Sunday Feast № 35 | Quinoa Salad

Don't know where this recipe came from. My guess is that it was from a vegetarian magazine or website or blog. It made it into my recipe notebook back when I didn't keep references. Let me know when you find a reference, but till then I encourage you to give this one a go. Make the whole batch, which is meant to have 12 servings, and make those servings larger for a stand alone lunch or eat the leftovers on the weekdays as your carry-with lunch. Chill in the refrigerator in a meantime, of course. With the magic of quinoa and freshness of vegetables and herb and fruit (yes, tomato is a fruit) and nuttiness, prove me that you are not feeling wholesome after having this salad. Let me know if used it as a side dish, if you used it a side dish at all, and what did you pair it with.

No rice cooker? Lost the box with cooking instructions? No worries. Bring 2 qt/2 L of salter water to boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 12-14 min, or until quinoa is tender and small 'tails' bloom from the grains.

Sunday Feast № 34 | Baked Potato

Baked potato is so pedestrian, and so simply comforting for that very reason. Helen Russell in her book "The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country" wrote how in the rural Jutland, where she ended up living for a year ... or ... I digress, feasts seemed to include something with potatoes more often than not. That something many a time was a pork product of one kind or another, but that is beside my rambling point. The Russets at my local seemed appealing all of the sudden, especially so since I prefer to either roast or fry or boil potatoes (yes, in that order, with the latter the only choice for young potatoes) rather than bake them, and Russets are perfect for baking; hence, there was something new to do at home. For me. Armed with Ali's recipe for the perfect baked potato at Gimme Some Oven and simply dressing the finished product with butter, sea salt, ground pepper, and dill, I was set to have my Jutland inspired meal. However, rather than porky anything, I opted for a different nod to the Scandinavian - smoked salmon. The meaty and porky sides will come out later in the year when the temperatures drop and need to feast rises.

Sunday Feast № 33 | Roasted Romaine Hearts with Vinaigrette

I like lettuce as much as the next person who likes lettuce. Its coolness is wonderful for hot weather, and having something light or lightened up, but unless loaded with extras that go beyond the dressing and extras with heft that might drown it as the star feature, lettuce does not even remotely feel like a meal. It just does not hug the tummy. Alas. With a bit of roasting, yes - roasting of lettuce, before getting dressed up moderately, it can be transformed. This is my favorite way of making romaine hearts into a meal with them still at the center. Sometimes I skip the cheese, or sprinkle on few bacon-y or bacon-like bits. The recipe is adapted from Food & Wine magazine from October 2013 - a recipe that inclued crushed roasted pine nuts in the vinaigrette and shaved hard cheese instead of crumbled feta.

Sunday Feast № 32 | Pesto and Feta Cheese Pizza

Are you still sitting on some frozen pizza dough from the time you made pizza Margherita? Made a new batch?    I am the former, freezer is my treasure chest, and lusting for that pizza base crunch, but with something other than tomato sauce. Here is something easy I threw together.

1 30 cm/12 in pizza base ½ cup traditional basil pesto ½ small red onion finely chopped 1 cup feta cheese crumbled

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F. Spread pesto onto the pizza base. Top with tomatoes, red onions, and feta cheese. Bake for 8-10 min or until cheese is melted and brown.