressing: 2 tomatillos in olive oil, skins removed 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon rice vinegar ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro 1 teaspoon light agave nectar For the tortilla strips: Canola oil 2 corn tortillas, cut into ¼-inch strips 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning To serve: 2 avocados, diced Microgreens What You Do: 1. In a medium bowl, place all of the quinoa ingredients and toss to combine. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, or until soft in the middle and lightly browned. 2. Lower oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, toss tomatillos with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add vinegar, cilantro, and agave nectar, and pulse to combine. With the motor running, pour in remaining olive oil in a thin stream and continue blending until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Into a small, heavy pot add 2 inches canola oil, and heat until oil shimmers. Add tortilla strips and fry until crisp and browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning. 4. Place a 3-inch ring mold in the center of a salad plate. Fill with ¼ of the quinoa mixture and press down to pack the mold, smoothing the top. Place ¼ of the sweet potato pieces on top of the quinoa and press down gently. Top with ¼ of the avocado and press down gently. Carefully remove the mold. Repeat on the remaining salad plates. 5. Carefully place 2 tortilla strips parallel to each other about 1 inch apart on top of each timbale. Place 2 more tortilla strips perpendicular on top of those. Top with microgreens and drizzle dressing around the timbales.

What to say, what to write, so many things to explore! This is my first day blogging so I have no idea what I am doing yet. I plan to keep a log of my creations, thoughts and ideas to share with all who are interested. Some of my creations are clothing and accesories for girls and women, all handmade, all one of a kind using a method I like to call finger-crochet. I also like to make recycled, re-purposed art with anything and everything I find...I keep it clean and organized till an idea comes to mind. One of my main goals for this blog is to spread the word about the importance of reusing items, ideas on how to" do this with certain household items, because reclycling is not enough these days, or effecient yet. Another goal is to spread conscienceness about global issues, such as the atlantic patch, a huge assortment trash I believe almost the size of Texas floating around in the middle of the atlantic. And hopefully I will hear from you and your ideas too! Together we can make a difference!