A few weeks ago I was contacted by the amazing people at
Alter Eco to try some more of their products as well as some
California Olive Ranch Olive Oil. If you recall, I was fortunate enough to
review a lot of their products about a year and a half ago and I've been hooked ever since! I'm a little obsessed with their Quinoa Chocolate Bar too ;) Think of a crunch bar with beautiful, high quality chocolate and nutritious crunchy quinoa. It's SO GOOD.
Anyway, back to the task at hand. To refresh your memory, Alter Eco is a San Francisco based company that focuses on working with farmers to bring consumers high quality, sustainable and fair trade foods. The products include varieties of rice, quinoa, chocolate, and sugar. They work with small farmers to bring us fair trade and organic food and to help the farmers improve the quality of the food and their lives. Alter Eco works to provide a mutually beneficial relationship for everyone involved.
The products I am reviewing today are the Organic Royal Rainbow Quinoa and the California Olive Ranch Olive Oil. The quinoa is a blend of red, black and white quinoa and is as beautiful as it is nutritious. These little seeds (yes it is a seed and not a grain!) pack a protein punch with 6 grams of complete protein per quarter cup serving and is a versatile ingredient that can be enjoyed in sweet and savory recipes alike.
The California Olive Ranch Olive Oil comes in a beautiful green glass bottle that helps keep the oil fresh longer. According to their website, the olive oil has a "Floral aroma. Smooth flavor with hints of green apple."It really does have a beautiful floral scent and is very smooth and again, very versatile. It is cold pressed from organically grown California olives and packaged within hours of pressing, thus preserving freshness and flavor. It is smooth, light and affordable, a winning combination in my book.
When I was asked to create a recipe using these products my mind raced with a lot of different ideas. Most of them were complicated and didn't test well which made me think... why would I complicate such beautiful, simple ingredients? I decided to stick with what I know and love and really just highlight the flavor of the star ingredients. I created a fresh, light salad to take a break from the heavy, warm foods that dominate a winter diet in the Northeast.
Check out my beautiful, fresh, Mediterranean inspired Quinoa With Fresh Veggie Salad. It is simply dressed with the California Olive Ranch Olive Oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and some spices. It is beautiful, fresh and light.
Quinoa with Fresh Vegetable Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cooked Alter Eco Organic Royal Rainbow Quinoa
1/2 large English Cucumber, cut into half moons
1 large tomato of choice, diced (I used a vine tomato, I'm sure an heirloom tomato would be delicious as would a generous portion of cherry tomatoes)
1/2 large carrot, cut into half moons
1-2 tbsp California Olive Ranch Olive Oil
Juice of 1/4 lemon
pinch salt and pepper
small pinch of cumin
Directions:
1. Combine cooked quinoa with chopped vegetables. Mix thoroughly.
2. Drizzle olive oil over mixture, followed by lemon juice and spices. Mix thoroughly and enjoy!
*I served my salad with some stuffed grape leaves. Other delicious toppings could be falafel, hummus, eggplant spread, or chickpeas. Be creative!
I know the recipe is really simple but I felt that this was the best way to highlight the beautiful ingredients I received.
I definitely recommend Alter Eco and California Olive Ranch products with full confidence. Everything I've tried has been incredible and the work that they are doing for farmers and consumers alike. They have even been generous enough to give one of my readers an amazing prize pack of 4 bags of quinoa, some olive oil and their AMAZING Dark Quinoa Chocolate. All you have to do to enter this giveaway is comment on this post with your favorite quinoa dish by 9:00 pm (Eastern Time) Sunday, February 9, 2014.
Thanks again to Alter Eco and California Olive Ranch for sending me these amazing products to review and for asking me to create a recipe. I definitely recommend you check out their products and the companies. The work they do is truly inspiring.
