New York City, 2008. I remember this trip vividly. The NYC Marathon would take place that week, I would experience my very first Manhattan Halloween and there was this little thing going on called the Presidential Elections. Yup, I was there on Times Square, when Obama was elected to be President of the United States. A magical week in my favorite city with so many big events would naturally lead to meeting a whole bunch of fantastic people as well. When my friend and I were invited to celebrate Halloween at her friend’s house we quickly changed into our outfits, bought a bottle or two and waited quite a while to find a cab and drive down to Manhattan’s Lower East Side. That memorable night I made a fabulous new friend: meet Christina.
This former Canadian left Toronto many years ago to boost her modeling career in NYC. Although she planned to stay for short time, the city captured her spirit and as her career was booming, she decided that Manhattan would be her new home. Many years passed and the next thing I knew was that Christina commuted often between New York and London, where she’d spend time with her boyfriend. It wasn’t until I was putting together my London trip itinerary, that I spontaneously thought of texting her. She was in London and genuinely excited to be featured on Dishtales with her favorite food!
There we were, reunited in the heart of London, in their incredibly cute apartment with a (to die for!) rooftop terrace. Eating organic food has always been important to Christina. Considering her work it’s not only essential to look healthy, but equally important to feel healthy, be energetic and of course happy! The last few years she was strongly drawn to vegan lifestyle, as the health benefits made sense to her and she already didn’t eat meat anyway. Being an avid food-loving earthling, she enjoys creating simple and healthy dishes with loads of flavor. Today she is sharing her recipe for a delicious, easy, healthy and oh so colorful vegan dish with organic red quinoa and rainbow chard. With all these beautiful colors she decided to name her dish: Rainbow Quinoa Bowl.
This foodtastic recipe instantly became one of my summer favorites! I’ve been eating a lot of vegan food lately and although I’m still not ready to give up on meat, I really do appreciate discovering all these beautiful dishes. Thanks to Christina for sharing her Rainbow Quinoa Bowl recipe with us. I’m curious where in the world our next encounter takes place! 🙂
BUY:
- Serving 4
- 300 gr red quinoa
- 1 red onion (diced)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- a dash of chopped ginger
- 2 hands of Rainbow chard
- sesame seeds
- Mediterranean spice mix
- Mirin sauce
- Teriyaki sauce
- Furikake seasoning
- a handful of sliced carrots
- a handful of sliced broccoli
- 1 (sliced) red bell pepper
DO:
- Put olive oil, mixed Mediterranean spices, teriyaki sauce and furikake into a large frying pan or wok and heat for one-two min
- In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add red quinoa, boil uncovered for 12-14 min (depending on how Al dente you like it - you can make the stir fry in mean time as it cooks)
- Add a diced red onion, ginger and garlic to frying pan/wok - mix and simmer for 5 min
- Add thinly sliced carrot and broccoli. Drizzle with Mirin sauce and mix - cook over medium-high heat for 5 min or longer (depending on how crunchy/soft you want your veg)
- Add in red bell pepper for 1 min, then toss in the Swiss chard last as this doesn't take long to wilt
- Mix all of the ingredients into a large serving bowl and add salt/pepper to taste.
