Mandarin & Maple Spiced Quinoa with Cranberries, Apricots, and Almonds

Happy Remembrance Day :)

I attended a beautiful ceremony this morning and it was such a great reminder to be thankful for everything and everyone in my life and also those who serve our country. Remembrance Day never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

I must tell you, there is a reason for all of my pumpkin recipe madness as of late.

I have been testing out ideas for Project Food Blog Challenge #8 in case I advance to the next round. The challenge is to feature a sweet or savoury baked good with pumpkin.

Hence, the slew of pumpkin recipes on my blog lately!

The good news is, I have now decided on my pumpkin idea for challenge #8 so I am going to do a bit of a ‘pumpkin detox’ . Don’t expect to see much pumpkin around this neck of the woods for a while.

But, just in case you are desperate for some pumpkin recipes, I thought I would round them up for you…

Some of my Pumpkin Recipes:

Pumpkin Butter Swirl Pecan Butternut Bread

Itty Bitty Garlic Pumpkin Knots

Pumpkin Pie Banana Chunk Cookies

Pumpkin Sesame Cookies

Pumpkin Butter Oat Squares w/ candied Pecans

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream

Pumpkin Pie Brownie Cupcakes

Pumpkin Pecan Pie with a Spelt Crust

Savoury Pumpkin Scones in Pumpkin Spiced Glaze

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

Pumpkin Chia Spelt Scuffins

Pumpkin Pie Monster

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

Maple Glaze Pumpkin Spice Baked glonuts

Vegan Spiced Pumpkin Pie Glo Bites

2 Minute Pumpkin Quinoa

Pumpkin Pie Vegan Overnight Oats

Gingerbread Pumpkin Vegan Overnight Oat Parfait

Comforting Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Spiced Up & Stacked Pumpkin Butter Pancakes

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Pumpkin Pie Baked Breakfast Cake

I think there are support groups for people like me.

In other news, I threw together some fun ingredients for lunch today and I had a lovely dish in under 30 minutes. Of course, that was after a huge flop (from a cookbook!), but I won’t get into that. This post is all about the love, sweet, love.

Mandarin & Maple Spiced Quinoa with Cranberries, Apricots, and Almonds

Chewy, crunchy, and subtly sweet, this dish captures Autumn all in one delicious spot.

Adapted from ED&BV.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 & 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup toasted almonds
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp mandarin juice
• 1/2 cup mandarin slices, from can or fresh
• 1-2 tbsp pecans, chopped & toasted
• 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt, to taste
• Cinnamon + maple syrup + sea salt, to garnish before serving

 

Directions: Add your quinoa, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, and mandarin juice. Bring this mixture to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer for about 12-13 minutes. Now stir in your chopped dried apricots and cranberries. Cook on low, covered, for another 5 minutes. Stir in your oil, almonds, and maple syrup. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Stir in the mandarin oranges very gently. Pour into a bowl and garnish with chopped pecans, a drizzle of maple syrup, cinnamon, and sea salt. Makes about 2.5-3 cups.

Don’t be alarmed at the brown dried apricots. They are organic and are naturally this shade.

Dried apricots that are orange in colour have been treated with sulphites.

First, add your quinoa, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, and mandarin juice. Bring this mixture to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer for about 12-13 minutes.

Now stir in your chopped dried apricots and cranberries.Cook on low, covered, for another 5 minutes.

Stir in your oil, almonds, and maple syrup. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Stir in the mandarin oranges very gently.

 

Pour into a bowl and garnish with chopped pecans, a drizzle of maple syrup, cinnamon, and sea salt.

Voila! A fun and unique Fall inspired dish.

 

Not only is it quick and easy, but it tastes fresh and light, with a hint of sweetness from the fruit and maple. It also has a wonderful crunchy and chewy texture thanks to the almonds, pecans, and dried fruit. I give it two thumbs up.

I would guess that it can be adapted quite easily too with whatever ingredients you have on hand. You can experiment with different types of dried fruit and nuts and even different grains. I also think it would be delicious with toasted quinoa or millet and it could even be served as a breakfast dish in addition to a lunch or dinner dish! In fact, I think I might heat some up for breakfast tomorrow. Mmmmm. Fall breakfasts are fun.

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