hey ladies,
wondering, has anyone tried quinoa. my hairdresser recommended it to me said its high in protein and a good rice substitute. I picked up a box and don'w know what to do with it!
I use quinoa all the time! You can pop it into the rice cooker just like rice and use it in anything you use rice for. My fav thing lately is to cook it in the rice cooker with mushrooms, onions, celery,and whatever other veggies you want. Then take that and put it into a winter squash (I like these sweet meat ones my friend grew and gave me, but acorn works really great too) and cook it at 350 for an hour. It gets crispy on the outside and the squash makes it almost creamy and..... yum. We made this last night actually for some friends (who aren't dieting at all) and they DEVOURED it (we had no leftovers!)! We also use it in chickpea curry, I tend to toss a bit in stews, like I said, anything you use Rice in you can use quinoa.
Great stuff...kept the Incas going....for a while anyway till the spanish got there...Rinse it really well and steam with a tight fitting lid for twenty minutes with two parts salted water....I have used it with good results by pressing cooked quinoa into a pie crust.....just FABULOUS w/ a mexican chili type filling...oh boy think I will make some for dinner today !!
Just make sure you rinse it really really well...crunchy dirt in the quinoa REALLY ruins a dish lol
Another good reason to rinse it (several times) is that quinoa that hasn't been rinsed well will have a bitter, soapy taste. Most packaged quinoa has already been rinsed. I have found that some companies do a better job of rinsing than others, so I rinse it again in several changes of water, just in case.
FYI trivia (explaining the soapy taste and reason for rinsing):
As quinoa grows, the seed is coated with a dark, almost black layer of 'saponine' that has a bitter, soapy taste. Saponine is the plant’s natural defense against insects, birds and other small animals that might want to eat it. Before Quinoa can be eaten, the saponine must me washed off. (As saponine acts as a crude soap, the locals who grow Quinoa, save the saponine-water and wash their clothes in it!) Virtually all Quinoa sold in North America as food already has the saponine removed.
I get mine out of the bulk bins--I usually pay $1.49/lb. for it. I made the MOST awesome quinoa the other night.
First I sauteed a diced onion. Then, I cooked the quinoa and onion in organic chicken broth rather than water. I added salt, cinnamon and a tbs. or two of olive oil. This was fabulous! OMGoodness.
any one eat quinoa?
