Guess what? Tomorrow is Friday and all I can say is THANK GOD! It has been raining for 48 hours straight and it's putting a serious toll on my mood. It's hard to know whether I am just one of those people who needs sun to be happy or if I just can't stand children without recess. All I know is I'm seriously wishing I could go back in time to this...
Sigh.
So back in the present. I took a few days off from the gym earlier this week. I think my body really needed it and I was just so exhausted from traveling and getting ready for conferences next week. I think it's okay to take a few days off (very infrequently) but sometimes it can be hard to get back in the routine. I knew today I had to get back into it so I could get back in my grove. I did a nice 35 minute treadmill work out. I still can't run, but I did some good incline intervals. After I did about 20 minutes of lifting and ab work. Nothing too crazy, but got me back into work out mode.
It's hard to say how I feel about cooking. I do it, often, because I think basically the only way for me to eat healthy is to cook. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't mind it and sometimes I want absolutely nothing to do with it. I am definitely not one of those cooks who likes to spend hours in the kitchen being creative and putting a ton of "love" into a dish. I wish I was, but that's not me. I prefer simple, healthy and quick :) Today though I was genuinely EXCITED to try a new recipe: quinoa cakes.
Last Saturday I tried a quinoa cake at Whole Foods and I was so happy to find the recipe online! I wanted to recreate this delicious creation tonight in my own kitchen. I had to modify the recipe a bit because of what I had in the house, so here is what I used:
Quinoa Cakes- Ingredients
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2/3 cup grated carrot
2/3 cup grated yellow squash, seeds removed
zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons egg whites
2 teaspoons salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Mix together all ingredients. Oil a baking sheet. Divide mixture into 8 balls, then flatten. Bake 10 minutes. Flip cakes over, bake 10 more minutes.
I had one of these for dinner, with a side of leftover salmon and mashed butternut squash.
The verdict?
Well you can probably guess by the title of this post. I was not a fan, but I think it was completely my fault. #1- I should NEVER have included the salt. Truthfully, I ALWAYS eliminate salt from recipes because I never want extra salt, but since I thought Eric was going to try one and in general I was just not confident about deviating too much from the recipe I did include it and I really think it ruined it for me. The quinoa cake was WAY too salty! #2 I did not read the recipe close enough and I didn't know I was supposed to turn over the cake and cook for 10 extra minutes. I didn't think they looked done at 10 minutes so I did leave them in for 15 minutes, but I never turned them over. I don't think this affected the taste but that's why they look more like a cookie haha.
I know it seems weird that I bothered to post the recipe and directions since I didn't like it but I truly think these would be delicious if you just don't add salt! Also, this kitchen "failure" gave me a really good idea that I am going to try this weekend, so stay tuned! Maybe I am becoming a bit of a cook :)
So...make me feel better about myself, what was your worst kitchen failure ever?
Happy Almost-Friday everyone!
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actually I was going to say this looks pretty good! at least now we know how to tweak it in our own kitchens!
ReplyDeleteha, I've definitely had my share of meals that have gone in the trash and we pull out a bowl of cereal instead...but more than anything, I need to work on not being so careless and breaking so many things in the kitchen :)
probably when i was talking on the phone while making cookies and forgot the flour.. umm gross.
ReplyDeleteHmm...the only real kitchen failure I can recall is the time I put a tbsp. instead of a tsp. of salt in a cookie recipe. But I was about 10, so whatever.
ReplyDeleteI do love to cook, most nights. But I also have my days where I just don't feel like it.
ah the quinoa cake sounds like such a great concept too! ah well, lesson learned - you'll get 'em next time :)
ReplyDeleteHmm... maybe the time I was making stir fry for a friend and got her tea towel too close to a burner & it started on fire? We had a good laugh over that one! The stir fry was good, though, so it wasn't a total fail! :)
ReplyDeleteI think quinoa cakes sound good! Might need to try that! I am planning on getting back on track with cooking in March. And hopefully with running too (seeing a doctor next thursday about my knee, crossing my fingers that it's nothing!).
