Climbing up on my Quinoa soap-box

Brace yourselves... I really LOVE Quinoa and I can hardly believe it has taken me 4 1/2 months of posting before climbing up on my soapbox to preach about it!

If you are not already familiar with it, Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is considered to be a grain, although technically it is a seed. The plant is a relative of of the dark, leafy green vegetables like Spinach and Swiss Chard. Because of this, it is super high in antioxidants. It is also considered to be a "complete protein" because it contains all nine essential amino acids. This makes it a great choice for vegetarians or even just for inclusion in a meal that does not contain meat. It is also a good source of fiber, easy to cook and very versatile. If I haven't already overwhelmed you with how amazing this little guy is, you can read more here.

Before Cooking...

After Cooking...

You can always purchase Quinoa at a health food store, but I have been seeing more and more regular grocery stores carrying it too. Cooking Quinoa is pretty simple. Almost everything out there will tell you to rinse it before cooking to wash off a bitter outer layer. However, I have never taken the time to do that and I think it tastes just fine. It cooks just like rice. Here in Colorado you would use 1 part Quinoa to 2 parts water or broth. At lower elevations I think it is closer to 1 part Quinoa to 1 1/2 parts water or broth. You don't have to boil the water first, but can put both the grain and water in the pot together, bring to a gentle simmer and cook until all the water has been absorbed (about 20 minutes, depending on how much you make).

There are gazillions of things to do with it once cooked. My favorite is to mix in a little butter, salt, parmesan cheese and toasted almonds. Last week I ate it for breakfast, topped with a slice of Swiss Cheese and an egg. This weekend I made a dish from the 101 Cookbooks website called Tabasco Asparagus Quinoa. In the past I have added cooked quinoa to a little bit of milk (regular, soy or rice) and sugar and topped with fresh strawberries. Or you could mix in a little brown sugar, some dried fruit and pecans and make it a breakfast cereal. I have seen (but not tried out) recipes where you stuff an acorn squash with cooked quinoa, sausage, cranberries, sage, etc and bake the whole thing in the oven. I saw another recipe once where you make a regular lasagna but instead of using noodles, you do a thin layer of Quinoa.

The possibilities are completely endless!!

Are you feeling inspired yet? I inspired myself with all my ranting. I am going to head to the kitchen for some Tabasco Asparagus quinoa salad for breakfast.

Happy Monday :)