Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad

From Leftovers to Newovers: I had some mint, parsley and quinoa in the fridge and started searching online for some recipe inspiration which used these ingredients. I found this great Parsley, Mint and Quinoa Salad recipe by Martha Stewart which I experimented with by adding some other ingredients to the recipe.

I just love it! It's so refreshing with the mint and lemon. It was one of the dishes I made for Shane's 30th back in April and finally got around to posting the recipe for it. Great on it's own, side salad or with pita!

Parsley, Mint, Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
(adapted from this recipe)
Makes about 6 servings.

You'll need:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped 
• 2 cups mint leaves finely chopped 
• 1-2 cucumbers diced
• 1-2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 green onions chopped
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa (from about 1/2 cup dry) 
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus fresh lemon juice 
• Extra-virgin olive oil 
• Coarse salt 

How to:

1. Cook quinoa ahead of time and let it cool down completely. (Here is a great recipe on how to cook perfect quinoa every time)
2. Preheat oven to 180ºC (about 365ºF). Peal and dice the sweet potato. In a bowl, drizzle a bit of olive oil and toss to lightly coat. Spread the diced sweet potato on to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake for about 15 to 25 minutes and turning them over half way through.
3. Combine chopped parsley, mint, cucumber, garlic, green onions, cooled quinoa, in a large bowl.
4. Mix in a juice of a lemon, lemon zest, olive oil and a touch of salt and mix it all together
5. Once the sweet potato is out of the oven and cooled, mix it in with the salad.
6. Serve as the main dish, a side salad or with toasted pitas.

Optional: Serve with pita

• 3 whole-wheat pitas (or tortilla, which is what I had in my pantry at the time) - heat up pitas or tortillas, until toasted, on a sandwich grill or under the broiler in the oven. Cut into wedges.
• In a bowl, a couple spoonfuls of greek yogurt with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, salt and olive oil.

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From Leftovers to Newovers: Creamy Curried Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Soup

Now that's a mouthful! Let's hear you say that 3 time fast! Haha

Today I'm introducing a theme for my blog: 'From Leftovers to Newovers.' When I was as kid, I didn't really like eating any leftovers from the fridge. Now, I've grown to like leftovers and I enjoy finding leftovers to create 'newovers' (does that work?? It's going to be a thing I tell ya haha!). I like to try to use up all the odds and ends I find in the fridge to come up with an new dish. Whether it be a bowl of rice, half a jar of sauce, veggies that are just about to go bad, or a bowl of butter chicken, it's fun to try and figure out what you can make with it all - kind of like my very own little Master Chef challenge. Once it's cooked up, it will last a couple more days in the fridge. Unless of course it's been eaten up, which is even better!

So instead of letting stuff in the fridge go to waste, try to find ways to use it up and you might end up with something delicious and maybe even a new recipe. Trying to find ways to combine ingredients that you wouldn't normally combine, is the challenging part but also fun part because you get to be creative and experiment! It's so rewarding when you've successfully made a nice meal and knowing that you got the most out of your money and groceries.

Here's my version of a curried cauliflower soup with my leftovers, but feel free to improvise your version!

Oods and ends findings: cauliflower and half a jar of butter chicken sauce.
What I turned it into: creamy curried cauliflower and sweet potato soup!

Tip: Having a well stocked pantry (as Jamie Oliver likes to say), helps for turning odds and ends into something yummy.

Serves: 4 to 6

You'll need: 

• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, chopped 1 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 500ml chicken/vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp curry powder, 
• butter chicken sauce (if you have it kicking around like I did, if not you can substitute with 1 tbsp of curry powder / curry paste)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (1 tsp if you like some more heat)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 can coconut cream (optional, but recommended)
• salt & pepper to taste

How to:

1. In a large sauce pan, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat and sauté the onions until softened, about 5 minutes. If it starts to burn, add a tbsp of water.
2. Add cauliflower, sweet potato, chicken stock, spices, butter chicken sauce and if needed, add just enough water so the vegetables are just submerged. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes or until veggies are tender.
3. Once the vegetables are soft, remove from heat. Using a stick blender, purée until creamy and smooth. 
4. Return to heat and if it's too thick, thin with more stock if desired, add coconut cream (optional). Salt and pepper to taste. Heat for a few minutes until hot.
5. Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley or cilantro. 

Tip: Alternatively you can use a light cream instead of coconut cream. The soup is pretty good with out the cream but the coconut cream and curry go so well together and gives it that extra creaminess. 

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Quinoa Sweet Potato Burger

I absolutely love this recipe for quinoa sweet potato cakes that I found by GenY Foodie. I was looking for ideas to make something with quinoa and sweet potatoes and Google search led me to this!

I am currently obsessed with quinoa and its versatility and I have also been having sweet potato cravings lately. So, I am thrilled to have found something that combines the two and, let me tell you, this quinoa sweet potato cake is very delicious, full flavoured and juicy. Even the boyfriend gave his 2 thumbs up knowing that it doesn't have any meat in it!

It is very filling and you can eat on its own, burger style, as a sandwich or break it up into a salad. Each cake is ONLY 164 calories (if you're counting that is)!

I chose to have it burger style:

• sandwich thins
• a dark green leafy lettuce
• sliced cucumbers
• avocado slices
• havarti cheese
• a touch of ranch dressing

And it kept me full and feeling satisfied. 

Here's the quinoa sweet potato cake recipe! Yum!!

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