So, my new blog friend Mizfit, who is into all things fitness (and looks it), turned me on to Chia.   Do check her out for exercise tips and general comraderie of the fit or wanna be fit.  She is normally all into flax, but has lately been singing the praises of Chia.   Yes, it is the same stuff that sprouts into a Chia pet, but no, you cannot just eat yours.

It's an awesome way to get omega-3, but I won't bore you with the wonders of this newly resdiscovered grain...you can check it out at Fit Tip Daily if you missed it on Oprah.

I got mine from the nice people at nutsonline.com, a family owned business with lots of other goodies like chocolate and dried fruit.

Now, before you get all excited, let me warn you that no matter what anyone says, this is NOT something you can just chew and be done with.  They get gooey in your mouth, think mucilage.  I read lots of articles that say that soaking the seeds will form a gel.  I soaked some for 24 hours and you can see that they did not dissolve.  So I took the stick blender to them.  Still not my idea of edible. 

Maybe I'll sprinkle them on things and grind them for flour.  This gooey batch will go into oatmeal.  Or the disposal...

I'm still going to give it a try.  How long can it take to go through a one pound bag one tablespoon at a time???

Please note that chia pet seeds are not grown as food and not safe to eat!

One of the challenges of being “the friend who cooks” is that I’m counted on to bring “something different” to potlucks.  This past weekend was no different.  I knew that the people at this particular gathering had never tried quinoa and since I had some in the pantry, that was my “something different.”  If you don't already cook with quinoa, you should know that it doesn’t have an intense flavor on its own (plays well with many flavors), is a complete protein (vegetarian and vegan friendly), and cooks pretty much like rice.  It can be used as a breakfast cereal, and it’s also gluten free friendly.

I made Quinoa Black Bean Salad.  The hardest part of the recipe was slicing the corn off of the cob without it skittering across the kitchen.  The whole recipe was done and piled it into a serving bowl  in under 20 minutes.  Not all of it fit, so I had the excess for lunch, and it was darn tasty. 

Of course, not everyone liked it; I think the appearance is so different that people just don’t know what to make of it.  If you check out the picture, you can see that  the grain is translucent, and there is a darker ring around it.  That dark ring is the grain, which will sometimes detach and look like a tail (get over it).   The kids shunned it in favor of Toffee Bar Coffee Cake, and some of the die hard traditionalists leaned more towards Really Red Potato Salad (to which I added some garden fresh broccoli that needed to be used). 

Considering how ridiculously cold it is for August, I plan on using the rest of the box of quinoa on Kidney Beans & Quinoa, a fall favorite.

The longer days have me fooled.  We hang out and play or work, and  the next thing I know it’s 7:30 and I don’t feel like making dinner.  Pizza and hot dogs  might be the occasional remedy, but some thoughtful advance meal planning will ultimately save the day.

My preference is to have things done early, which I can usually do, because the boys like to sleep  late.  Yesterday morning I assembled Super Easy Cheese Lasagna (I make myself feel good about it by using high quality ingredients)  and stashed it in the fridge, then set my cell phone timer to remind me to actually bake it.  The long rest time in the fridge is actually good for the no-boil noodles.   When it’s cooler out I take the time to make a hearty sauce and really craft the lasagna, but this is summer, and light and easy is the key.

Salads are always easy and cool.  Start with some chopped lettuce and spinach (sneak in those veggies!), then look to see what’s in the fridge (when I grill, I try to make double for this very purpose).  Leftover bbq chicken?  Awesome.  Chopped chicken, some shredded cheese, a few vegetables, croutons, and dressing made of bbq sauce and mayo or ranch.  Steak goes well with a blue cheese dressing and red onion (ok, the kids might not like that, make theirs with ranch or italian.  Deli meat turns into a chef’s salad with the addition of hard boiled eggs (10 minutes) and pickles.    Any salad looks like you worked hard at it if you spread chopped lettuce on a platter and then arrange the toppings in rows (like a Cobb).  Taco salads are always a hit, try using ground chicken or pork instead of beef.

Sandwiches go from lunch to dinner just by toasting them.  One I really like is Grilled Pesto Ham and Swiss, but just about anything that has cheese works.  Think panini without having to wash a panini maker (and take it from me – pressing down with a spatula or smaller frying pan is much easier than a foil wrapped brick). 

Chicken/egg/tuna salads (click on the links for some twists on the standards)  become fun when served in a romaine lettuce “boat”, which is an easy alternative to a lettuce wrap.  You don’t need to use mayonnaise as the salad binder, an olive oil vinaigrette or favorite salad dressing will work just as well.

Have an easy meal -  low dishwashing summer!