Adventure with Quinoa!

So I am always ready to try new food. So when Shane and I stopped at Whole Foods on the way home from our trip and I saw quinoa in the bulk bins I decided to get a little. There was also a "How to buy and cook bulk food" booklet that told me what to do with the stuff so that helped too.

So, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) in the book is described as a grain with "light, nutty flavor" It is higher in protein than other grains and expands to 4 times its volume when cooked. The expansion thing is SO nice to know when cooking from bulk the first time. It suggests use in "grain salads" or as a stuffing for zucchini or tomatoes. Also good for fajitas or enchiladas. After you rinse it several times, it simmers for 20 minutes.

So it has been in the cabinet for a little bit and I decided to try it today. I didn't want to stuff tomatoes or zucchini so I got online and looked at www.allrecipes.com for some ideas. I did have some tomatoes but they needed cleaned up (some icky spots) so I went with a salad. I cooked 1 cup of quinoa and then stirred in a couple of chopped tomatoes, some halved green olives, and some feta cheese. I decided to add some salad dressing to the bit I put on my plate (I wish i had not done that).

So what is my opinion on quinoa? YUMMY! The salad was very good. I will use black olives next time (I didn't have any) simply because I like them better. The quinoa itself is exactly as it was described a little nutty and very crunchy...almost like the crunch makes it "pop" a little. Kinda hard to describe. But it was great and a nice addition to my lunch ideas. I coudn't get the boys to try it cause they don't like feta or green olives. I think I'll sneak it in something they DO like sometime and see how that goes. It could easily be used in place of rice for a vegetable stir fry to bump up that protein.

This is what my first attempt at quinoa salad looks. Pretty yummy if ya ask me. :)