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Friday, March 26, 2010

Ode to Quinoa



We've been on a quinoa kick. 

The not-quite-a-grain, but really a seed, is an awesome protein and fiber-rich food.  I've been using it in place of rice. It's native to the Andes, and starting to gain in popularity here.  So excited to find a 4 pound bag at Costco yesterday.

The most important thing to remember in preparing quinoa is to rinse it first.  There's a powdery residue that can be quite bitter if not removed before cooking.  Just make sure to use a very fine strainer so you don't lose the quinoa down the drain. 

Some eat quinoa as they would oatmeal -- with honey and berries.  

Most recently, I toasted the quinoa before preparing it, and it opened the flavor into a deep, rich nutty taste.  

Looking forward to making a chicken teriyaki stir fry this weekend, using toasted quinoa in place of rice. 

I would love to know if anyone has recipes that they use with quinoa.  :)  In exchange, here's a few that I've used and loved!  :)
Recipes that I'm looking forward to trying:

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Mmmmm! I heart quinoa. Its like God's gift of nutty flavorful healthy goodness!

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