Welcome back! We’re celebrating more veggie dishes in anticipation of the Tea Talk next week. It’s only eight days away! If you want to come, go to the Event Brite to get your ticket before they’re all gone…

 

Anyway, I have a new friend and I want you to meet her. She’s my newest kitchen toy, the Instant Pot! No, I’m not getting any endorsement or anything to talk about it, I just like it. The instant Pot is one of those all-in-one appliances that has many functions and is supposed to replace many of your existing kitchen tools. It is an electric pressure cooker, a rice cooker, a slow cooker, a yogurt maker and probably some other things that I don’t know about yet. I heard from a few people in our homeschool group and from nurses at the hospital that this pot was incredible, but I was skeptical. So on Prime Day when it was on discount I bought one. I haven’t tried slow cooking in it yet, but it’s better than my rice cooker and my stove top pressure cooker. So I’ve been trying out all kinds of fun recipes!

 

 

I was introduced to pressure cooking by a midwife colleague of mine. Well actually, she made me a soup after the birth of one of my babies and when I asked for the recipe, she told me how she made it in the pressure cooker and I didn’t have one. So I bought a really good one, cause I was afraid like every other pressure cooker newbie that the thing would explode in my kitchen. I made several things (including that soup!), but it was a too much work, having to babysit the pot and time the pressure cooking. So it sat in the cabinet more than I used it. The Instant Pot is nicer because once you tell it how long you want it to cook, you walk away and do something else until it’s done. And I need every spare minute I can find, don’t you?

 

So this week I made a vegan mexi-quinoa bowl from a recipe I found on a wonderful website called The Detoxinista. She specializes in very clean, whole foods recipes. I’ve made several of her recipes and they’re really good! Go to this link to get the original Vegan Quinoa Burrito bowl recipe. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can do this on the stove top.  Go to her link to see her stove top direction at the bottom of her recipe. I added a few changes to my recipe, so here it is!

 

Vegan Mexi-Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 diced red onion
  • 1 diced red bell pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
  • 1 cup prepared salsa
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans , or 1 (15 oz.) can, drained and rinsed
  • Optional toppings: Avocado , guacamole, fresh cilantro, green onions, salsa, lime wedges, shredded lettuce, shredded red or white cabbage, corn

 

 

Instructions
Chop all your veggie and toppings so you’re ready to cook. When I did this, I got to teach my daughter (the one who loves to cook) about “mis en place”. It makes things easier!
Heat the oil in the bottom of the Instant Pot, using the “saute” setting. Saute the onions and peppers until start to soften, about 5 to 8 minutes, then add in cumin and salt and saute another minute. Turn off the Instant Pot for a moment.
 
 

Add in the quinoa, salsa, water, and beans, then seal the lid, making sure that the switch at the top is flipped from venting to sealing. Press the “rice” button, or manually cook at low pressure for 12 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release once the cooking is over, to make sure the quinoa completely absorbs the liquid. (This takes 10 to 15 minutes.)

Remove the lid, being careful to avoid any steam releasing from the pot, and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
 
Serve warm or cold the next day for lunch, with any toppings you want!
My husband inhaled this dish, and he’s not even close to vegan. But he enjoyed this one!
What’s your favorite veggie recipe? Please share in the comments below!