Vegan Spelt Quinoa Cornbread

According to the three-digit temperatures we've been having, it is now officially summer.  Out comes the watermelon, the extra sunscreen (and extra leg-shaving, yikes!), air conditioning on full blast, and of course, the outdoor barbeque.
This cornbread is definitely a great thing to bring to one.  Not only is it super moist and fluffy, but it also brings a punch of nutritious goodness with the addition of some cooked quinoa (no one will know)... the perfect carby side dish!

Ingredients:
Wet:
2 cups soymilk (or other non-dairy milk)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Dry:
1 1/4 cups white spelt flour (all purpose flour should work too)
1 1/4 cups yellow corn meal
1 cup cooked golden quinoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder

Spinz:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Add the apple cider vinegar to the soymilk and let curdle for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk together all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add the remaining wet ingredients to the vinegar soymilk mixture, then mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Pour mixture into a 9 x 13" prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Serve warm with melted margarine or at room temp. Makes 12-16 servings

Red & White Quinoa Cakes

Quinoa (pronounced kee-nuaw), is one of my all-time favorite grains. And, when I found red quinoa at the market, I just couldn't resist! It's a tiny grain that plumps up when cooked and has a fragrant, nutty taste.

We DJed Colusa Casino's holiday party last December, and the hotel chef made us these incredible quinoa cakes (much like crab cakes), which was a shock to us, because we're just not used to that kind of love- especially from mainstream chefs! He told us how excited he was to make them for us, and even went out of his way to get the ingredients! After that, I knew I wanted to make my own version. This one uses white beans and the aforementioned red quinoa. Simple to throw together, and oh so good! We served 'em up with roasted eggplant, marinated tomatoes, and seasoned baked potato wedges.

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz.) white beans
2 C. cooked red quinoa
1/2 C. onion, finely chopped
1/2 C. cilantro, chopped
1 T. unsalted broth powder (or nutritional yeast + spices)
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 C. panko bread crumbs
oil for pan frying

Spinz:

Rinse and drain the white beans, then mash them up- leaving some chunks in there. Add the cooked quinoa, onion, cilantro, broth powder, salt, and pepper, and mix together. Form into golf ball sized balls, press to flatten a bit, and coat with bread crumbs. Cook each side for a few minutes in a large flat skillet with a thin layer of oil.