Good Old Favourites #8

It's the weekly cooking post.

Confession time. I am actually not a very good cook. I burn rice regularly, I hardly ever make dessert from scratch and I am a terrible baker. Just ask my children. Many a "Let's Bake" afternoon ended in tears, with one of us running a finger/arm/wrist under the cold water.

But I am passionate about eating well, and reasonably healthily. In our house, that means - low on the salt and sugar, high on the vegies, medium on the protein, and low on the carbs and fat.

We love good vegetarian options, and this one has been done so many times, it's a classic. I made it as a salad on Sunday, and the guests went back for seconds - unprompted. It is that good. We often have it just on its own too, and it keeps well for lunch the next day.

Quinoa with roasted vegetables

Ingredients

500g butternut, diced

30 ml honey

50 ml olive oil

1 red onion, sliced

125ml balsamic vinegar

15 ml sugar

125ml port wine

250ml quinoa

1 red pepper, sliced/diced

3 baby marrows, sliced

250ml mixed toasted nuts and seeds

200g feta cheese (optional), cubed

coriander to serve

Method

Heat oven to 200 degrees, roast butternut, drizzled with honey, and a little olive oil (I add nutmeg and cinnamon, and sometimes skip the honey.) Set aside to cool.

In a non-stick frying pan, heat the onion, balsamic vinegar, sugar and port. Simmer until this is sticky.

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to packet instructions - it's like rice, and it should be transparent, with little "tails" when done.

Saute red peppers and marrows in remaining oil. 

Toss everything together(except onion) with feta and seeds. Top with caramelised onion mixture and chopped coriander.

Last week's favourite.

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