I have a few things to share with you:
1) An easy and very healthy quinoa salad recipe!
2) A very exciting giveaway from Zojirushi!
3) I’m going to camp!
This weekend I will be heading to the mountains to attend CampBlogaway (a “Boot camp for Food and Recipe Bloggers”) and Zojirushi is sponsoring me!! I’m one lucky girl!! Zojirushi is a well known and respected Japanese company. They offer a wide variety of quality products such as rice cookers, water boilers, bread machines, and vacuum bottles. We have been using Zojirushi for years and love it. The rice cooker is dependable and always makes a perfect pot of fluffy rice and I’m a big fan of the Water Boiler and Warmer. In fact that’s what I asked for my birthday about 7 years ago and the same one still sits in my kitchen ready to dispense hot water for tea or hot cocoa.
We were very excited to try out the new Zojirush Umami Micom Rice Cooker. This is the newest addition to their rice cooker family and it’s a great appliance to have in every kitchen. It’s stylish, sleek, compact and the Micom Fuzzy technology makes cooking in it fool proof. Here’s all the settings it can do: white, umami, mixed, sushi, porridge, sweet, brown, GABA brown, rinse-free and quick cook rice. There’s also a slow cook feature! Seriously….a rice cooker that can also slow cook? I’m amazed at all this little rice cooker can do! Derrick loves using the umami rice setting which really does enhance the flavor of the rice. Umami is the 5th basic taste: savoriness and I often wonder what took so long to recognize this crucial 5th taste! I like preparing porridge in the Umami rice cooker – it’s a quick and easy one pot meal. We’re so thrilled that one of our readers will be a lucky winner of a new Zojirushi Umami Micom Rice Cooker, retailed at $273. Good luck!!
In the meantime, I want to share with you a recipe that I’ve made numerous times in this trusty rice cooker…quinoa salad.
Have you heard of quinoa? It looks like a grain but not really a grain. It’s actually more closely related to beets and spinach. Am I confusing you yet? Anyhow the point is it’s really good for you. Quinoa is high in protein, fiber, magnesium and iron. It’s also gluten free and the texture is very similar to rice or couscous.
I’ve been experimenting with quinoa and have only prepared it in my rice cooker and I love it. There’s no pot to watch or timer to set. I rinse the quinoa, put in my rice cooker, add water and then prep my other ingredients while it’s cooking. It couldn’t have been any easier. This salad is packed with good for you ingredients and is a healthy addition to any meal or it can stand on it’s own as a meal itself. This salad is light and refreshing. The salty feta cheese is balanced with the sweet peas, juicy tomatoes and slightly tart dried cranberries. The cucumbers add some crunch to the salad. I like my quinoa on the al dente side and cooking it on quick cook gives me just the right texture every time.
Quinoa Salad
Prep: 10 mins Cook time: 30 Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
½ C quinoa
2/3 C water
½ C fresh or frozen (thawed) peas
½ C cucumbers, quartered and then sliced
½ C dried cranberries
½ C cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half (I used mini Heirloom tomatoes – but those aren’t always easy to find)
¼ C crumbled feta cheese
Vinaigrette ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbs lemon juice
½ tsp sea salt
1 Tbs finely chopped shallots
black pepper to taste
Directions:
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Put quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse under cold running water for a few seconds.
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Put quinoa into the rice cooker and add water. Cook on Quick Cook.
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While the quinoa is cooking (about 30 minutes), prep the other ingredients.
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Whisk all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl. Add a couple of grinds of fresh black pepper to taste.
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Once quinoa is done cooking, use the “rice scooper” to fluff the quinoa. Put the quinoa into a large bowl and let cool for about 5 minutes. Add the peas, cucumbers, cranberries, and feta. Pour vinaigrette over salad, toss and serve immediate or you can refrigerate and eat it cold or at room temperature.
Enjoy!!
Here’s how to enter the giveaway for the Zojirushi Umami Micom Rice Cooker (5.5 C)
Leave a comment telling us what is your favorite rice dish.
Bonus entries:
- Check out the Zojirushi website and tell us what specific product you would like to add to your kitchen.
- Join Kitchen Runway on Facebook
- Follow Kitchen Runway on Twitter
- Tweet this giveaway on Twitter: “I just entered to win a Zojirushi Umami Rice Cooker from @kitchenrunway. You can enter here: http://tinyurl.com/3v84lbs”
That’s 5 entries into the giveaway. If you already do one of the above, it will count as an extra entry (just leave a comment below to let us know). Remember to post a separate comment for each entry.
The Details:
Thank you everyone for participating in the giveaway! I loved seeing all of your favorite rice dishes! They all made me hungry! A big CONGRATULATIONS to Cathy Reuter!! We hope you enjoy your beautiful rice cooker and can’t wait to hear about your delicious jasmine rice and quinoa dishes!
