To me, Miko is still a puppy even though we were told he was about 5 years old when we adopted him. He has the energy and appetite of a puppy, he’s perfectly happy to eat all day and beg for everything I’m eating – even salad and broccoli.
After our evening walk, he goes back for dinner # 2 of settling for the dry dog food he left behind on dinner # 1.
And checks Leela’s bowl again in case she left any scrap behind.
And cleans both bowls. I wish I could eat like that and not gain a thing!
I was tempted to go back for seconds on tonight’s dinner because my vegan paella experiment came out quite nicely.
The Raw Project
Vegan Quinoa Paella for Two
- 1 Tofurkey Kielbasa link, chopped into small cubes
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/4 cup chopped leeks
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1/4 tsp. turmeric
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
- Saute leeks and olive in a wok over medium-high heat until translucent
- Add dry quinoa and bay leaf and saute until quinoa is golden
- Meanwhile, add sauce ingredients to a high speed blender and blend to a smooth liquid
- Stir in chopped Tofurkey and sauce into wok and simmer covered over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until excess liquid is gone. Remove the bay leaf and serve, makes 2 servings.
I’ve become a fan of toasting dry quinoa before cooking it in liquid, it adds firmness and crunch to the texture.
You could add more veggies, like chopped tomato, celery, bell pepper, etc. My fridge is sadly void of those now, a huge grocery shopping spree is on the agenda for this weekend!
I paired it with sauteed chard for a simple veggie side.
The colors and texture are very festive, the slightly crispy quinoa worked well with the chewy Tofurkey.
But the flavors are very nice – tangy, savory, slightly spicy, and a mild sweetness from the tomatoes. And it came together in under 30 minutes which works for me!
What a great spin on paella! The last time I had paella was with you….at FoodBuzz festival in Nov 2010 I guess that would have been…wow…memories!
Yeah, that was ages ago and it was just okay as I recall, not too exciting spice wise or hearty.
Baxter does the same thing– he looks for any pieces that were left behind, and licks his bowl for about thirty minutes after every single morsel has been eaten :-)
Too funny, I swear Miko is obsessed with food and our other chihuahua went through that phase when we adopted her.
Looks lovely!
I love the idea of toasting quinoa before cooking! Thanks :)
No problem, it add a nice, crunchy texture for a little change.
love it! love paella, actually gary got me hooked when we were traveling overseas last year. I love the idea of using quinoa for it!!!
Nice, jealous of your overseas adventures! Paella is a fun recipe to tweak, I’ve already got ideas for more versions. :-)
Paco plays this game where he saves half of his food for later and teases the other two because he knows he has some left and they don’t! LOL
What do you think of those Sun Dried Tomatoes? What brand are they and can I buy them online?
They’re pretty good, packed in a lot of oil which can be rinsed off and they’re not salty. I think hubby grabbed them from Raley’s, so they should be available at most grocery stores.