1/24/08

Pomegranate Quinoa and Veggie Tortillas

Pomegranates are one of those things that I pick up and put down several times during a grocery store trip. On the one hand, they're tart and delicious. On the other hand, they're expensive and I don't have many ideas with what to do with them- other than dig at it with a spoon while watching General Hospital. Luckily, my friend Sarah had an awesome idea which was: combine the seeds with quinoa! What a brilliant idea!

Now, when she did it there was some creative spicing involved. I was picturing a super simple side-dish with just a little pop, so I kept it really simple. I merely cooked the quinoa (with a little onion, salt, and pepper) then added in a pomegranate worth of seeds when it was cooked. Oh so good with black beans- it may just replace rice in my house for a while.

In the meantime I sauteed some veggies- zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and peppers, and whipped up a sweet little sauce with a bit of leftover tofu, roasted garlic, and roasted peppers. (With hot sauce and s&p to spare, of course.) The sauce was a little too sweet I thought, but I'm going to keep experimenting. Man do I love roasted garlic though. I wrapped it all up in some wheat tortillas and it was truly perfect. And provided plenty of leftover for lunch I might add.

The best part is that despite the fact that I had bought the materials for chicken and cheese quesadillas for the fam, they decided they wanted my vegan dinner instead. I just love that.

*Oooh also, Bazu from Where's the Revolution posted a review of a few DC restaurants, including Java Green a local fave. Check it out!

4 comments:

J said...

What an interesting combination, putting together quinoa and pomegranate! I'm with you in a lot of ways, I can't think of a whole lot to do with a pomegranate besides just eat it plain. I wonder what else you can do with this highly nutritious fruit.

Kudos for making something so yummy that your family decided to eat that rather than their omni meal! Must have smelled and tasted delish, we know it looks good just by looking at your pictures.

I'm happy I stumbled upon your blog!

jd said...

Ooo! I love the pomegranate + quinoa combo you have going there.

I'm the same way with pomegranates - I really like them, but they ARE expensive (& kind of labor-intensive, too). Plus, to be honest, I haven't quite fell in love with quinoa yet. Hopefully this recipe will help get me there :)

Thanks!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Mmm your blog looks delicious

Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan! said...

i love, love, LOVE this idea. brilliant. i'm always looking for new ways to use quinoa, my favorite grain and pomegranates always stump me.
thanks for sharing!

and thanks for stopping by and enjoying my blog ;) it's good to know that, even while i've become quite the lazy, pregnant vegan where cooking and blogging is concerned, there are still cool peeps out there visiting.