Video: Our Co-founder Ravi Introduces Toasted Quinoa
There are two new babies in the I Heart Keenwah family. See them both in this video!
Read MoreThere are two new babies in the I Heart Keenwah family. See them both in this video!
Read MoreAugust 6 marks Bolivian Independence Day! Congrats to all our Bolivian friends! To celebrate, we'd like to share some pictures from our visit to Bolivia for this year's quinoa harvest. The more time we spend in Bolivia, the more we fall in love with the country, its people, and its rich culture of cultivating quinoa. It is undoubtedly the most sustainable source of organically farmed quinoa in the world!
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we wanted to share our gluten-free recipe for stuffing using our quinoa puffs. The recipe also happens to be vegan (using olive oil instead of butter and omitting any eggs). Perfect for anyone with food restrictions or someone looking to eat a little healthier around the holidays. The seasoning from our Herbes de Provence Quinoa Puffs lends itself well with the deep savory flavors of mushrooms. This will be a hit with everyone at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Ingredients:
2 tbspn olive oil
1/2 lb of button, crimini or shiitake mushrooms
1 medium sized onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
16oz (2 cups) vegetable broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (optional, omit if you have a tree nut allergy)
juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
kosher salt and black pepper
9 oz (3x 3 oz bags) of I Heart Keenwah Herbes de Provence Quinoa Puffs
Place mushrooms, garlic and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until fine. Set aside.
Heat oil in pan and sauté mushroom, garlic and walnut for 10 minutes on medium heat. Mushrooms should reduce and liquid should evaporate. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Add celery and parsley leaves and sauté for 2 minutes. Add stock and bring to a boil. Add quinoa puffs and mix gently. Allow some of the puffs to get broken up to make the dish look more like a traditional crouton based stuffing. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Transfer to a greased baking dish or skillet. Cover and bake for 20 minutes on 325 F. Remove foil and continue baking until top is crisp (~15 minutes). Serve with sprinkled parsley on top.
Recipe adapted from "The Best Vegan Stuffing" by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats.
Phew, what a year 2015 has been! When Sarah and I started toying with the idea of I Heart Keenwah in 2010, we never thought it would come this far. 2015 marked a lot of changes for the company: the opening of our Chicago office and the addition of our new employees Natalie and Josh (hi guys!), the launch of our quinoa puffs, and a branding overhaul. Things I'm thankful for:
1. Our awesome employees - As co-founders of I Heart Keenwah, Sarah and I are seriously lucky to now have full time employees. Josh and Natalie are an amazing addition to the I Heart Keenwah family. Not only are they incredibly resourceful and hardworking, but they are also quirky and fun. Natalie is our in-house vegan encyclopedia, and Josh is an avid outdoorsman. We have learned a lot from both, and we eat more vegan food than we did previously (the "Natalie effect").
2. Brew Doctor Kombucha - My one guilty pleasure (other than listening to 80s new wave when I'm catching up on accounting) is kombucha. Brew Dr. is one of my favorite brands that seems to be more available on the West Coast given their HQ in Portland, OR. My favorite flavor is Clear Mind, a refreshing mix of green tea, peppermint and rosemary.
3. Minaal Backpack - I travel a ton for I Heart Keenwah, and I hate having to carry bulky luggage. A recent find has been the Kickstarter-backed Minaal's Carry-on Bag. Slim, compact, ergonomic, this bag does it all. The best thing is that it can carry a week's worth of clothes plus DSLR camera and laptop and still manage to fit in the under-seat storage department of any economy class ticket.
4. Maangchi's Korean Cookbook - I love eating Korean food, and I have been a super fan of YouTube sensation Maangchi since she launched. Maangchi published a killer print cookbook this year, and it is a great resource for making healthy (and veggie friendly) Korean food. I even adapted one of her recipes with quinoa to make quinoa kimbap.
5. Alter Eco - We have always looked up to sustainable foods purveyor Alter Eco since launching I Heart Keenwah. This year the company inspired us again by switching to compostable wrappers for their addictive chocolate truffles. Nice work, Alter Eco!
It's the last week of summer but we're going to party like it's the first. Who needs an ice cream sundae when you could have a Nice Cream Monday? This fruit-based, dairy-free ice cream fake out of a favorite of ours, and is easily jazzed up with a wide variety of toppings. Here's our secret recipe - grab a spoon!
Ingredient (yes, that's right, there's only one ingredient):
4-6 very ripe bananas, peeled and cut into small pieces
Spread out banana pieces in a large, resealable plastic bag and freeze 1-2 hours.
Place frozen banana pieces in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend until creamy. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Add a splash of almond milk (optional) to speed up the process and achieve a cream(ier) texture. The final consistency will be similar to soft serve.
Place a few scoops of Nice Cream in a small bowl and drizzle with date syrup. You could make your own date syrup or use our personal favorite Date Lady (she also makes a killer caramel sauce). For final crunch, add some smashed up our I Heart Keenwah Almond Quinoa Clusters for a sweet n' salty sundae, or rather, Monday too good to share!
Now onto the toppings!