Quinoa and Corn Griddle Cakes with Salsa

I was going to post something else tonight, but I made these this evening and they were so delicious I decided to use these instead. My mom sent me this recipe from Prevention Magazine and said it was a hit at her house. The griddle cakes are reminiscent of latkes but a little chewier and have a nice sweet corn crunch to them. This recipe serves two with some leftover salsa. The salsa is nice and acidic with a beautiful array of colors. The leftovers would be great with chips or on a baked potato. This recipe has a lot of ingredients, but I think you will find that you have most of this stuff on hand already.


















Ingredients
(adapted from Prevention Magazine)

Cakes
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup reduced sodium savory vegetable broth
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
3 scallions, sliced finely
1/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 T buttermilk or regular milk
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
a few shakes of hot sauce
2 T canola oil

Salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 jalapeno chile, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 medium red bell pepper, minced
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T olive oil
1/8 t salt
1/8 t pepper

Optional Toppings
Sour cream
Avocado slices

Directions
Make the salsa by combining all the salsa ingredients together. Chill in fridge while making the cakes or longer.

Prepare quinoa by cooking with broth in a sauce pan until it boils. Cover and cook for 15 minutes on low until the broth is absorbed. Fluff with a fork, and add remaining ingredients except for the oil.

Heat oil in a large fry pan at a medium high temperature. Scoop about 1/4 cup of the quinoa mixture at a time onto the pan and flatten with the back of a spatula. Cook about 3 minutes on each side until browned. Serve topped with salsa and other toppings as desired.

Pico de Gallo

I use this a lot, so I figured I would give it an individual post before I started adding it as an ingredient to other recipes. Pico de Gallo is great in burritos, tacos, on baked potatoes and just great alone on chips with a cold beer or margarita :)
















Ingredients
two roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 a white onion, diced
1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 seranno pepper, finely chopped
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Add all ingredients to a bowl and refrigerate for an hour to let the flavors blend. Makes about 2 and a half cups.

Depending on your tolerance for spicy you can add more or less serrano. If you aren't into spicy food, remove the seeds from the pepper.