Buckwheat groats and funky alien fruit

So lately I've been pimping out a lot of salads. When you think of salads you think leafy light fluffy greens, but I like to pump it up with grains, beans, and nuts. All sorts of protein. The past week I spent a good deal of time at my cousin's place with the little ladies, sharing some simple and delicious meals. There was a salad with quinoa and black lentils and blackened fish. Rosie ate--.......hold on...I have to pause and take a picture of my cat because she's so freaking cute and I love her so much.

Precious angel child 

There. That's better. Anyhow, to prep meals for the coming week, I decided to see what grains etc. I had laying around the small box I call an apartment. I decided on buckwheat groats (over barley, cause barley says it takes like, 2 hours to make, and I'm all like wha??? you cray cray) and made the mistake of not doing more research on the interwebs. The bag said to simmer for 7 minutes, so I put it on the stove and went to fiddle with my concertina (someone seriously help me learn this instrument) and when I came back I had buckwheat groat mush! Ah!

Buckwheat Groats

Buckwheat groats are actually not wheat so it is great for people with Celiac Disease. It is frequently used ground up as a flour or in raw food. It is also part of a dish called kasha, which Wikipedia says is one of the oldest known Eastern European Slavic dishes. It is also very high in fiber (yayy!)

Buckwheat mush

I've been rocking the breakfast bowls recently as well, so I thought to make it into porridge for the week. I blended the buckwheat in my teeny mixer with almond milk, agave, cinnamon, and flax oil. Whoa, is that flavor strong. The groats have a very toasted, nutty flavor to them, very savory. I'm interested to see how they do as a dinner side, with herbs and radishes or something...

Blending

I topped my porridge off with blueberries, blackberries, flax seeds (that I needed to use up; did I tell you that flax seeds go right through you? The way to get the nutrient benefits is to use the meal or oil) and some peach jam (thanks Aliza!) It could have still been a bit sweeter, in which maple syrup would come into play, but that would be defeating the health purposes. 

sokay.

Did I mention I also made hummus? Yeah, I told you at the supermarket I had an epiphany of, "I can make that...I can make ALL OF THIS! Muahahahahaha". Anyway, I made it. Kinda. I really need to get a Vitamix. I tried grinding up my flax seeds. No go. I had soaked the chick peas overnight, but my teeny blender didn't do a fantastic job. Still, it's edible and good for you. I added grapeseed oil, salt, pepper, and basil leaves! I would have added tahini and lemon juice if I had em. I've been dipping crackers in it and have big plans with some gluten free bread and avocado later. 

Yayy! Hummus!

I tried sprouting the rest of the chick peas, but they started smelling funky and had to toss them. I am currently trying to sprout some quinoa, but it doesn't look like anything is happening...anyone have experience with sprouting things? 

Yesterday was a total Blue Oasis food day (us cool kids at the apartment complex on Carondelet St. call ourselves The Blue Oasis Social Aid and Pleasure Club. We're making koozies and t-shirts soon. Be jealous). We went to Cleaver & Co. where I stocked up on some meaty cuts to freeze, got a whole chicken again and some bratwurst. I also picked up a homemade jelly they had which turned out to be an amazing marinade for the chicken wings we grilled later. We also went to Breaux Mart where I got these: 

Ahh! Alien fruit!

Dragon fruit and cactus pear fruit! I forget which is which, but the one on the right sucked and had a lot of seeds and the one on the left was awesome and fun! Although it cost like 6 bucks whomp whomp...

Delicious meats from my favorite butcher shop

Oh mah gawd, have I told you my favorite thing is roasted root vegetables. Or in this case charcoal grilled root vegetables. I chopped up carrots, squash, and bulls eye beets; tossed them in olive oil, salt pepper, sage and rosemary and put them in a tin foil boat package vessel thing. They sat on the grill for like an hour and just melted into a delicious vegetable candy medley. 

And it is super beautiful 

I post a lot of pictures of food on my Instagram. It's usually a sneak peak at what I'm gonna be blogging about. I can also never remember what pictures I did or didn't post already to Facebook, or Instagram or whatever. So follow me on Instagram and life will be happy. 

Picture of bratwurst I posted on Instagram 

Happy rest of your weekend loves xoxoxo