Broccoli Quinoa Pilaf

I am always preaching my love of quinoa to anyone who will listen, but I recently realized I haven't featured that many quinoa recipes lately. I usually cook up a huge batch and just eat it with some veggies and a sprinkle of salad dressing. I wanted to put together a tasty, quick way to enjoy this versatile grain.

Enter broccoli. Did I mention I've been on a huge broccoli kick? After being ambivalent about it for months, I'm suddenly obsessed with adding it to everything. Since I was a little kid I've always been a bit weird about broccoli stalks. I always eat only the "leaves" and not the "stems." This recipe integrates the vitamin and fiber rich stems and I didn't even notice them! Just shred up some broccoli and cook with onion, quinoa and some vegetable broth. The result is a creamy and filling side dish that is super healthy. Best part: it takes only 15 minutes to prepare!

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Monday Links

I am way too depressed about the Superbowl to cook and post today, so I thought it was high time I posted up some awesome links I've found. Part of the fun of food blogging is making all sorts of wonderful blog friends and seeing the creative and amazing things they do. Here are some of my recent favorites:

• Kim at Cravings of a Lunatic made an amazing heart shaped fruit salad - perfect for Valentine's Day!
• Jules at Bananamondaes cooked some Sound of Music inspired dishes. So amazing.
• The always amazing Chef Dennis made a gorgeous sausage stuffed pork loin.

And here are some great healthy links:

• Exercise can "clean" your cells - NYT
• Saturday was World Cancer Day, check out these interesting stats - HuffPo
• Protect yourself from contaminated food - Mayo Clinic
• New research shows that Vitamin D can protect against stroke risk - Cardiology Today