Slumber Party!

My husband and sister-in-law just ran the Chicago Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon!  My hubby ran it in 1:56!!  I’m so proud of both of them!  Ava and I had no interest in partaking in such an activity so we cheered from the sidelines…which meant that we needed to be in the heart of Chicago at 6:30am.  Lucky for us my brother, a.k.a. Uncle Awesome, lives in a wonderful loft in the Loop.  He lives in the meat packing district..  Oddly enough he is a vegetarian.  My brother loves quinoa and is always looking for a new way to prepare it.  I decided this would be the perfect time to test out Quinoa Cakes.  Success!!  These cakes are bursting with flavor and they are packed with a serious dose of nutrition.

At Uncle Awesome’s Loft there was lots of dancing…

Lots of reading…

And, of course, lots of eating…

Quinoa Cakes

• 1/4 cup Sundried Tomatoes
• Handful of Spinach (hey, I was at a bachelor pad and the measuring cups were hard to find – probably about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup Sweet Potato, peeled and grated
• 1/4 cup Raw Cashew Nuts
• 2 oz Feta Cheese
• 2 Tbsp Diced Onion
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp White Wine Vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp Tahini
• 2 Tbsp Flour (whole wheat if you have it)
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/2 cup Cooked Quinoa

While the quinoa is cooking, blend together all the ingredients in a large blender or food processor until smooth.

I dare you to resist the temptation to stick your entire face in the blender because the smell is amazing!!!!  Caution – please don’t stick your face in the blender – there are sharp, pokey things in there!  Moving right along…

Add the cooked and slightly cooled quinoa and pulse a few times.

Form into patties…

And place on a greased cookie sheet.  Check out this bachelor’s cookie sheet, lots of flavor on that bad boy!

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.  Flip halfway through to crisp and brown both sides.  These patties could be formed in advance if you have guests coming over or for a busy weeknight meal then simply pop them in the oven and dinner is served!

Of course, we couldn’t stop there…we decided to top our quinoa cakes with a roasted red pepper sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

• 2 Roasted Red Peppers
• 1 Large Clove Garlic
• 1 tsp White Wine Vinegar

Combine in a blender or food processor until smooth.

I hope you will enjoy these tasty little quinoa cakes!  We sure did!

Congratulations to all the Runners out there!

Whitney