Quinoa With Saffron

After reading about the many healthy qualities of quinoa I decided to serve it once or twice a week. I prepared it paella style with saffron, but meatless. I love its paella taste and with the added crunch of quinoa, it is super delicious. I did not even notice the absence of chicken, chorizo and prawns.

Quinoa with Saffron
1½ cups quinoa, washed and drained
¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red or orange sweet bell pepper, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
2½ cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
a pinch of saffron
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen petite sweet peas

• In a non-stick pan, heat olive oil, add garlic, onions, carrots, and bell pepper, saute for 3 minutes. Add the quinoa and saffron, cook for 2 minutes, stirring to mix. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, continue simmering for 5 minutes. Add frozen peas and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Nutella Pizzas

I made a few dessert pizzas with fruits and Nutella. For the apples I used eastern (Philadelphia) empire apples which are perfect for pies because they are so tasty, sweet and tart and they retain their shape when cooked. I made the pizza dough and baked it the same day instead of chilling it overnight in the fridge. I used half of the dough and 5 apples, sliced into 16 pieces, then fried in 2 T butter and 2 T sugar until soft and caramelized. The other half of the dough I made into Nutella and dried blueberry pizza. Both are sooo good. Nutella is great with a lot of different fruits. We also love it on toast with sliced strawberries on top.

drizzle more Nutella on the apple pizza before serving

gust the blueberry pizza with powdered sugar, with a dollop of Nutella on the side

Pizza Dough
3 to 3½ cups bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¼ cups very hot water

• In a bowl, mix together 1½ cups flour, sugar and yeast. Stir in the hot water and beat for 2 minutes. Add the salt and oil, then gradually add more flour. Knead for 6 minutes. Transfer to a slightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, divide in half. Pat each half in 13 x 9 inch pans. Spread Nutella on both, thick or thin depending on how much you love Nutella. Arrange apple slices, slightly overlapping on top of Nutella. On the other dough, slightly press dried sweetened blueberries evenly on top (do not use fresh or frozen blueberries). Let rise for 30 - 40 minutes. Bake in a pre-heated 425°F oven for 25 minutes.

Beef Saute & Lentil Soup

I won't call this dish beef salpicao, I don't know why Filipinos call it such. There isn't a Spanish dish called salpicao and salpicon is a beef salad. There is a Portuguese meaty sausage called salpicao, though. I'll just call this dish garlic beef saute.

1 pound New York strip steak, cut into 1½ x 1½ inch cubes
5 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons sea salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil for frying
crispy fried slivered garlic

• Mix well first 6 ingredients, transfer into a Ziploc gallon bag and marinate overnight in the fridge. The next day, remove the meat, discard the garlic and reserve the marinade liquid. Pat the meat dry and fry in hot oil until brown or desired doneness. Transfer to a serving dish. Cook the reserved marinade in the same pan, let boil for 2 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning. Drizzle onto the cooked meat. Sprinkle with fried garlic.

Lentil Soup

8 ounces lentils, cleaned of foreign materials and rinsed
1 cup chopped smoked ham
1 carrot, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus extra for drizzling

• Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan and let boil, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

The Departed - Aaargh!

Can someone tell me why this mediocre movie won many awards and why lots of reviewers gave it a 5 star rating? Can someone please explain to me because I just wasted 2 and a half hours of my life watching Leonardo DiCaprio's lousy acting. This remake of the superb Hong Kong movie INFERNAL AFFAIRS is just terrible. Everything about The Departed is contrived, it is not as taut, stylish, smart nor exciting as the original, and what is up with the stupid ending? The writer and the director certainly in my opinion did not get the original's whole concept and had to rewrite the ending to satisfy the American audience, but it does not make sense. And the overuse of the F-word is simply tiring, if not annoying, and did not work effectively in this movie as it did in the hilarious dark comedy MADE (which has the most number of times the F-word was uttered). I know majority of people will disagree with me but it is MY honest opinion: 1 star. No one deserves any awards in this stupid remake.
Now I have to watch any of the movies in our dvd library that has Tony Leung in it to erase this disappointing movie from my memory. Mm, let's see, HERO or DAYS OF BEING WILD? Oh, I know IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. Happy Valentine's Day!:D