quinoa burgers with lemon and dill yogurt sauce

These quinoa burgers are just adapted from a recipe I found on the Whole Foods website. They turned out quite well and the lemon/dill yogurt sauce is just so good.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained 
2 cups water 
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion 
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic 
2/3 cup grated carrots 
2/3 cup seeded and grated yellow squash 
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 
Zest of 1 large lemon 
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 egg 
1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
Extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill 
1 1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt 
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside off of the heat for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and set aside to let cool. 

In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa with onion, garlic, carrots, squash, spinach, zest, flour, baking powder, egg, salt and pepper. Form mixture into eight (4- to 5-inch) patties and arrange on an oiled baking sheet. Bake, flipping halfway through, until lightly browned and just crisp, about 25 minutes. 

Stir together dill, yogurt and lemon juice in small bowl, then spoon over warm quinoa cakes.

beet, daikon, fennel and carrot slaw with mint

This refreshing and light slaw is a variation on a cole slaw. No cabbages or mayonnaise though! Instead, I used beets, daikon radishes, carrots and fennel. Daikon radishes look like overgrown white carrots and have awesome detoxifying qualities. The sweetness of the carrots, beets and licorice-y fennel help to offset the sometimes bitterness of the daikon. Also, having a food processor  with a grating option makes this a hell of a lot easier. (Grating all of these root vegetables by hand is a major pain in the ass!) 

3 red beets, peeled and grated

2 daikon radishes, peeled and grated

1 fennel bulb, grated

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1/4 cup brown rice vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T honey or agave

1 bunch of green onions, minced

2/3 cup of mint leaves, chopped fine

salt and pepper to taste

a sprinklin of sunflower seeds

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Grate beets, daikon, fennel and carrots in a food processor and add to bowl. Toss to coat. Add chopped mint leaves and a sprinklin of sunflower seeds. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Done and done.