This summer, I discovered this fun little grain (seed, actually, but it's used as a grain) called quinoa (Keen-wa).  There aren't a lot of recipes out there for it, and I was stumped, but found a couple of really good recipes that I absolutely love.  One caveat is that quinoa is covered with some very bitter saponins that must be removed or you won't like the quinoa very well at all.  Many recipes say to rinse it well under running water in a fine sieve.  I don't like to do this, as it is messy and takes a long time.  Instead, I usually choose to roast the quinoa, which has always worked for me, and it's much easier.  After it is done roasting, I transfer it to a bowl until I'm ready for it again.

Since becoming pregnant, this little wonder grain has really been high on the cravings list, so I've been making my tried and trues a lot.  I'm getting ready to branch out and make up my own recipe, so I'll let you know how it goes after I try it.  Until then, I'd like to give you my two favorites.  One has a southwestern flair, and I found the recipe on the Internet.  The other one is, well, I guess French or something, and I got it out of the Body + Soul magazine.  I have adapted the recipes to suit my tastes, so they aren't the originals, but fairly close.

Rio Grande Quinoa Salad

3 T lemon juice

3 T olive oil

3 T cilantro, minced

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 C corn (I use frozen kernels)

1/2 C quinoa

1/2 t cumin seeds

1 C cooked black beans

1 md tomato, diced

3 T red onion (sometimes I use scallions instead)

Whisk together first 5 ingredients; set aside.

In a small saucepan, toast quinoa and cumin seeds until fragrant.  Add 1 cup of water and the corn.  Bring to boil, cover, and simmer until tender, approx 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes.  Fluff the quinoa and allow to cool slightly.  In a bowl, combine the quinoa, black beans, tomato, and onion.  Pour in dressing and gently toss to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

*As a side note, this is good warm, too, when you're too impatient to wait for it to chill.

Summer Quinoa Salad

1/2 c quinoa

4 tsp olive oil

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-in chunks

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1/8 t red pepper flakes

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 md zucchini, quartered and sliced 1/2-in thick

1 lg celery stalk, sliced

1/4 cup dry roasted pignolis (original recipe calls for toasted slivered almonds)

Toast quinoa in pan.  Set aside in bowl and return pan to heat.  Add 2 tsp olive oil and sautee yellow pepper, garlic, scallions, and red pepper flakes approximately 5 minutes.  Stir in quinoa, thyme, 1 c water, salt, zucchini, and celery.  Bring to boil, cover, reduce to simmer.  Cook approx 10 minutes until tender but not mushy.  Add pignolis and remaining 2 tsp oil.  Adjust seasonings to taste.  May squeeze 1 lime for extra zing.

This is excellent both warm and cold.  Serving suggestion is to chill, but we like it warm with roasted chicken.

I got this off of Donna's blog.

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?

We eat most of our meals at home. Occasionally, we eat at Chik-fil-A for either lunch or supper, but that is fairly rare.  There are 5 of us, but Short Stuff is still really attached to mommy milk, so he doesn't eat a lot yet.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?

I can't remember, but I think it's around 8-10.

3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?

Depends on the week, sometimes only once, sometimes none, and sometimes several times.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources?

Most of my recipes are from websites, my mom, or friends.

5. How do you store those recipes?

I have one small binder filled with recipes, and I have 2 folders crammed with recipes.  I really need to organize them, throw away all the ones I can't convert to dairy-free, and make them more accessible.

6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas?

It depends on the recipe.  A lot of my cooking is "30-minute seat-of-the-pants gourmet."  Some recipes I follow very strictly, and others are used for their ideas only.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking? If so, what is it?

Nothing predominates.  We eat such a wide variety of food - Middle Eastern, Mexican, Italian, French, Indian, Chinese, and southern American (aka down home).

8. What's your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation?

Whacking the garlic cloves with the blade of my chef's knife & then mincing.

9. What's your least favorite part?

Putting the leftovers away.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?

Yes!  Back when I started staying at home with Bubba, we were really really really poor.  We had a very strict grocery budget, and I found that planning meals helped me stay within that budget very well.  Even though we're not in that same financial position, I use a weekly menu to help me keep from overspending on groceries.  I usually only plan dinner, unless HOH is going to be home for lunch.  Breakfasts are traditional, so I just make sure I have Trader Joe's O's, rice milk, eggs, and bread on hand.

11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?

Fridge
Dishwasher
Chest Freezer

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object, and space not an issue, what would you most like to have?

A gourmet gas stovetop like MIL's, only with an indoor grill

13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next?

A milk frother or an espresso machine.  MIL introduced me to a Starbucks' latte with cinnamon and brown sugar.  I'm addicted, but too cheap to go to Starbucks and get one when I could buy a frother and make them to my heart's content!

If I don't get that, I really really want a programmable pressure cooker.  My brother has one, and it rocks!  Imagine the beans I could cook!

14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?

Yes.  It has been so nice.  We put produce in it (vegetables from my parents' garden and fruits), chicken that I get on sale, and also a quarter of a beef, not to mention a few freezer meals for those times when I don't feel like cooking.

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?

Almost always with Bubba, Timex, and Short Stuff.  Until you've been grocery shopping with 3 active boys under the age of 5, you don't know the meaning of fun.  :-P  In reality, they are normally exceptionally well-behaved throughout the trip, and we have a lot of fun.  We go to Trader Joe's and Meijer (a department store with a great grocery) at the end of every week.

16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?

I strive for one or two, but usually only do a meatless dish once every few weeks.  Back when we still ate dairy, we had meatless dishes more often, sometimes 4-5 times a week.

17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favorite kitchen colors?

No theme yet.  We do have black appliances, reddish oak cabinets, and dark gray countertops.  I haven't really decided on colors yet.

18. What's the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?

Cookies.  I think I was 8 or 9.

19. How did you learn to cook?

I watched my mom, who is an excellent cook.  I don't know that she specifically showed me anything, but she cooks so much that I just absorbed it from watching her.  I also love watching cooking shows whenever we're near a TV that has the Food Network on it.  I learned a lot from Alton Brown when we had cable.

20. Tag two other people to play.

Not sure.  If you want to play along, just leave me a comment!