Quinoa Patties with Kale

I've decided to go gluten-free over the next month to see if it alleviates some issues I've had, so you're going to see some G-Free recipes on here.  I found this recipe on this gluten-free blog, which was adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day, and it was delicious!  You can do so many things with this recipe!  We drizzled lemon juice over them and ate them with some avocado.  My husband also ate his as an open-faced sandwich on some garlic toast.  I think next time I'll try making a dijon vinaigrette dressing to pour over them.  They'd also be great with spinach or mushrooms mixed into the patties.  I made some slight modifications to the recipe this time so here is what I did:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp minced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups steamed kale, chopped
• 1 cup oats (the recipe called for breadcrumbs, but I couldn't find gluten-free ones)
• olive oil

Prepare quinoa by boiling it in the water until the water is absorbed.  Let quinoa cool slightly and then mix with whisked eggs, cheese, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, kale and oats/breadcrumbs.  Let mixture sit for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large frying pan.  Pat together patties from the mixture and place in the frying pan to cook.  Let the patties cook about 7 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and crispy on the top and bottom.  Serve with the garnish of your choice!  This serves about 4 people. If you are cooking for less, I'd make the desired amount of patties and then refrigerate the mixture (rather than making all the patties and then refrigerating them), as suggested by the blog I read.

Stuffed Tomatoes

These were a bit tricky, but really tasty!  I modified a recipe my friend pinned on Pinterest: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/511633 to make it simpler.  The hard part for me was scooping the pulp out of the tomatoes without destroying them.  I think I'll try using a grapefruit spoon next time to see if the serrated edges help.

Tomatoes
2 large beefsteak tomatoes
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
3-4 cups fresh chopped spinach
1 clove garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch of thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Dressing
Pulp reserved from tomatoes
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard*
Pinch of basil

*Gluten free dieters: make sure your mustard doesn't contain gluten!

Remove tomato stems and blanch tomatoes by boiling them in hot water for 1 minute.  Then place them in a bowl of ice water and set aside.  This step will make it much easier to peel the tomatoes later on. In a frying pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Add chopped mushrooms and spinach and cook 3-5 minutes until spinach is wilted and mushrooms are tender.  Add garlic, lemon juice, thyme, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  While the mushroom/spinach mixture cools, remove the tomatoes from the bowl of ice water.  Peel skin off of the tomatoes.  Cut off the top of the tomatoes about 1/3 of the way from the top.  Carefully scoop tomato pulp and seeds out of each tomato and reserve pulp in a separate bowl for the dressing.  Now that the mushroom/spinach mixture has cooled some, add ricotta and parmesan cheese and mix well--reserving a small bit of the parmesan for later.  Fill the tomato bottoms with the cheese/mushroom/spinach mixture.  Press the tomato tops back on the stuffed tomatoes and sprinkle tops with the remaining parmesan.  Grease a baking dish with olive oil and place the tomatoes in the greased dish.  Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees.  While the tomatoes bake, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Remove tomatoes from the oven when the cheese mixture looks melted.  Serve hot with dressing drizzled over the tomatoes.