Oh man, I've had some glorious kitchen failures, mostly in college when I was convinced that weird things always went well together. My roommate and I once used the cheese packet from mac and cheese to sprinkle on top of some tacos we made without realizing we had no cheese. Epic. Fail.
ReplyDeleteMEH! I hate planes and weather and traveling!! But I love blogging so figures with my 30 minutes i would read your blog.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of quinoa cakes. Too bad they were disappointing.
ReplyDeleteIt has finally stopped raining. Phew! That was quite a storm. I'm just so glad it wasn't snow!
Oh my, well, you live and you learn, right?! They still look very tasty, and I bet you could pop them in the oven before you eat them, just to get that crispiness. As for the salt, I tend to eliminate it, or at least cut it down in most recipes, like you said. I hate when things taste TOO salty, but at the same time I also hate when things don't taste salty enough... ugh.
ReplyDeleteI will have to try out this recipe, with a few modifications for FODMAPS. Yes, I have had some serious kitchen failures. ACTUALLY Just the other day I make my granola recipe, took one bite and thought, "what the heck?! Why does this taste funny?!" I had forgotten the vanilla. Who knew it would make SUCH a big difference?! It did.
Have a nice weekend Kelly. YOu deserved those two days off of working out. I would do it too, it's necessary sometimes!
I hope it stops raining for you! Maybe you can find a way to make the cakes work for you?
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I never would've thought about making quinoa cakes! I like that you still posted the recipe though :) We can learn from your trials and errors :)
ReplyDeleteI want my picture taken in front of a cactus!
ReplyDeleteAre you going to try this recipe again and make those changes? It actually sounds really good and I'd be willing to give it a go!
I've been trying to experiement more in the kitchen lately... you win some, you lose some. Awesome that this gave you another idea!
ReplyDeletehappy friday! it's good to listen to your body when it needs a rest :) I love to experiment in the kitchen, gives me some time to zone out I guess? It's funny how our tastebuds can get salt-sensitive if we don't usually have it. I can totally tell when I taste something super salty, ick! I always seem to overcook or undercook quick breads, no matter what I can't seem to get them right!! have a nice weekend :)
ReplyDeleteOne time I made a zucchini bread that just fell apart! It was a HUGE mess.
ReplyDeleteI AM one of those people that LOVES to cook but only every once in awhile the urge hits me! Haha.
ReplyDeleteHave a good Friday and weekend :) XO
These things happen. Thanks for passing along the recipe :)
ReplyDeleteI have had many kitchen failures. I think it comes with cooking a lot. The day before Thanksgiving, I made home-made buns. Instead of 1/2 cup sugar, I added a 1/2 salt. When they weren't rising, my husband was brace to give them a taste. They tasted like play-dough. So sad!
ReplyDeleteAnd, the other night, I made this "Honey Dijon" pork tenderloin -- and it ended up getting thrown out because the honey dijon smelled so pungeant, we couldn't eat it :( We are not "food-wasters" either. It was BAD! Sad day.
THanks for the quinoa cake recipe! Looks interesting! :)
I have burned a lot of things because I was busy blogging and not paying attention :-)
ReplyDeletestinks that the quinoa cake didn't turn out as you planned, it looks like such a good recipe!
ReplyDeleteI made the most disgusting stir fry a few weekends ago, not sure where I went wrong..it wasn't edible at all! lol
I really hate cooking. It just takes so much time and effort to get things right and not screw the whole dish up!
ReplyDeleteI had an awful cooking experience once when I tried to make some kind of pasta dish with cheese and some other stuff. I thought I read the instructions right but the cheese ended up congealing on top of the pasta and making a gloopy, disgusting mess. Ugh...I shudder just thinking about it.
this rain is totally getting to me! bummer ab out those quinoa cakes :( i've had plenty of mishaps, even a few times when i couldn't stomach it and tossed it out... which is so hard for me to do!
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't find cooking relaxing. I think partially because my kitchen is tiny. I've had tons of recipe fails. Sometimes I have them on my blog and I forget to say that they weren't good and I get a bunch of commenting saying it looked good and I'm like, "No! Don't make it!!"
ReplyDelete