Catching up on weekend posts?
- New recipe! No-cheese Salsa Verde Enchiladas
- New recipe! Braised Cabbage Pasta
- And I ran a 15-mile long run
Good morning! How goes it on this lovely Monday?
I thought I’d start things off right with a lovely breakfast. What makes this dish really sing? The play of savory and sweet from the combination of balsamic reduction and strawberries.
Strawberry Fields Breakfast Quinoa
Ingredients (for one serving):
- 1 serving quinoa, dry
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1 serving sweetened nuts (I used honey sesame cashews)
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar for reducing
Directions:
- Boil quinoa according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, wash and slice strawberries. Set aside.
- In another small pot, bring balsamic vinegar to boil and reduce it (takes about 5 minutes, it will become thick and oily).
- Once quinoa is finished, drain any excess liquid and mix in nuts, maple syrup, and strawberries. Plate.
- Pour balsamic reduction over the top.
- Enjoy!
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." (Howard Washington Thurman)
Twitter
Operation Beautiful
Oh wow. Looks delish! I love quinoa, but i’ve never tried it for breakfast. Hmmm…tomorrow morning I might try it out! P.S. Love the quote.
Yeah. that looks amazing!
WANT. That looks delicious. I love the balsamic addition.
I love this quote. You don’t know how fitting that is for me today, thank you for this.
I have a strawberry quinoa recipe – I will definitely have to try with balsamic – sounds amazing.
Wow awesome way to start off your week! I love this idea and bet it would work well with other grains, too. Happy Monday!
Balsamic reduction = crazy good! At breakfast? Well that might just be crazy enough to work!!
I’ll be checking out your tips. Thanks!
Your breakfasts are so creative! YUM! Looks so good!
That quote is one of my favorites ever. Its perfect.
Also, that Quinoa looks interesting, definitely something I would like to try!
your plating and presentation looks amazing! i just stocked up on quinoa, and this looks wonderful!
Oh yum! My hubby just asked me to make Chocolate Quinoa for breakfast sometime this week but I’m going to try this out instead!
I have to try and make a balsamic reduction! Is that a cashew with sesame seeds? Yum!
Beautiful breakfast!!! Puts my frozen waffles to shame
Wow that looks really delicious and oh so healthy!!
I have to try that! Looks amazing!
What a beautiful plate – it looks like it’s from a fancy restaurant! The balsamic looks like chocolate =)
what a beautiful breakfast! I need to try some of your quinoa based morning meals, YUM
I just polished off a bowl of yogurt with raw oats, it was my first time trying this and you’re right its SO good! cheewwwey
The blogging tips page is great! Wish I’d had that about 1 month ago.
Are those cashews from Trader Joe’s? I always see such great flavors there, but never know if it’s worth the monetary investment.
What an artful breakfast!
YES! buy them! so good.
Ohmygoodness! My tummy just started rumbling at the sight of that beauty! I’m going to star this in my Google Reader and plan to try it as soon as I get some freakin’ quinoa in the house!
Now that is how you start the week! YUM! I love breakfast quinoa. So tasty!
Wow that looks awesome! Great unique flavor ideas for b-fast!
Caitlin what a wonderful breakfast. I’ve had quinoa for bfast before, I mixed cinnamon and maple syrup and some walnuts into the quinoa. It was wonderful! Yours looks great too — those strawberries look so fresh and beautiful!
Oh how I love strawberries in anything! I am intrigued at whether my palate/stomach would accept a basalmic reduction in the morning (it can be a bit finicky), but I know I would love this for another meal!
I love balsamic and strawberries. My favorite combo! I also really love that quote. As someone who is struggling with their life and what they want to do with it, I found it really uplifting.
AMEN to that quote
exactly what I feel right now…ALIVE! 
Oh my goodness gracious, I LOVE quinoa but never thought to do a sweet version!
That looks like it came out of the kitchen of a fancy restaurant!! What a great way to start a Monday.
YUM!!! And so creative!
Gorgeous pics! Looks very fancy
I need to try quinoa for breakfast… I keep saying it, darn it. And haven’t yet!
Caitlin! Thank you so much for spending the time to put together a “blogging tips” page! Although I don’t think I have ever explicitly asked– I have always been curious about the “nitty gritty” of blogging (platforms you started with, designing, etc.) I found this new page extremely helpful
Also, your breakfast is beautiful — I’ve never tried the strawberries + balsamic combo — but I think I will have to soon …
Fancy breakfast much? Looks amazing though.
Balsamic = love!
I keep meaning to make quinoa for breakfast and think I’d go for the maple strawberry route … thanks for the lovely idea!
balsamic reductions were always something I questioned because I never knew what they were. thanks for sharing, also about braising this weekend. I feel so enlightened reading your blog.
Thanks for posting the blogging tips! I had no idea that Windows Live Writer was that useful until now – I will definitely be downloading it.
DO IT.
Great presentation!
Caitlin! I absolutely love the quote you put on this post. It’s one of my all time favorites!
I hope you have a great Monday doll!
