Thank you all for supporting Teens Can Cook, Too thus far! Next week, you'll be hearing from a team member instead of me, for it'll be my birthday weekend and I won't have time to cook anything. If you haven't, make sure you follow us on all of our social media handles below:
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Meet the Teens Can Cook, Too Team!
Hey, everybody! Today's post will be pretty short, but it's super exciting. I just released a video about the Teens Can Cook, Too team members! Please take the time to watch it, because you're going to be hearing from these people a lot from here on out. Plus, they really deserve the support. All of them have so much to offer, and we've got tons of fun plans for this school year! Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEdYIBpnhio&feature=youtu.be
Thank you all for supporting Teens Can Cook, Too thus far! Next week, you'll be hearing from a team member instead of me, for it'll be my birthday weekend and I won't have time to cook anything. If you haven't, make sure you follow us on all of our social media handles below:
Thank you all for supporting Teens Can Cook, Too thus far! Next week, you'll be hearing from a team member instead of me, for it'll be my birthday weekend and I won't have time to cook anything. If you haven't, make sure you follow us on all of our social media handles below:
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Apollo's Rainbow Quinoa Bowl
Hey, everybody! I hope you all had a great first day of fall! Today's post will be short - my weekend was really busy, and I'm currently posting this in the midst of completing all my homework. Part of what made my weekend so busy was that I had some team members over at my house to discuss goals and ideas for the year. We each made a potluck dish and had a great time. Next week, there will be a video introducing all of the team members, so keep an eye out for that!
For my potluck dish, I made a quinoa entrée that was inspired by the Sunshine bowls I had at the Mercer Island Farmers' Market. They taught me about the ingredients that go into their emulsion sauce, so I figured I'd do a nice variation on that. I think it turned out really well! This is the perfect dish to have as the grocery stores sell their final summer vegetables, but you could essentially make it with any veggies you want to. The name originates from the sunshine bowl, because Apollo is the Greek sun god. The flavors and vegetables I chose could definitely be Greek, but it could really go any way. Feel free to experiment with the vegetables and flavor profiles in the sauce, and email me your recreations at teenscancooktooteam@gmail.com!
Apollo's Rainbow Quinoa Bowl
Serves 8 - 10
Ingredients
2 cups rainbow quinoa
1 quart chicken broth
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers (any color), diced
2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 handfuls of pre-washed baby spinach
4 green onions, finely chopped (for garnish)
For sauce:
1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
2/3 cup raw, unsalted and sliced almonds
2 large handfuls basil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
The juice of one large lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the quinoa and chicken broth to a boil at high heat. Then, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not check the quinoa's progress during this time, or the steam will evaporate and the cooking time will be all wrong. Once cooked, remove from heat. Fluff with a fork and let rest, covered.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, soak the cashews and almonds. You need just enough water to cover all of the nuts, but do not add any more than that. Let soak for about 15 minutes. Pour the nuts and all of the water into a blender or Vita-mix. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and blend on a high speed until a thin, smooth consistency is reached. Adjust seasonings if needed.
3. Combine the quinoa, sauce, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, feta, pine nuts, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Adjust seasonings if needed.
4. To serve the quinoa bowls, add a handful of spinach to the bottom of each bowl. Scoop a generous helping of the quinoa on top. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
Thank you all for reading tonight's blog post! Check back next Sunday to meet our lovely team members, and don't forget to follow us on all of our social media handles - especially this blog! As long as you are logged into a Google account (Google +, YouTube, Gmail, etc.), you can become a follower. Just click "Join This Site" on the right-hand side of this blog.
 |
| All of our dishes from the Teens Can Cook, Too potluck |
For my potluck dish, I made a quinoa entrée that was inspired by the Sunshine bowls I had at the Mercer Island Farmers' Market. They taught me about the ingredients that go into their emulsion sauce, so I figured I'd do a nice variation on that. I think it turned out really well! This is the perfect dish to have as the grocery stores sell their final summer vegetables, but you could essentially make it with any veggies you want to. The name originates from the sunshine bowl, because Apollo is the Greek sun god. The flavors and vegetables I chose could definitely be Greek, but it could really go any way. Feel free to experiment with the vegetables and flavor profiles in the sauce, and email me your recreations at teenscancooktooteam@gmail.com!
