game day snacks
i am pretty sure that has a different meaning to justin and i, than to everyone else
see- we are not huge sports fans <gasp!>
from new england and not drooling over tom brady every sunday, how can that be?
our game day consists of scrabble or battleship, card games (naughty minds anyone?) or PlayStation 3d move games - yes, we like to live outside the box, dare to be different
so, i thought i would share with you one of our game day snacks from this past sunday
quinoa spinach bites with a gingered orange honey dipping sauce
quinoa, spinach & garlic
a trio of healthy goodness
raw orange blossom honey, orange zest & segments along with ginger and a wee bit of sugar make a lovely dipping sauce
my honey surprised me with a few jars of beautiful honey from bee raw
- he knows the way straight to my heart
flax eggs are added to the quinoa mixture to get the binding action going
rounded packed tablespoons of the mix are rolled in chickpea flour
i wanted to give you 2 different cooking options
fried - 'cause who doesn't love them some fried food
baked - because there are still some us of trying to squeeze into our skinny jeans
both methods work equally well
baking makes for an easier clean up and a cleaner stove top
fried or baked - you really can't go wrong either way
quinoa spinach bites - gingered orange honey dipping sauce
makes 12 bites
you will need:
for the quinoa bites:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 flax eggs: 2 tbsp flax meal & 6 tbsp warm water
- 3/4 cup chickpea flour
- 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil for frying
- olive oil drizzle for baking
for the gingered orange honey dipping sauce:
- 2 tsp sugar
- juice & orange segments from 1/2 a large orange
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 2 tbsp raw honey
- 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
assembly:
- in a small sauce pan bring 1 cup of water to a boil
- salt & add quinoa
- turn heat down to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorb and the quinoa "rings" are visible
- place quinoa in a medium bowl, in the same pan over medium, heat oil
- add spinach, garlic & mustard - cook until spinach has wilted
- add quinoa back to the pan and stir until well combined - place mixture back into the medium bowl and refrigerate until cool (or place in freezer for a more rapid cooling)
- while the quinoa is cooling, make the sauce
- rinse out the pan you used for the quinoa, over medium heat add all ingredients for the sauce - cook over medium heat frequently stirring. cook for approximately 6 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken - the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools- refrigerate until ready to use
- once the quinoa has fully cooled, make your flax egg by combining flax meal & warm water - whisk until frothy. add flax egg to quinoa mixture and mix well
- place your chickpea flour in a bowl - with a tablespoon or tablespoon scoop, scoop quinoa and pack well - drop in chickpea flour and roll until completely coated
- if frying set the coated bite on a plate - if baking line a baking sheet with parchment and set the bites until all the quinoa mixture is rolled and coated
- if baking pre-heat oven to 425* - drizzle bites with olive oil or vegetable oil. bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
- if frying - heat oil in a deep frying pan and add oil- fry each side for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on each side. remove from pan onto a paper towel lined plate
- serve immediately with dipping sauce - these also go well with marinara sauce in place of the gingered orange honey sauce
- if not serving immediately- keep warmed in a 200* oven until ready to serve
Enjoy!
P.s. Don't forget about the Great Valentines Bake Off over at Fork & Beans!
these look delicious and i love that you used chickpea flour! i can't get enough of that stuff ;)
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure I saw Chickpea flour on your site and immediately went out to get some - I love the stuff!
DeleteFantastic pictures!!! We play a lot of board games in this house especially with our son. We're a touch competitive so it gets out of hand lol. We also play a lot of video games lol. But we do watch football as well. :) These sound delicious and I would eat them for any type of game day :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by & for your comment- I love your blog by the way!
DeleteQuinoa is getting real popular these days and I have seen a lot of recipes popping up. However, yours here is probably the most unique recipe I have seen that makes use of it! I can see that these little bites would not last long at this house. The dipping sauce is a delicious touch too. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming over to SMBP Tina - it is amazing how popular Quinoa is becoming, it is becoming mainstream which is such a great thing!
DeleteI like the sounds of your game days...especially if they include these quinoa bites! Cute presentation too in those individual little cups!
ReplyDeleteThank you Genevieve - I knew those little cups would come in handy sooner or later!
DeleteThese look delicious! I've never used chickpea flour before, but I'll have to try it out! And that is definitely my kind of game day...
ReplyDeleteI love discovering new flours- this one i saw over at the vegan chickpea, it has been so much fun cooking with - love your new life motto , eat well- travel often:-)
DeleteOkay, anyone who makes fancy quinoa bakes for Game Day that consists of Scrabble is MY KIND OF GAL!!! Loving you even more now...
ReplyDeleteFancy Quinoa - you are so funny, move to NH and I will make you Fancy Quinoa any time of day....hmmm though I am pretty sure you won't be giving up year round sun for negative temps & long johns anytime soon:-)
DeleteAwesome pics! Now I can't wait to go buy chickpea flour.... I recently made spinach tofu balls from the Moosewood cookbook, which were good and everyone loved. But I had to laugh bc it was for an evening, poorly lit party, so everyone kept grabbing them thinking they were meatballs. Hehehehe. I am an evil vegan. ;-) Can't wait to try these ones out on them!
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome - I love being a sneaky vegan too! I recently discovered chickpea flour, it has been fun to experiment with; thanks for becoming a follower & for the comment!
Deletei am digging that gingered orange sauce.. perfect with those nutritious bites of spinach and quinoa! chickpea flour is bought in bulk every month at my house!:)
ReplyDeleteI am officially hooked on Chickpea Flour - these were so fun to make, a little messy but worth it. The dipping sauce definitely took these to the next level of goodness :-)
DeleteThese look so good! YUM!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenn!
DeleteOh, the blasphemy!! :) I'm actually trying to come up with ideas for tomorrow's game (during which I WILL be drooling over Tom and Wes!), and these look perfect!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that Tom is nice to look at - and I heard from all the Facebook chatter we made it to the Super Bowl!!!
DeleteI found this recipe from this link: http://www.rd.com/food/recipes-cooking/vegan-appetizers/
ReplyDeletecan I just say, that honey isn't vegan, I'm disgusted! Not at you (obviously) but to the people promting this recipe as vegan! Anyone else notice this too?
Yes that was the first thing I noticed about this recipe. I'm unimpressed!
ReplyDeleteJust use coconut nectar instead of honey to make it vegan.
ReplyDeleteHow far ahead can I make the bites. I want to serve about 300 so want to make them a day ahead.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome in the air fryer. I didn't use any oil in the recipe and of course none in the air fryer. You don't need it in both. You can wilt the spinach in veg broth as well. My only comment is TOO MUCH OIL. These are so good. Well worth the effort!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Idea, I am so glad they work in the air fryer! They can also be baked using much less oil as well :) The 3/4 cup is for deep frying only.
DeleteHi! How far ahead can you make these? Do they re-heat okay? If re-heating, should I cook first? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, good job and thanks for sharing such a good blog.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is a great post I really enjoyed it seems like the bulk of knowledge you analogize and your writing skill so high for a newbie it is an amazing post so keep writing about new topics.
ReplyDeleteHi! I LOVE your site- your food always looks so thoughtful and tasty.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering where you were able to find this? I heard about these from a friend and checked one local liquor store, but they weren't carrying any. I think you might be near me, so I was wondering if you woudn't mind passing the info along.
Thanks for the sharing this informative and interesting post with us, I really admire your post as its it's really very helpful for my research.
ReplyDeleteregards,
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