WOW! Quinoa is REALLY good!

[youthere]

I finally got brave enough to try it today. I made the quinoa and chopped some tomatoes, cucumbers,onions and feta cheese into it and then drizzled it with lemon juice and olive oil (kind of like tabbouleh). WOW! Awesome. I think this is going to be a regular thing at my house.

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Quinoa is good.

It is great as a summer salad starch because it's such a light texture and flavor compared to cracked wheat or pasta. I think I like it better cold than in a hot dish, now that I think of it.

[SnowGoose]

2. It's a complete protein too!

A good thing if you're an herbivore.

Other preparation ideas: use as you would cous-cous (in fact, I like to add it to my cous-cous as a protein supplement.

It also goes well in hearty hot cereals (they have "rolled" quinoa - like rolled oats that works well for this purpose).

I've also seen pasta made from quinoa (for people with wheat/gluten allergies). It was ok, but slightly less delightful than the real thing (IMO).

Have fun experimenting.

[youthere]

4. We're carnivores but we are trying to eat lighter..

and healthier, so we've reduced the amount of meat we eat, totally eliminated red meat, and have been experimenting with a lot of vegetarian recipes. We found out a few months ago that we LOVE gardenburgers (so much in fact that I've taken to making them rather than buying them).
Thanks for the quinoa tips! I think I'm hooked!

[BeTheChange]

3. Yay, Quinoa!

I love it.. and as the poster before me said, its a complete protein! I like quinoa in vegetable soups.

I've lately found wheatberries and started making summer salads with them.. good for chewy recipes.

[bertha katzenengel]

5. Never heard of it - is it a grain?

Hmm. . . . new veg* here . . . thanks!

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Oh yes....

I remember your thread from the other day asking for veggie suggestions, and quinoa (pronounced keen'-wa) is definitely something you should try. Light and fluffy grain, and as other posters noted, good for you too.

[youthere]

9. Well...kind of...

it's referred to as a grain but its not a true grain it's actually a seed (like amarinth or buckwheat) but you use it like you would any other grain or rice. It is an ancient grain...it was a main food crop for the Incas. Unlike other true grains it is a complete protein.
Here's a good site:
chetday.com/quinoa.html

I had heard a lot about it, but never tried it until today and I was very pleased. If you like rice you'll probably like it. It's less chewy than bulgur and less "crunchy" than brown rice. Good luck!

[malta blue]

7. the "grain of the gods"

of South America...plus it is a protein too.

[Dora]

8. Did you wash it first?

I've only tried making quinoa 2-3 times, and each time it tasted soapy and bitter. And I also rinsed the grain thoroughly (I thought) in water before cooking.

How did you cook it before adding the other ingredients?

[youthere]

10. I washed it,

I put it in a bowl with water and rubbed the grains between my hands several times and then drained the water and did it again (I probably did this 3-4 times) and them put it in a colander (I had to line it with a paper towel to keep it from going through the holes) and kept running fresh water over it. (I was paranoid about the saponin coating) Then I just put it in a saucepan (one cup quinoa to two cups water) I brought it to a boil, reduced the heat and let it simmer until all the water was absorbed (took about 20 minutes). I let it cool before adding the other stuff. I didn't notice a bitter taste, maybe it was the "rubbing"?

[Dora]

11. Ah, I probably didn't rub hard enough.

NO THREAD HIJACKING.

So you really scrubbed the quinoa. I guess I did more of a thorough rinsing. Perhaps I'll try it again.

Thanks for the tips.

[youthere]

12. LOL..there's a dirty joke in there somewhere.....

but I hope it works for you. I really liked it.