Thursday, July 21, 2011

Quinoa Corn Cakes and Soccer

I sat on the sofa peeling peaches for canning and kept an eye on the Women's World Cup final game.  In retrospect, yielding a knife may not have been such a good idea as I sat there with a pounding heart, jumping up and down at every missed opportunity and occasionally screaming obscenities at the television.  Thankfully the peaches and my fingers are fine, however I can't say the same for Team USA.  Good game ladies ... next time!

My soccer career started when I was a young girl and ended prematurely due to tearing my ACL in my early 30's, which required surgery and a long and tedious recovery (once cleared for exercise, I promptly went and broke my 5th metacarpal, which required surgery.  Two of 'em within 6 months is not fun! )

Me - I think around 6 y.o.
The defensive line of my high school's team was known as "The Curb," as we stood tall and proud at 5'2" and under. I still remember the last game of my senior year and the tears shed when the game was over much like Team USA.

"The Curb": Terra, me, and Jessie

Breakfast.  The most important meal of the day and often the most difficult for me.  A gluten-free bowl of cereal is some-what tough to come by and I can only eat so much oatmeal.  The gluten-free cereal options are getting better, but these cereals tend to lack natural fiber and are less filling, so by mid morning I'm hungry ... again.

On a recent episode of Giada at Home, she featured grilled corn cakes and I thought with a few modifications those would make a great gluten-free breakfast!

Quinoa Corn Cakes

1 heaping cup quinoa, cooked and cooled (I usually have quinoa leftover from dinner)
1/2 -3/4 cup frozen corn, defrosted
1/2 cup shredded, light mexican cheese blend
1 egg
Handful of garlic chives, chopped (I found these at the Farmer's Market in Golden Hills and absolutely fell in love with them.)
Pinch of salt and pepper

1.  In a food processor, add quinoa and corn and pulse for 30 seconds or so.  At this point you will want to check the consistency of the mixture and add more quinoa if too moist or more corn if too dry.

2.  Add remaining ingredients and pulse again until well combined and forming a loose ball in the processor.

3.  Lightly spray frying pan with oil and form 3" diameter cakes and cook until heated through.

4.  Serve with a dollop of nonfat plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream) and fruit of your choice.

Quinoa corn cake, non-fat Greek yogurt and raspberries