Wednesdays With Abby: Warm Cabbage and Quinoa with Walnut Pesto

Well, it's Wednesday again and you know what that means: no roommate to cook for. I need a one-serving meal with minimal dishes and a similar amount of effort.

If my record reveals anything, it's that grain salads are my go-to meal these days. I can't help it, especially with quinoa. It cooks in less than 10 minutes and it's a complete protein! Plus the box calls it an "ancient grain." Doesn't that make my dinner sound epic?

Meanwhile, there's withering lettuce and parsley in my fridge--sad remnants of my CSA and farmer's market glory days, now over. Somewhere in my memory, I remembered a pesto made of these very ingredients. (Google helped a little.) I decided to bulk up the nutritional content of my pesto by bringing walnut oil and walnuts to the party, simultaneously adding depth to the mixture and flood my system with Omega-3s and antioxidants. No small feat for an average Wednesday evening.

So if you don't go for the whole cabbage/quinoa thing, at least make the pesto. It's pretty good tossed with pasta or salads, spread on sandwiches, and whatever else one does with normal pesto.

Warm Cabbage and Quinoa Salad with Walnut Pesto

serves 1; takes about 30 minutes; totally stolen (and bastardized) from various sources

For the pesto:

1 small head (or 1/2 large head) romaine lettuce

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1 clove garlic

3-4 Tbsp walnut oil (olive oil will sub fine)

1/4 cup walnut halves

splash lemon juice

salt and pepper

For the salad:

1 cup finely sliced or chopped cabbage

1 rib celery, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1 Tbsp thin sliced red onions or scallions

feta, goat, or other cheese

1. Place lettuce, parsley and garlic in food processor and pulse until broken down. Add oil a little at a time until it reaches a thin consistency (you may not need it all). Now add splash of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and walnuts. Process until smooth and uniform, about 30 seconds. Season to taste and/or add oil to reach desired consistency. Store extra, covered, in the refrigerator.
2. First, put your quinoa on to cook. Second, film a small skillet with olive oil and set over medium heat. When pan is hot, toss in cabbage and celery, and season with salt and pepper. Toss just 1 minute or so, until cabbage is warm but still crisp. Add vinegar and stir to coat, cooking another 30 seconds.
3. Drain cooked quinoa and toss in a bowl. Add cabbage, onions, cheese, and 2 good spoonfuls of pesto. Toss and eat.

Fishy Tacos

When I proposed fish tacos to David as a meal, he turned up his nose as if I had just suggested peanut butter and salami sandwiches or pasta with chocolate sauce. Why put fish on a taco when ground meat is just so good? Why break up a perfectly good duo with something that usually stinks up the house for a day or two afterward?

Because its fast. Because it's healthy. Because it's simple. Because people in coastal Mexico have been eating it forever. Because a taco topped with cabbage and a little sour cream doesn't weigh you down the way a meat-bean-and-cheese extravaganza does. And because its fast, did I mention that. Fish cooks in no time flat. A little chopping, a little grating, and you've got dinner in about ten.

Fish Tacos

serves two, takes less than 15 minutes

1 white fish fillet (we used haddock), cut into 5 or six strips

1 egg (or just the white), beaten

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 Tbsp flour, plus a little extra

1 tsp each of salt and cumin

pinch of black pepper

lime zest (if you have it)

1/2 cup red cabbage, sliced thin

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp honey

1 Tbsp cilantro

4-5 corn tortillas

sour cream

monterey jack cheese

radishes

limes

1. Set a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and throw in 1-2 tsp oil. Meanwhile, mix the cornmeal, 2 T flour, salt, cumin, pepper, and zest (if using) in a shallow bowl. Dust your fix pieces with extra flour, dip them in beaten egg, then roll them in the cornmeal breading mixture. Lay them in the skillet (they should all fit) and cook 4 minutes; then flip, and cook 3 minutes more, until flaky. You can sacrifice one by breaking it open in the middle and making sure its opaque. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
2. In a bowl, mix cider vinegar with honey, cilantro, and a pinch of S&P. Stir in cabbage.
3. Warm the tortillas either in a bit of oil over the stove or in a wet paper towel in the microwave. Build tacos with a piece or two of fish, a sprinkle of cheese, a spoonfull of cabbage, a dollop of sour cream, and a squirt of lime. Serve with sliced radishes tossed in salt and more cilantro. We also had some corn relish, but you could go with rice and/or beans to round out the meal.