Awesome Quinoa
Health food shops can make people feel very important; it’s like a brand new religion with people trying to convert you to quinoa. — Pippa Evans
Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but is the seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant and it comes in three different colors — white or sweet variety; a dark red fruited variety called red quinoa; and a black quinoa.
Quinoa (Pronounced Keen-wa, not to be confused with Joaquin pronouced Wa-keen Phoenix) is a complete protein all on its own. It is also high in calcium and iron, a relatively good source of vitamin E and several of the B vitamins. It contains an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids. Another upside is that it is gluten free!
Storing Quinoa:
It is best to store it in glass in the fridge and use up within a year (quinoa flour should be used within 3 months). As it is a seed it can also be sprouted. You may even like to “pop” the seeds and use them as a dry cereal.
Cooking Quinoa:
There are different ways to cook the lovely grain, but generally it’s cooked like rice (can even be cooked in a rice cooker).
This is my favourite as it’s easy!
· 1 cup of quinoa rinsed well.
· 2 cups water.
1. Bring the water to the boil.
2. When boiling add the rinsed quinoa and cover with a sealed lid (if your lid has a steam hole, plug it up with a bit of aluminum foil).
3. Boil for 15–20 minutes. Keep a watch as it can boil dry quickly.
4. Turn heat off, Use a fork to ‘fluff’ up. If there is still water in the pot, replace the lid and leave on the element for another 10 minutes.
Serve.
Cooked quinoa is wonderful tossed with either winter roasted or summer salad vegetables. It can be used instead of rice or tossed with tofu.
You can also put it with shallots, spinach and olives and stuff it into Portabella mushrooms or capsicums (bell peppers) and bake or make a creamy quinoa mushroom casserole with spinach, dill, lemon, and a vegan Parmesan on top.
And don’t worry if you have plenty left over you can use if for tossing through a salad for lunch (even take it to work) or add to a stir fry for dinner.
The possibilities are endless and if you need more recipes, Google vegan quinoa and you’ll get plenty to choose from.
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