Quinoa. What can I say about it? I could tell you what the package says: "Quinoa is an ancient grain that is wonderfully textured, delicately flavored and highly nutritious. In addition to having a higher protein content than any other grain, quinoa also contains all eight essential amino acids, making it a complete protein."
That sounds pretty good, right? In fact, every time I am at Costco, I hesitate for a moment over the ginormous packet of quinoa thinking, "Wow, I keep hearing about this stuff ~ I really ought to try it..." Every single time, I walk away empty-handed, telling myself that, if we don't like it, I will be stuck with enough quinoa to feed a...um...well...uh....something very large...that eats quinoa.
I think it was, in part, a mental block. Quinoa, in my mind, had become one of "those" foods. You know, the off-the-wall, only-hardcore-vegetarians-eat-this kind of foods. I know, I know, my popularity with hardcore vegetarians has just plummeted. No, wait. *checks her list of "followers* (*giggles over the idea of having "followers"*) Not a lot of hardcore vegetarians, as far as I can tell, so...I think we're good. Y'all still love me, right? I mean, even if I don't want to serve you a great big, steaming mushroom-bulgur-sprout burger on sprouted 97-grain ancient flatbread, with vegan mayonnaise? In truth, I imagine some of you love me more because I don't try to make you eat such things. Some of you might be inclined to run if I came at you with shit like that. Hell, I would run from shit like that.
So...quinoa...? Really? I just keep hearing how great it is, and I see all of these friendly-looking people tossing it into their shopping carts at Costco ~ and they're all kinds of people: college-aged, middle-aged, families with young children, grandmas, men, women, black, white, brown, purple, green, yellow, orange (It's true ~ Oompa Loompas LOVE them some quinoa)... So I got to thinking. I mean, they can't ALL be wrong, can they?
So, today, I picked up a rather reasonably sized packet of organic quinoa at Whole Foods. It probably cost more per ounce than I would pay at Costco, but it seemed a fair amount to experiment with, but not enough to, say, build a scale model of Los Angeles. I thought it was a good compromise. I also picked up a pack of black beluga lentils, because they are tiny and cute. Yes, I think that is perfectly logical.
When I got home, I checked the garden to find that, to my dismay, it hadn't suddenly burst forth with dozens of ripened tomatoes. I got, instead, a couple of zucchini. At first, I thought they would be on tonight's menu, but...eh. I just couldn't get in the zucchini spirit. They are very nice zucchini, and I love them very much. Probably, I will eat them tomorrow. Tonight, I decided to experiment with my two new grocery items.
After zipping around online for a while, I came upon this: http://quinoa-recipes.com/
The "Curried Quinoa" sounded okay, but I didn't have all of the ingredients, so I improvised a bit. Here's what my recipe looked like:
1 Cup Quinoa
1½ Tbsp. Olive Oil
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced (about 4 or 5 oz.)
¼ tsp ground Ginger Root
1 Fresh Green Chile, finely diced
1 Heaping Tsp. Turmeric
1 Heaping Tsp. Coriander
¼ Tsp. Ground Allspice
1¾ Cups Water
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
Salt to Taste
You may note that it is very similar to the original. I just didn't have an onion, fresh ginger or cinnamon. Oh, or peas. So...
I heated the oil and scallions and cooked them for a few minutes, then tossed in the quinoa (which I had rinsed exhaustively, because the idea of my dinner tasting bitter or soapy did not particularly turn me on) and all of the spices and cooked, stirring, for about two minutes. Added the water and salt, brought it all to a boil, covered, reduced the heat and simmered for 15 minutes. Then, I added the mixed veggies, covered it again and continued to cook for another 5 minutes. After that, I turned off the heat and let it stand for another 5-10 minutes before I removed the lid and fluffed it with a fork.
In the meantime, I rinsed 1 cup of black beluga lentils and placed them in a medium saucepot with 2 1/2 cups water and 2 tsps. vegetarian chicken broth powder. I brought them to a boil, reduced the heat to very low and cooked them very gently for 20-25 minutes. The package said 15-20, so yours may not take so long to cook, but I cooked mine on super-low because I didn't want to risk them getting all mushy and broken up, as lentils sometimes do. When they were done (but not mushy), I turned off the heat, drained the lentils and tossed them lightly with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. That was all they needed.
By the time I got the table set and managed to pry the children away form their play, the food had cooled to about room temperature. Honestly, I think it is better that way than it was hot. I tossed my lentils right in with my quinoa (the kids wanted theirs separate), and served cherry tomatoes and mango on the side, because I happened to have them. It was delish. In fact, I am looking forward to having it tossed together as a cold salad for lunch tomorrow. This one is definitely a keeper, and I will continue to experiment with both of these ingredients.
The texture of quinoa is interesting. Somewhere between barley and couscous, I would say. I was a little freaked out by the descriptions telling me that a little squiggly thing would pop out of each grain as it cooked, but that wasn't as nearly freaky and alien-like as I anticipated. The flavour is...well...mild, I suppose. I mean, mine had a lot of spices cooked with it, so it tasted like them. It's a little bit chewy, and a little...um...tiny...and...uh...round. I don't really know how to describe it. You'll have to give it a try for yourself.
My friend, Heather, tells me it is good with tahini sauce and zucchini, too. I like the idea of preparing zucchini and tahini together, because they rhyme. Maybe I should do a series of rhyming foods ~ that could be fun. I think I will start with "zucchini fettucine." We'll serve it with Margaritas while listening to Jimmy Buffett. I hope he doesn't mind, but I'll skip the bulgur wheat.
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