This giveaway is open to US residents only. (sorry international readers…) The giveaway will end on Monday, May 9th, 2011 at 11:59pm PST. The winner will be randomly drawn and will be notified by email. If the winner does not claim their prize within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen and the prize will be forfeited.
Disclaimer: This giveaway is provided to you by Zojirushi. The views and opinions expressed on Kitchen Runway are my own and based upon my personal experiences with Zojirushi. I was given the product free of charge; however, I was not monetarily compensated for a positive review or giveaway.
My favorite rice dish is a crustless wild rice quiche with sausage, spinach, red peppers, and mozzarella. Wild rice is so unique! (PS. This looks like a reat recipe!)
Ooohh, I never thought to put quinoa in the rice cooker! Great idea & love the giveaway 🙂
Let’s see, my family’s favorite rice dish is a wild rice salad that I make in the summer with a sesame dressing. It’s one of those dishes for when you don’t want to heat up the house by turning on the stove!
That quinoa salad looks so delicious!
My favorite rice dish is a plain old risotto. There’s something magical about how creamy it gets.
I love sushi 🙂
Would love the Umami cooker!
I like Kitchen Runway on fb!
Definitely need to try this recipe! If I won this…. I would make my Hawaiian rice pilaf in it 🙂
my favorite rice dish is crab fried rice. so good & hearty!
i’d love to upgrade our ancient rice cooker to any of zojirushi’s sleek models, but i’d also love to add their cute Mini Bento Stainless Lunch Jars to my kitchen!
I follow Kitchen Runway on twitter!
The water boiler gets good use at work!!
I love Spanish flavored rice with a kick from jalepeno peppers made with jasmine rice.
I like fried rice the way my Mother use to make it….with catsup, scrambled eggs and Chinese sausage….yummy!
I love rice most ways, but I adore fried rice. I’m celiac, so I make it with gluten free soy sauce.
My favourite rice dish is Khao Niaow Ma Muang! YUM!!
I would like to add a Micom Water Boiler & Warmer to my kitchen!
I have to say, my favorite rice dish of the moment is Gallo Pinto 🙂
Fried rice is total comfort food and easy-peasy. Love risotto too.
I’d love to add the supreme breadmaker to my kitchen… sigh rice and bread… gotta love them carbs
My favorite rice dish is the ubiquitous garlic rice you can find all over the Philippines. What a treat!
I tweeted about the giveaway!
love some in a nice, warm bowl of congee with preserved egg!
I bought some quinoa but have been scared to cook it. The rice cooker would make it a breeze. Can’t wait to try out this dish. Sounds like a wonderful lunch to make the night before.
I would love a new rice cooker and the water boilers for my tea.
i love rice congee with thinly slice fish and ginger.
i wouldn’t mind having the Zojirushi Umami to replace my 30+ years old basic rice cooker in yellow color with the missing lid knob.
Oooh I want the Pressure Rice Cooker, I still have my old school simple one from college. I love how you made quinoa in the rice cooker! It looks like it came out perfect.
My fav rice dish is mushroom risotto! Yum!
I just liked you on Facebook
And added you on Twitter (MsLindselicious). So Jealous you are at Camp Blogaway- have a great time!
I’d love the Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker !
I follow Kitchen Runway on twitter!
I like Kitchen Runway on facebook!
I just tweeted your giveaway!
I love fried rice with salmon, cucumber, slivered fresh ginger and a dash of soy sauce. Yummmm 🙂
My favorite rice dish is an Indonesian rice salad that has lots of veggies and cashews and delicate seasonings. Yum!
I went to the Zojirushi Web site and I’d really love to have an electric water boiler. So many great features!
I like you on Facebook!
my fav rice dish is stir fry!
i would like to try the pressure rice cooker
liked you on facebook
I’m following you on Twitter. Thanks so much!
This looks like a great recipe! I love mushroom risotto the most.
That quinoa salad looks amazing! I actually prefer quinoa to rice these days, as it is a great thing to have in a vegetarian kitchen! But if it is rice, I love brown rice with sauteed veggies and a drizzle of soy sauce…. yummm!!
I love risotto!
I would LOVE to win this, please pick me!
karenreichmann@hotmail.com
Alright, ALRIGHT! I’ll try quinoa! (You’re the recipe that finally convinced me I need to try it.) Looking forward to the new culinary adventure- hope it’s as good as it looks. 😉 Thanks for posting.
I love to make rice pudding.
I follow Kitchen Runway on Twitter.
I like the Fresh Brew Stainless Steel Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker.
I love fried rice! The quinoa looks delish! Nice photos!
Would love the new Umami cooker!
my favorite rice recipe is jasmine rice with white wine parmesan chees and onions. yum. a rice cooker would make this recipe so easy. Can’t wait to try the Quinoa Salad recipe!