People are always asking me how to cook
quinoa and once it's cooked, what to do with it.
Quinoa (keen-
wa) is actually a seed from a leafy plant and related to spinach. It is super high in protein and contains all 9 essential amino acids making it a great choice for vegetarians. Cooking instructions for
quinoa are just like rice with 1 cup to 2 cups of liquid. I do it a bit differently though.....last night I made a simple pilaf with some
bbq chicken for dinner. Steve and I made a quick trip to Costco to pick up fertilizer and tomato plants (which they had run out of :( ) and on my way out of the store I found this
bbq sauce on sale, 3 packs for $9.99.
Organic and local, 2 of my favorite product qualities!
So when I got home, 1 big onion and 5 cloves of garlic were sauteed until tender and then 2 cups of
quinoa. I like toasting all of my grains until lightly brown before adding liquid since it adds a nice nutty flavor. Once this was done instead of adding 4 cups of water (remember 2 cups of
quinoa), I added 2 cups of apple juice and 1 cup of broth.
Then I added about 2 handfuls of chopped kale
Now bring the broth to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and let sit until
quinoa is fluffy and seeds are sort of broken and see through (fluffy like couscous). Now I chopped up veggies left over from last nights curry veggie soup.
Red, yellow and orange peppers. zucchini, carrots (kale added to broth) and 1
serrano pepper. Now add all veggies to
quinoa along with 2 tsp (or more) thyme and salt n pepper to taste, let warm up with the lid on until veggies are tender (about 10 min). Once this was done I decided to add 1 apple cubed since there was already apple juice in the broth along with the juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup of raisins. This really added a fresh taste and sweetness to it.
Done! This made a
huge batch but that's the way I roll! :) This'll be perfect all week for lunch in Steve's wraps and leftovers for tomorrow nights dinner.
The
bbq sauce was very good and I can't wait to taste the lemon rosemary one on fish.
See how easy
quinoa is? Swap it with rice and you'll add more vitamins, fiber and protein into your diet.
