Quinoa with Black Beans, Avocado, Tomatoes, Scallions & Mini Mozzarella with a Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

What do you make for a cardiothoracic surgeon and a journalist after watching open heart surgery on Valentine’s Day? This is what I came up with, and for someone who’s big on eating healthy (the surgeon) and someone who’d never tried quinoa before (the journalist), I think it was a pretty good pick. Quinoa is definitely my favorite grain – it’s an ancient source of protein and also high in iron, fiber & magnesium – and also, with its little pop of texture, it’s fun to eat. It goes well with just about everything, and has completely replaced rice in cooking for me at this point. Plus, heart-healthy avocados, tomatoes and scallions, fiber-rich organic black beans and a little mozz…yummo. This dish has a southwestern vibe but in a really clean, bright way. I love this.

QUINOA WITH BLACK BEANS, AVOCADO, TOMATOES, SCALLIONS & MINI MOZZARELLA WITH A CILANTRO-LIME VINAIGRETTE (serves 5-6)
 – 1 C. dry quinoa
– 2 C. chicken broth or water
– 1 can organic black beans, rinsed and drained
– ½ C. mini mozzarella balls (these just look cuter in the salad, otherwise dice up a larger mozzarella ball)
– 1 avocado, diced
– 1 C. cherry tomatoes, halved
– 3 scallions, sliced
– 2 limes, juiced
– Zest of 1 lime
– 4 tbsp. EVOO
– ½ tsp. cumin
– Handful of cilantro, chopped
– Kosher salt & pepper, to taste
1.       Cook quinoa. You have to really rinse it well, otherwise the “dust” that’s on it makes it bitter. I have a really fine mesh strainer that I just dump the uncooked quinoa in, then run water over it, swishing it around in the strainer, until the water runs clear.

2.       Once the quinoa is rinsed and the chicken broth (or water) is boiling, add quinoa to the water, then turn heat down to low. Cover the pot and let the water incorporate into the quinoa, approx. 15 mins. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, still covered. Fluff with a fork.


3.       Meanwhile, dice the avocados and scallions, cut the tomatoes, and dry the mozzarella a little bit.


4.       Drain and rinse the black beans well.
5.       Make the dressing – in a mason jar, combine the lime juice, lime zest, cumin, salt & pepper. Mix to blend everything together in the acid of the lime juice before adding the EVOO. Add the EVOO and shake it all up.


6.       In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, mozz, scallions and avocado. Mix gently to blend.
7.       Add the dressing, and the cilantro, mix gently again. Serve, or cover and refrigerate to let flavors absorb into the quinoa.

8.       Make a mental note to take better care of your heart after watching someone have seven blockages cleared that morning (okay, that was just what I did).  For more information on heart health, visit www.heart.org

White Bean “Hummus” with Sage and Roasted Garlic

For months now I’ve been in a salad/scoop/soup kind of mood. That’s going to change next week, because my mom just let me know I’m in charge of making a pumpkin pie “with tiny leaves made out of dough” for Thanksgiving. I’ve never made a pumpkin pie. I’ve definitely never made one with “tiny leaves made out of dough”.  Soo…in the interim, let’s get back to the 3 s’s.  This one falls under the “scoop” category, and it’s awesome. 

WHITE BEAN HUMMUS WITH SAGE AND ROASTED GARLIC (makes a side for about 5 people)
– 1 can white Northern beans, rinsed and drained
– couple sage leaves, chopped
– 1 clove garlic, roasted
– 1/4 EVOO (or less. Add this little by little to desired consistency)
– squeeze of lemon 
– Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1. Roast that garlic. Lop the top off of it, place it on a piece of tin foil, cover with some EVOO & salt, wrap the top loosely & place in an oven at 400 for about 30-40 mins.


2. Remove garlic from the oven when it’s soft & golden. Let it cool a little bit.


3. Rinse and drain a can of white beans. Put in a food processor.


4. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the food processor with the beans (you can skip this completely if you don’t like roasted garlic. I do, though!)


5. Add chopped sage & lemon juice & salt/pepper.


6. Add EVOO little by little, blending well, until the “hummus” is combined and fluffy.


7. Serve with french bread, veggies, or (of course) pretzel chips.


— Side notes.  It’s been an incredible couple of days. Without getting into the beginning part of this week and why it was wonderful, in the last 24 hours two of my friends Pat & Peggy got engaged. I set them up at the beginning of this year, and couldn’t be more excited for them. This is the second couple I set up who are getting married!!! I mean that’s got to be a better track record than Patti Stanger, right??

Also, we had an incredible time promoting The Great American Smokeout this morning with one of my favorites, Ryan Leckey, at South Scranton Intermediate. I do PR for Geisinger-CMC. The hospital, and Geisinger in general, is really involved with community health initiatives, so we brought in the Director of the PA Department of Health to talk to the middle school kids about the dangers of smoking, and I built a morning show (“Leckey Live“) around it. I could talk for an hour straight about everything that went wrong while I was trying to coordinate this, but I won’t, because when I walked into South Scranton this morning and saw how they had decked out the whole auditorium with signs and posters and banners etc., I was so psyched about how it looked that I high-fived the maintenance guys who’d shown up at 4am to let us into the school to start taping. South Scranton has a special place in my heart as the school we used to do our high school plays at before Scranton Prep built our fancy stage & auditorium, and it was so cool to be back there as an adult, coordinating one of my favorite morning shows ever, and feel the energy in the place from everyone (90+ kids, cheerleaders, parents, school staff, Geisinger representatives) who was so excited to be there. Ryan and his cameraman Corey just knock it out of the park, every time, but today was something extra special.  

At least once a day I think “I love my job”. Today I had a bunch of those moments. 

Enjoy the clips from the show here and here