Love the blogging tips page!!
It’s so pretty! I love how you made it special. I don’t usually think to make breakfast an event like that!
Such pretty presentation, looks like a plate ordered from a gourmet restaurant.
Balsamic Vinegar with breakfast? Hmmm…interesting combo but I’m curious so I’ll try it soon, maybe with some toasted coconut flakes on top. Yum!!
Thanks for the quote…I agree.
I CANNOT wait to try this quinoa! Thanks!
I love quinoa but never have eaten breakfast quinoa. But I do love strawberries with balsamic reduction, so I must try this.
Can’t wait to check out your blogging tips! Bfast looks delish!
Well, how’s that for a Monday breakfast!! Holy, yummers Caitlin!!
Gorgeous gourmet breakfast! It made me smile
I am dying to try a quinoa breakfast.
Yum! This is making my tummy growl
I love that quote. Isn’t it true though? The point is to be happy, whether it’s pouring coffee, sitting in an office or out sailing the world.
I should try this balsamic thing…I love regular vinegar – but I don’t think this is the same somehow
I’m always looking for quinoa recipes as I have a huge containter to use up. And what a great idea for breakfast. I need to try this…stat!
Oh my gosh, my jaw just hit the floor. This looks AMAZING- like a gourmet breakfast you’d get at an expensive restaurant!! Bookmarking NOW
Thank you so much for the blogging advice! Just read through your new tips section and it was chock full of wonderful words of wisdom! I’m trying to get started in the blogging world, and honestly have no clue what I’m doing half the time…so to read tips from someone who is experienced is beyond helpful!
Thanks for taking the time to do this and to help others out!
Your welcome!
interesting breakfast! i now have that song in my head…
It’s so funny because I never want to make pretty food. I hate making a mess of it while I eat! But sometimes, it sounds just good enough to be worth it.
Thank you for the bloggin tips! I too feeling like I’m winging it a lot of the time, so its so helpful to get tips! Thank you!
You could totally be a professional platter (?) (plate-er)
The quinoa looks awesome!
So yummy for breakfast, it inspires me to not always go for the “sweet” option for breakfast!
mmmm i never think about doing balsamic reductions, but they ROCK! It looks really good.
You have been on a role with these awesome recipes lately! Keep them coming love!
I keep seeing quinoa used in sweet creations and I would never think to do that. Yours looks so pretty and professional.
What a beautiful breakfast Caitlin!! So pretty with the deeply colored balsamic reductuon and the bright red strawberries
What a great start to the week. We had brekfast sandwiches up in here this fine monday, but just not as pretty as yours!
This looks like it came from a fancy gourmet restaurant! It’s so creative!
Strawberry fields forever… I love the Beatles. I even walked down the aisle to a Beatles song.
Thanks for the blogging page! Love it!
I have a question: Would you recommend Foodbuzz ads or Google ads and why? I have google ads on my site right now and make pennies and was recently approved to have Foodbuzz ads but I’m not sure which is better. Since Foodbuzz ads only counts views from the United States (I’m Canadian and get a lot of views from Canada) I figured out I would be making approximately the same amount as I am right now through Google Ads, so not sure if it’s worth the switch.
Any other input on why Foodbuzz ads are great from anyone?
Thanks!
I would 100% go with Foodbuzz.
You will have more US views than you will clicks!
I’ve had the strawberries & balsamic combo in a salad but would never have thought of it for breakfast! Thanks for the blogging tips. It can be really hard for us newbies starting out and this really helps.
you create the best breakfast meals I have seen by far.
Thank you so much for all that information about blogging. It was extremely helpful in all aspects of blogging!
that’s so weird. i’ve been wanting to set up my own blog too but i have noooooo confidence to do it. its funny because i was going to email you to ask if you could provide tips for me! thank you for taking the time to create a blogging tips page! i still have no confidence ); lots to think about!!
That breakfast looks fantastic and looks beautiful on the white plating. I definitely need to try the balsamic reduction. Also, thanks for the tips.
The one regarding turning off the comment code, can you please specify where that is? I’ve searched high and low on my dashboard and don’t see anything about it regarding codes for commenting. Thanks!
I think WordPress doesnt use that feature automatically, its just blogger. So you’re safe!
Okay great, thank you so much for replying!
Thank you so much for posting the Blogging Tips page! As a new blogger, I need all the help I can get. And that breakfast looks amazing!
Beautiful pictures today Caitlin!!!! That dish sounds fabulous too!
That. looks. amazing.
One of the benefits of working from home, no?! I would cough will love to try this recipe soon! PS, I spy HLS swag in the form of sesame nuts! OMG i ate those too fast, they were soooooo good, prob my favorite thing in there!
Oh, I had something that like that today but for dinner and used honey instead of balsamic. Nice quote, I’ve seen it before and it is a good one
I love looking at quotes, thinkexist.com is a good place to loook at tonssss of quotes.
[...] A savory, yet sweet breakfast combo [...]
wow, that breakfast is so gorgeous. you’re so creative!