I get asked about some of the ingredients in my recipes from time to time. Mainly from my mom. I’m starting a new series of posts focusing on some of the slightly less common ingredients that tend to show up in my recipes and make a home in my kitchen.
- Please send me an email (thelivelykitchen{at}gmail{dot}com) or leave a comment if there are some ingredients you’d like me to write about.
Ingredient Spotlight
Ingredient: Quinoa
How do you pronounce it? Keen-wah. Not ‘key-no-nah’ as my mom likes to say. (hi mom!)
What is it? An edible seed from South America.
Where do you find it at the store? It’s usually by the rice. Sometimes it may be in the gluten-free section and sometimes with the ‘speciality’ grains like barley and amaranth. It’s often sold in bulk bins too. I buy most of my quinoa at Costco, as they sell at 3lb bag of Organic Quinoa for $10, which is the best price I’ve seen.
How much does it cost? Usually around $4-5 a pound. Costco often carries it for $10/3lbs. In bulk bins it’s usually around $4/lb.
How do you cook it? You rinse it, add it to water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Jenn at Peas and Crayons just did a fabulous post on cooking quinoa, so rather than re-invent the wheel, I’ll just link to it here.
http://www.peasandcrayons.com/2012/01/keen-wahhhh-adventures-in-cooking.html
What does it taste like it? Like a slightly nutty rice. It’s texture is like a chewier cous-cous. Like most grains, it’s quite versatile and takes on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with.
What’s so great about it? Where to start? 1. It’s pretty cheap. 2. It’s got a good amount of protein, iron, fiber and b vitamins. 3. It’s gluten free 4. It cooks quickly and keeps well in the fridge for a few days. 5. It’s good cold and hot.
Will kids and/or husbands eat it? Most likely. My kids like it plain or tossed with a little butter or olive oil. We eat it at least once a week.
Some of my favorite quinoa recipes from this blog:
Fall Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions - if you like roasted butternut squash, you’ll love this recipe.
Curried Quinoa with Chickpeas and Apples - my personal favorite quinoa dish. No one else in my family likes curry, so I get to eat the whole recipe myself. Not a bad fate.
Quinoa with Salsa and Black Beans – This is the first recipe I ever made with quinoa and I’ve been making it often for the last four years. The flavors are very familiar and, if you like Tex-Mex style dishes, this is a great first time quinoa recipe. It’s good as is, or used as a taco or burrito filler. We also eat it over salad greens with crushed tortilla chips.
Caramelized Onion Quinoa with Toasted Nuts and Seeds – this is one of my husband’s favorite dinners (sans the nuts and seed topping).
Other quinoa recipes I enjoy:
Quinoa Cakes from A Nutritionist Eats. These somehow taste almost like hash browns. I made them for my 21 year old brother-in-law and he ate the entire recipe in one sitting. A fantastic way to use up leftover quinoa.
Zucchini Quinoa Lasagne from Peas and Thank You. I made this every couple of weeks in the summer when zucchini was abundant. I use dairy cream cheese, but otherwise follow the recipe exactly. My husband and kids like it too.
Are you a quinoa fan? If so, please share a recipe!
Next ingredient: Kombu
I like to make up a batch every week to add to meals, salads, etc.
Yesterday I sent my husband to work with quinoa + pesto + goat cheese over arugula. He wasn’t really excited about it going to work, but said it was “actually pretty good.”
I would just point out that it can “spoil” more easily than rice or other grains. You will know this when it has a very strong odor when you just open the box/bag. This happened to me once when I had bought the big bag at Costco and didn’t use it fast enough. Just a tip for people who are trying it for the first time. It would really turn you off if you try to eat rancid quiona. Thanks Michelle!
I go back and forth between loving quinoa and being totally over it, but that caramelized onion version sounds pretty much perfect.
The one and only time I have tried quinoa I did not like it, I guess that’s why I have only had it once. I have been told over and over by a friend that I need to try it again. She is very sure I will like it.
I will have to give one of your recipes a try and see if it goes down easier this time.
I love quinoa cold during the summer, piled with veggies, pan-fried tofu, and then covered with peanut sauce. It sounds kind of weird, but I swear I lived on this last summer! Yum.
I really have got to try the caramalized onion version (minus the nuts and seeds)!
Let me know how you like it! I love it with the nuts and seeds, but my husband is firmly in the no nuts and seeds camp….
That’s the only reason I’m making it sans nuts and seeds, Evan wouldn’t eat them. I can’t justify the extra spending if I’ll be the only one eating them! This is on the menu plan for tomorrow, I’ll let you know!
Well, I finally got a chance to make this last night and it was AWESOME!!! My only problem is every single time I make quinoa it always comes out slightly undercooked…even once the water is completely gone. Do I need to add more water or something? I used your ratio of water to quinoa…
my mom says it wrong too. we like quinoa here, even the dogs!
I love quinoa!! I like to put it on my salads with whatever veggies I have in the fridge (my current favorite is roasted beets, spinach, goat cheese, pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries, and pecans).