And I don't suppose you saved any for me, did you? lol All of it sounds quite good. I just discovered quinoa a few months ago, and like it a lot.

Shirley

(who is now feeling deprived as I've never tasted brie.)

What is Quinoa?? I know i could google it ,but i'm sure you'll be happy to share!! LOL,LOL
Kathi

Quinao (pronounced keen-wah) is a small round grain. It has to be rinsed well before it is cooked or else it can be bitter, or have a green grassy smell and taste. Rinsed and toasted before cooking and it has a nutty taste (it actually smells like peanuts to me, rather than a generic "nutty" smell).

It cooks relatively quickly and has an interesting texture. Not exactly crunchy, but sort of has a snap. When cooked it goes translucent and this little tail comes loose from the edge. It doesn't get hard when cold like rice does, so it works in cold grain salads as well as warm pilafs.

I don't care for the texture of couscous so I tend to sub cooked quinoa in dishes that call for it.

You can cook it sort of like rice pudding or even hot cereal but I haven't tried that.

It is considered a pseudograin and is it's own complete source of protein, unlike other grains that must be combined to make one.

How I make it, which is pilaf style:

Thoroughly rinse 1 cup of quinoa. I am not kidding. We are talking 5-10 minutes under running water in a seive. Or buy Bob's Red Mill, which is supposed to be pre-rinsed.

Drain well.

Heat a skillet with 2 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp butter. Add the quinoa and stir and toast over medium heat until it starts to turn golden brown and looks dryer. Some may pop. This takes about five minutes.

Add two cups water or broth of some sort (careful, it will spit and sizzle!). Cover the skillet, and turn it down to low.

Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid. The grains should look translucent and you should see the little loopy squiggly things LOL. If there is still liquid (and there always is) I turn up the heat a little and basically let it boil off, stirring often. When most of the liquid is gone, turn off the heat and recover the quinoa. Let it sit and steam for about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

You may now use it in recipes for salad, or eat it as is. You could also sautee some veggies with the quinoa as it toasts or add cooked veggies before adding the water. I like to make it relatively plain so that I can divide it up. Some for salad, some to eat as is, some to add to soup, and so on.

You can read more about it at the link. I haven't tried any of the recipes there but it shows cooked and uncooked quinoa so you can get an idea what it looks like. Plus she gives a good description of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Good info here

Thanks Dances,i'll have to look for it when i can get out and about again.
kathi

I recently saw quinoa substituted for bulgur in a tabouli receipe.

We eat it often. My kids aren't crazy about it, but it's good for them so they tough it out.

It originated from SOuth America, I think.

It's much more expensive than regular grains, but I like to buy it at the bulk store.

See, Dances ... you're a smarter cookie than you thought!

Life does have those surprises!

Hope you're enjoying your week, otherwise.

ole joyful

I love when that happens, Dances. Now be sure to make a note of exactly what you did so you can reproduce it at a later date. I stumbled upon a great "mix-up" dinner once out of weird stuff in the pantry and for the life of me, can't remember what all went in it, but it sure was good. I think a can of mandarin oranges was involved..... lol.

I have no doubt that the dinner you made on the fly was delicious.

However, I have a feeling that the main reason your taste buds did the hallelujah hoedown was due to your self imposed food deprivation or as others say, a diet.

After torturing yourself with carrots, well, this meal was a party to your tastebuds. Good luck getting those tastebuds to accept carrots anytime soon. *Grin*

Kim

LOL, Kim! But no, I still eat tasty food. I am just trying not to eat constantly all day. There is no reason why I can't eat proper meals and snacks. I am not a gazelle after all, and don't need to "graze" ;)

Jackasses graze, too, I hear.

And cows.

o j