Apollo's Rainbow Quinoa Bowl
Serves 8 - 10
Ingredients
2 cups rainbow quinoa
1 quart chicken broth
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers (any color), diced
2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 handfuls of pre-washed baby spinach
4 green onions, finely chopped (for garnish)
For sauce:
1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
2/3 cup raw, unsalted and sliced almonds
2 large handfuls basil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
The juice of one large lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the quinoa and chicken broth to a boil at high heat. Then, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not check the quinoa's progress during this time, or the steam will evaporate and the cooking time will be all wrong. Once cooked, remove from heat. Fluff with a fork and let rest, covered.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, soak the cashews and almonds. You need just enough water to cover all of the nuts, but do not add any more than that. Let soak for about 15 minutes. Pour the nuts and all of the water into a blender or Vita-mix. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and blend on a high speed until a thin, smooth consistency is reached. Adjust seasonings if needed.
3. Combine the quinoa, sauce, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, feta, pine nuts, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Adjust seasonings if needed.
4. To serve the quinoa bowls, add a handful of spinach to the bottom of each bowl. Scoop a generous helping of the quinoa on top. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
Thank you all for reading tonight's blog post! Check back next Sunday to meet our lovely team members, and don't forget to follow us on all of our social media handles - especially this blog! As long as you are logged into a Google account (Google +, YouTube, Gmail, etc.), you can become a follower. Just click "Join This Site" on the right-hand side of this blog.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenscancooktoo
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Polenta Recipe + NEW VIDEO!
Hey, everyone! I have lots of exciting things to share with you all today. I have a new recipe below
that I created earlier today, plus an exciting video about how to create your own recipe! My friend (and member of the Teens Can Cook, Too team) Annika and I worked together on this video by visiting the Mercer Island Farmer's Market, and later taking our recipes to the kitchen. We made her original recipe of Apple-Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter Glaze as well as my recipe for Polenta with White Beans and Green Sauce. The muffins didn't turn out very well.... but Annika and I came up with some ideas to test out next time. Once the recipe has been perfected, I'll post it here for you all to see!
Watch the new video HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i957wlby8Q&feature=youtu.be
Please follow this blog, comment on this blog post, and follow me on all the Teens Can Cook, Too social media handles! A lot of these social media handles are brand new (in order to accommodate my name change), so I need as much help as I can get to gain followers. Thank you all so much, and stay healthy!
that I created earlier today, plus an exciting video about how to create your own recipe! My friend (and member of the Teens Can Cook, Too team) Annika and I worked together on this video by visiting the Mercer Island Farmer's Market, and later taking our recipes to the kitchen. We made her original recipe of Apple-Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter Glaze as well as my recipe for Polenta with White Beans and Green Sauce. The muffins didn't turn out very well.... but Annika and I came up with some ideas to test out next time. Once the recipe has been perfected, I'll post it here for you all to see!
Watch the new video HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i957wlby8Q&feature=youtu.be
 |
| Annika and me picking out vegetables |
Polenta with Green Sauce and White
Beans
Serves 4
Ingredients
Two logs organic polenta, cut into ½-inch medallions
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans
½ of a large yellow onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
1¼ cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
Salt and pepper, to taste
For green sauce (you will have sauce left over):
2 cups kale, coarsely chopped
2 cups baby spinach
½ of a large zucchini, cut into 2-inch pieces
¼ of a large yellow onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
1½ cups organic frozen peas, defrosted
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 cups basil leaves
½ cup parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt and pepper, to taste
About 1 ½ cups of water (adjust as needed to achieve desired
consistency)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Preparation
1. Combine all
of the green sauce ingredients in a blender or Vita-Mix on a high speed. Adjust
seasonings and consistency as needed.
