These are some recipes that I have collected over the years. I don't know where I found them, but if they have already been posted, I'm sorry. I've tried some of them, but not all of them. Warm Quinoa, Spinach, and Shiitake Salad Serves 4 1/2 cup red-wine vinegar (or white-wine vinegar, Champaign vinegar, white balsamic vinegar your choice) 2/3 cup olive oil (extra virgin olive oil) Salt & Pepper to taste (Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper, can use white pepper) 2 pounds fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps halved (or your favorite mushroom) 1 1/2 cups quinoa (I would used the boxes kind and follow directions on box.) 1 pound baby spinach (or any greens that you like including young dandelions) 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese, about 8 ounces (or any cheese that you like. I think that stilton cheese would be very good or blue cheese.) *Nuts (You choice, pinions, almonds, pecans, peanuts, etc. If you are using salted nuts, you might want to reduce the salt you put in.) *Hot sauce to taste Heat broiler; set rack 4" from heat. For dressing, in small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. On a broiler pan toss mushrooms with half of the dressing reserving the rest. Broil, tossing occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. In a small saucepan combine the quinoa, 3 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Bring to boil, reduce to medium heat. Cover and simmer until liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. OR JUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE PACKAGE OF QUINOA THAT YOU ARE USING. Place spinach in large bowl, add hot mushrooms, quinoa and reserved dressing, and nuts and hot sauce. Toss to combine, spinach will wilt. Top with crumbled cheese and serve immediately. *Optional TOASTED ALMOND AND QUINOA SALAD Serves 4 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 oranges, peeled 1/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds 21/2 cups cooked quinoa, at room temperature Salt and pepper, to tast Whisk lemon juice, oil, tarragon and parsley in a large serving bowl. Section oranges and cut each section into thirds. Stir oranges into the bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve chilled or at room temperature. TOASTED ALMOND AND CITRUS QUINOA Serves 4 People who aren't crazy about the texture of whole grains may delight in quinoa. Its tiny round grains have a slight toothsomeness that my teenage daughter describes as "vegetable caviar." Quinoa has a bland but pleasant flavor that is enhanced by the addition of flavorful broth or other ingredients. One half-cup serving contains 3.5 g of fiber. 1 cup uncooked quinoa 1 1/2 cups cold, fresh water, broth, or stock 1/4 teaspoon salt (if unsalted broth is used) 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil 1/2 teaspoon organic lemon zest 1 teaspoon organic orange zest 3/4 cup parsley, chopped 3 chopped scallions, including green tops 1/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds with skin Rinse the quinoa in cold water until it is no longer sudsy. Drain well through a strainer. (Depending on whether you buy your quinoa packaged or in bulk, it may have been pre-rinsed, but it's best to rinse anyway, because unless the bitter saponin that coats the grain has been thoroughly removed, your recipe will be ruined.) In a 1-quart pan, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the quinoa and salt. Reduce the heat to low/medium; cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and quickly boil off any remaining liquid. Scrape the grain into a serving dish. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, and zests and stir in the remaining ingredients. Add the mixture to the cooled quinoa, stir, and serve chilled or at room temperature. QUINOA, GARLIC, AND RED PEPPERS Serves 6 Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is an ancient protein-rich grain from the Andes. Try this recipe when you need to make a quick meal, or serve it as an accompaniment to any main dish. 11/2 cups water 2 tablespoons Marmite, Vegemite, or beef or vegetable bouillon 1 cup quinoa 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 3 cloves garlic Heat the water and the Marmite, Vegemite, or bouillon in a heavy pot. Meanwhile, put the quinoa into a fine strainer and rinse until the water is clear and free of suds. Puree the rosemary and garlic in a coffee grinder, or press the garlic and crush the rosemary. Add the quinoa, garlic, and rosemary to the bouillon and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Top with Garlic-Marinated Roasted Red Peppers (see recipe below). GARLIC-MARINATED ROASTED RED PEPPERS Create a colorful cuisine by garnishing a variety of foods with this treat, which is rich in antioxidants. It needs to marinate for at least two hours, so plan ahead. 1 sweet red bell pepper 1 clove garlic, pressed 1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil Put the red pepper directly on your gas or electric stove burner on high heat. Using tongs, turn the pepper as it chars. When most of the skin is black and blistered, place the pepper into a paper bag for 5 minutes to "sweat" the skin off. Scrape off what skin you can and wipe off the remainder. You won't be able to rid the pepper completely of its skin, so don't be tempted to rinse it. Cut the pepper open and drain any juice into a bowl. (The fresher the pepper, the more juice.) Remove the seeds and ribs. Cut the pepper into quarters, lengthwise. Stack the quarters and cut them into matchstick-sized pieces. Put the pepper, pressed garlic, and olive oil into the bowl with the pepper juice and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or up to several days), turning occasionally.

