Red Quinoa-Oatmeal Porridge with Peach and Golden Raspberries

I love the bulk bins at Whole Foods. The prices are the most competitive I've seen and I can stock up my pantry well enough to go in any direction I wish on a whim. This is great for two reasons: I am in college (read: poor), and I don't have to fall into the rut of variations on a theme of pasta dishes that would make Chef Boyardi beg for mercy.

I've had quinoa before, but this time I decided to go for the more exotic-looking red quinoa. Of course it sat in my pantry for a few weeks before I stumbled across this recipe for a red quinoa porridge with peach and white tea syrup. Then this past Sunday I found myself with all of the necessary ingredients, as well as a few extras for my personal embellishment, and decided to dig in.

My recipe is essentially the same as the original, expect I've added half a cup of golden raspberries in place of one of the peaches and doubled the amount of oatmeal. There may be some other amendments that I made on a whim, and I'll account for those in the recipe posted below. Also, I used extra thick oats, for more substance and because I like my oatmeal thick!

Red Quinoa-Oatmeal Porridge with Peach and Golden Raspberries


Ingredients:
1 peach, peeled and diced
1/2 C raspberries
1 1/2 C water
1/2 cup milk
2 tT agave nectar (optional)
1/4 cup red quinoa
1/2 C extra-thick rolled oats


Method:
Place the quinoa, peaches, raspberries and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, cooking for 30 minutes, then add the oatmeal, milk and agave nectar.


Cook until the oats are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve warm, topped with fresh peaches and raspberries, if desired, and a side of greek yogurt topped with honey or fresh fruit.

Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry and Peach Coulis and Sea Salt

This may be my longest lapse in posting yet. Thankfully, I have a sweet post to get everyone back at the table. I have a recipe for chocolate mousse that I made back in February or March. It was sweet, creamy, rich and dense, and after a day in the fridge it developed this great, complex flavor that made it that much more irresistible. However, while the dense-ness of the dessert was nice in the fall, I needed something a little lighter as we entered deep summer in DC. The tweaks I've made are small, but they result in a nice, smooth consistency and a fluffiness that feels as though you are eating a cloud spiked with chocolate. As for the coulis, it was my first time doing anything of that sort. It came out great, but I need a squirt bottle before my plating looks more like art than someone just spooning some syrup onto a plate.

Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry and Peach Coulis

Ingredients:

2 eggs, whites and yolks separated

3/4 C milk

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 C olive oil

3 T dark-roast coffee

1 T maple syrup
1 t vanilla extract

Method:
Separate the yolks and the whites. Whisk the egg yolks and the milk together, then pour into a sauce pan over medium heat, mixing in order to prevent the milk from scalding. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add to the yolk-milk mixture. Heat until it reaches 160 degrees, then remove from heat. Pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bit of egg that may have formed from the heat in order to create a smoother consistency.

Melt the chocolate in a separate sauce pan over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the chocolate from burning. When melted, take off the heat, stir in the coffee, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and the olive oil.

Add the milk and egg mixture to a blender or food processor. Slowly, pour in the chocolate mixture until well combined, and frothy. Pour the mixture into your serving glasses or a large glass bowl (I used my 4-cup pyrex bowl) and refrigerate. Depending on the size of the containers it will take anywhere from 30 minutes (2 ounce serving glasses) to 3 hours (my 4-cup pyrex bowl) to set.

Serve with the coulis drizzled on the plate, a pinch of salt on the mousse, and a dollop of whipped cream.

The blobs on either side of the plates are the unstrained raspberry coulis and peach coulis.

For the coulis:

(I didn't measure anything out so here are some approximations.)

Ingredients:
1 handful of raspberries or one peach, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 t brown sugar
1 t lemon juice

Method:
Allow to steep in a small bowl in the refrigerator for one hour. Mash with the back of a fork, then strain using a fine mesh sieve (straining is optional, though I like the results). Reserve the pulp or seeds (still tastes good and some people like it). Use the strained coulis to garnish.