During the last Costco expedition, I noticed they were offering organic quinoa, a grain I’ve long been curious about. The package suggested preparing it like tabbouleh, something I happen to favor.
First time I fixed it, though, it was breakfast time and things were a bit too rushed to fiddle with slicing garlic and onions and with harvesting herbs and making vinaigrette. One of my eccentricities is that I don’t like milk, and so I don’t at all care for hot (or cold) cereals splashed with the stuff. Oatmeal’s OK, if it’s prepared like pasta as a savory dish, instead of gooped up with milk and sugar.
So… I decided to try something along those lines with the quinoa.
It’s easy to cook, much like regular oatmeal or converted rice: just dump a cup of it into two cups of boiling water, turn down the heat, and let it simmer 20 minutes or so, till the water is absorbed. The result is a nice, fluffy product, light and pretty, with an interesting texture.
I had some sausage that I’d cooked and frozen. While the quinoa was steeping, I reheated that and sliced it into bite-sized pieces. Cut up a ripe tomato. sliced a green onion, chopped some parsley.
When the cereal was finished cooking, I served it up in a bowl with a big dollop of butter on it, and then topped it with all of the above, with a sprinkle of Parmesan. It turned out very tasty! And it really filled me up: I didn’t get the slightest bit hungry until past lunchtime.
when i was a kid i had pet birds and we gave them millet as a treat so now whenever i eat quinoa i feel like i’m literally eating bird food
Oh goodness, that sounds like a fabulous combination! I love simple dishes that explode with taste. I’m thinking some chicken apple sausage will do the trick nicely … thanks for another great breakfast idea.
Do you have Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone? She has an interesting recipe for soup–quinoa, spinach, feta, and other stuff. Made it a long time ago. Maybe I can find the quinoa for a second round.
No, I don’t have that book. I’ll have to look for it. That sounds like a very interesting recipe!
Just discovered last night that the dog thinks quinoa is the best thing since fried bacon. She’s indifferent about the rice I use to pad her food with starch, but when I substituted some leftover quinoa, she licked up every molecule. Follows, I suppose: it’s high in protein and contains a higher proportion of “complete” (i.e., usable) protein that most other grains or grain-like products.