Adventures with Quinoa

I decided I like sharing with everyone the new foods that I try. A few weeks ago, I bought some quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) at our local grocery store. It's a super-nutritious grain that is grown in South America. My first exposure to it was on my mission in Ecuador. The locals cooked the grain mostly in soups. The grain has been compared to rice or couscous.

I think it's become a fad now among health food nuts, but don't think it's limited to just food snobs! It's easy to cook and fun to eat. My son Adam even loved it. Just google some recipes for quinoa, but I think the most popular one is quinoa and black beans, which is what I made. I cooked the quinoa in chicken broth, and added cumin, salt and chili powder. After it was cooked, I added some black beans and some roasted red peppers and let them warm up with the quinoa. It was fantastic! Here's a visual for ya:

Yes it looks like a small serving. That's because I ate most of it before I thought to take a picture. Oops. I also made this recipe for my mother and sister-in-law, but I added corn and fresh cilantro - YUM!

With the rest of the uncooked quinoa, I made a breakfast meal with blueberries and honey. It was divine!

So don't be afraid - try it out! You just might like it.

Note: Be sure to rinse the quinoa before cooking.