Take a close look at the picture above and you may notice that the ingredients look strikingly similar to those that went in to the veggie tartine I just wrote about. Plus harvest grains blend, minus whole wheat baguette. I chose to blog about this meal because: a. it was good; and b. it was easy and efficient and demonstrates just how versatile your fridge and pantry can be when you’re thinking creatively.
This kind of dish can be made with your favorite carb: knock yourself out with some pasta, rice, or even bulgar wheat and yes, quinoa. I actually think this is one of the few dishes I’ve made where I thought at the end that it might be better with pasta than the harvest grain blend. I don’t know what is happening to me lately, I seem to be going through some sort of taste bud change of life. Maybe one of these days I’ll even stock pasta in my pantry. The mind reels. Back to the vegetables: the only other thing besides the grains that I added into this meal were some toasted pine nuts and zucchini I had left over. More vegetables can’t be a bad thing, and at the end this was a satisfying and light meal perfect for a summer night.
Summer Vegetables and Grains
serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main dish
1c. cubed yellow summer squash
1c. cubed zucchini
1 large tomato (cubed the same)
1/4 c. coarsely diced garlic shoots (or 2 cloves chopped garlic)
2-3T. balsamic vinegar
3 oz. goat cheese
salt and pepper
1t. + 1/2t. oregano
~1/3c. chopped fresh basil
1c/ chopped fresh spinach
1/2 a pack or ~1 1/4 c. Harvest Grains Blend
2T. toasted pine nuts
1 1/2c. water
olive oil
In a small bowl, add the tomatoes, 1/2t. oregano, salt and pepper to taste, 1T. olive oil and 2t. balsamic vinegar. Mix to coat and allow to sit and marinate at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the dish. In a large saucepan, heat a swig of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic shoots, zucchini, and summer squash and saute for 5 minutes or until they start to softened. One thing I forgot to tell you about the garlic shoots is that the woman at the farmer’s market told me that you should cut them just below the flower part and discard that…I guess you just want to use the shoots. Anyway, season your vegetables with the remaining oregano and some salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the balsamic. Continue cooking for 1 minute and add the grains. Stir to coat and then add the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and allow to cook about 5 minutes. When the water has been mostly soaked up, add in the spinach, tomato mixture, basil and pine nuts. Stir and turn up to medium low for another couple of minutes. Add the crumbled goat cheese and salt and pepper to taste and serve.