2. Heat 1 tbsp
of the olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add half of the
polenta and pour 2 tbsp of balsamic over the top. After about 2 – 3 minutes, or
once one side of the polenta is golden-brown, flip the polenta. Pour another 2
tbsp of balsamic over the top and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Transfer the polenta
to a platter or plate. Repeat these instructions with the remainder of the
polenta. Do not turn off the skillet once
you are done.
3. Immediately
after you finish cooking the polenta, add the cannellini beans, onions and
garlic to the skillet. Cook until the onions are translucent and soft. Then,
pour in about 3 cups of the sauce. You can freeze your leftover sauce in an ice
cube tray and use it for pizza, pasta, or to make this dish again the next day.
Cook the sauce and beans for about 5 minutes, stirringly constantly.
4. Serve each
plate by arranging the polenta in a circle and pouring the green sauce over the
top. Top each plate with heirloom tomatoes. Enjoy!
Please follow this blog, comment on this blog post, and follow me on all the Teens Can Cook, Too social media handles! A lot of these social media handles are brand new (in order to accommodate my name change), so I need as much help as I can get to gain followers. Thank you all so much, and stay healthy!
Twitter: @teenscancooktoo
Instagram: @teenscancooktoo
- Madeline :)
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
Hey, everybody! Sorry that it has been forever since I've posted. The summer was incredibly hectic, and I just didn't have the time to create recipes or post anything. I'm now going to stay as dedicated to posting as I possibly can. I know that I say this every time, but things are going to be different.
The first new thing about Teens Can Cook, Too is that I'm starting a new teen team. This is a team of a few teenagers who will be appearing throughout my videos and posts. Also, they will be stepping in for me if I am too busy to write a blog post. There will be a new post every Sunday, and this time, I mean it. Most of the posts will be from me, and I am still the main teen that you will be hearing from, but my team members will give you something interesting to read each and every week. Every team member has a different area of expertise about food, and hopefully it'll give you a better idea of just how many things teens can accomplish in the culinary world.
Another big thing..... This is extremely important and YOU MUST READ IT if you want everything on this blog to make sense. As you may have noticed, this blog doesn't say anything about Madison Dillon anymore. That is because my name is really Madeline Dalton. When I started this blog three years ago, I used a fake name to protect myself from stalkers. At age 12, this was a good idea. Now that I'm a sophomore in high school and want to really put my blog out there, using a fake name has caused problems. I have changed my YouTube channel, email address, name on Twitter and more to accommodate the name change. Please take a look at all of my new social media handles. Now more than ever is a great time to subscribe to me, follow me and more, because I have to (sort of) start from the ground up. It really only takes a couple of minutes, and all my information is in the side bar on the right.
Thank you all for reading! Please share this blog with your friends, spread the word, and subscribe to all of the new social media pages. There will be a recipe from me this Sunday, so keep looking for that!
The first new thing about Teens Can Cook, Too is that I'm starting a new teen team. This is a team of a few teenagers who will be appearing throughout my videos and posts. Also, they will be stepping in for me if I am too busy to write a blog post. There will be a new post every Sunday, and this time, I mean it. Most of the posts will be from me, and I am still the main teen that you will be hearing from, but my team members will give you something interesting to read each and every week. Every team member has a different area of expertise about food, and hopefully it'll give you a better idea of just how many things teens can accomplish in the culinary world.
Another big thing..... This is extremely important and YOU MUST READ IT if you want everything on this blog to make sense. As you may have noticed, this blog doesn't say anything about Madison Dillon anymore. That is because my name is really Madeline Dalton. When I started this blog three years ago, I used a fake name to protect myself from stalkers. At age 12, this was a good idea. Now that I'm a sophomore in high school and want to really put my blog out there, using a fake name has caused problems. I have changed my YouTube channel, email address, name on Twitter and more to accommodate the name change. Please take a look at all of my new social media handles. Now more than ever is a great time to subscribe to me, follow me and more, because I have to (sort of) start from the ground up. It really only takes a couple of minutes, and all my information is in the side bar on the right.
Thank you all for reading! Please share this blog with your friends, spread the word, and subscribe to all of the new social media pages. There will be a recipe from me this Sunday, so keep looking for that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)