Veggie Quinoa Fried "Rice"

Who doesn't love a cup of fried rice from your favorite hibachi restaurant?  This healthy version (I even think The Slender Student would approve!) incorporates delicious ingredients from my 2013 healthy foodie grocery list.  It's easy to make and satisfying...and it won't leave you feeling guilty at the dinner table.  My family enjoyed this meal the other evening with Asian-inspired, sesame seed-encrusted grouper.  I'll post that recipe soon, too!

veggie quinoa fried "rice"

Adapted from one of my favorite blogs, Love & Lemons

Serves 3-4

3 cups cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon canola oil
6 garlic cloves
4 green onions, thinly sliced
4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 cup frozen edamame
1 cup baby bok choy
1 cup snow peas, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauc
Sesame seeds
Salt
Sesame oil

1. In lightly-salted, boiling water, blanch the bok choy until tender; drain and cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and swirl to coat pan. Add garlic and green onions and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and snow peas until golden, about 5 minutes.

3. Add quinoa, edamame and bok choy. Cook until quinoa is golden brown, about 3 minutes.

4. Make a well in the center of the mixture, exposing bottom of the pan. Put the beaten eggs and soy in the middle and stir until just cooked through. Break up the egg mixture and stir into the veggie quinoa mixture. Stir fry until the edges are golden, about 3 minutes. Taste and add more soy sauce or a drizzle of sesame oil accordingly. Serve immediately!

*Keep in mind that you can add or subtract any vegetables you choose! That's the beauty of a mixed vegetable recipe.

Cookies with Mrs. Fields

Yesterday was such a “treat” in countless ways. I had the privilege of baking cookies with the cookie master, Debbi Fields Rose, famously known as the one and only “Mrs. Fields.”

When you think of the iconic Mrs. Fields character, you’re probably in for a shocker. She is definitely not a tollhouse elf, but indeed a woman with more energy than I could ever convey—maybe it’s all the sugar? Heck, she even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year and will judge a new TLC show next season!

peanut butter with hershey bars.

Mrs. Fields has discovered that the perfect cookie requires dancing to the Kitchen Aid for a full ten seconds before turning off the mix master. She vouches that you can never have too much butter, vanilla extract or chocolate (Guillart is her favorite milk chocolate; Bakers is her favorite white chocolate). She believes that sweetness—literally and aesthetically—and joy are key assets to baking in the kitchen.

Clearly, there’s something behind the cookie.

And while I can’t go into too much detail on exact measurements and steps to make these irresistible, buttery, rich cookies, I can tell you that my sister Julia, Cassidy and Carly Gubin, and I learned many baking tips that will carry us through the holidays and beyond.

Taste testing the cookie dough perfection. Debbi approves as well.

- The vanilla extract should overflow in the measuring spoon. Trust Debbi.

- Cut the butter in small pieces before adding them to the blender. And keep the butter cold.

- After blending butter and sugar, make sure the butter pieces are “no larger than the size of a pencil eraser."

- Dancing to the Kitchen Aid adds entertainment and preciseness!

- Use a scooper to perfect your cookie’s roundness.

Baking cookies with Mrs. Fields is like throwing a football with Tim Tebow or discussing politics with President Obama.  Basically, you won't find a better teacher and expert in the field of cookie making.

I deeply appreciated her approval regarding this blog thus far.  She shared with me the value and importance of creating a "brand" that an audience can connect to.  I am taking her words to heart and hoping to make this "brand" a successful and enjoyable one.

We laughed.  We danced.  We shared baking secrets.  We ate too much cookie dough.  We were so full, we didn't even have room to try to the cookies after they cooled.

Thank you, Debbi, for the extra two pounds I woke up with this morning...and the friendship we have formed.

[Make sure you follow Debbi on Twitter or Instagram - her name is @butterisbest.  Fitting, right?]