The soup lakemayor mentioned (thanks!) was mine, I think: Spicy Tomato-Vegetable Soup with Quinoa 2 T extra virgin olive oil One large onion 3 Celery stalks 1 Medium carrot 1 1/2 C Cabbage 2-4 Garlic cloves 1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, with juice 1 lb. fresh tomatoes 5 14.5 oz cans chicken stock OR the equivalent amount of home made chicken stock or chicken stock made from store bought chicken base, not boullion. 1 can water 1 serrano pepper, sliced in half the long way 2 t dried leaf oregano 1/4 dried leaf thyme 1 T dried leaf basil 1/4 t black pepper 1/2 C Quinoa* Thinly sliced green onions for garnish. Dice all vegetables into 1/4 inch pieces...if you use pre-diced canned tomatoes, they will likely need to be cut smaller as well. Heat a heavy-bottomed, 6 Qt saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and when it becomes fragrant, add the onions, celery and carrot. Saute until the onion becomes translucent, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the Cabbage and Quinoa. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in another pan, and add the Quinoa. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat just enough to prevent it boiling over. Boil the Quinoa for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse in a fine mesh sieve. Add the Quinoa to the soup and simmer another 15 minutes. Add cabbage, bring soup to a slow boil for 5 minutes and turn off heat. At this point, the soup can be served, but the flavor will improve greatly if the soup is allowed to sit at least until it is cool before reheating to serve, and if it sits for several hours or overnight, all the better! Remove the serrano chili halves before serving and sprinkle soup with sliced green onions for garnish. Yield: Appx. 14, one-cup servings *If you cannot find Quinoa at the grocery store, it can often be purchased in health food stores. Rice may be substituted, but the flavor and texture will be different. I have found that Quinoa is a good pilaf ingredient as well. Half rice of your choice, half Quinoa, and use your favorite pilaf recipe. One thing is to be careful you don't overcook it in too much liquid because it can get quite sticky & mushy. A little too much, and you can spread it out in a pan underneath a fan and dry it out a little to save it. A lot too much, and you might just as well throw it into a soup or stew or eat it as porridge. Something to experiment with is toasting it in a heavy pan (dry) before cooking. It gives it a nutty flavor. I often toast half and leave the other half untoasted when I make a pilaf. The same can be done with millet, another under appreciated grain.

On Alisande's link to the previous discussion of quinoa, I've made the recipe that Luckygardner posted a couple times now. We love it! I made some adjustments per ingredients, but I use the spices and orange juice. It's very expensive, so it won't be regular for us, but I certainly intend to make it periodically. Don't cook it to mush....leave some crunch in it. 10-12 minutes is just right. Some recipes say to cook it for 20 minutes....I can't imagine what that would be like.

I use quinoa in any recipe that calls for rice. It is interchangable. You can have it as a hot cereal in the morning (add whatever you would for oatmeal....) It is a fantastic grain. I make a big batch (OH NOTE...Always rinse your quinoa before cooking it, i use a wire mesh strainer) why not serve it up like Tobuli salad, with fresh tomatoes, green onions...etc with oil and vineger and plenty of spice. I love it with Tofu.