I heart Quinoa.

I purchased a cookbook the other day, called Gluten Free, Sugar Free cooking. I rented it from the library first, and made a few dishes to make sure I liked it before buying it.

Two of the first recipes I made involved Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WA), which is a type of grain (actually it's a seed, but that discussion is for a different kind of blog.) It is a gluten free grain, and I was anxious to try something new, in addition to the organic basmati brown rice, millet and teff I've been eating.

Quinoa is as high in protein as dairy (almost 11 grams per cup), and is high in calcium, iron, B vitamins, zinc and potassium. It cooks quite a lot like rice, by boiling in water, or my preferred method, a veggie or chicken broth. It's apparently very versatile as you can see by the following recipes I tried.

The first recipe, Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa


We had already eaten most of our meal when I decided to take a picture of these, so the remaining dish looks a bit mangled. These are red bell peppers with a quinoa, ground chicken and pine nut "stuffing". Very easy to make, and so delicious. I wish I grew peppers in my own yard, so that I could make this more often without the expense or pesticide worry.

The second recipe, Black Bean and Quinoa Salad


This salad had a bit of a mexican feel, due to the added cumin and cilantro. But I think you could leave those out and add basil, or other seasonings to change it up. We served it with some ground chicken burgers that I added some cumin, garlic, red onion and cilantro to as well. Topped off with a big slice of avocado, and some homemade garlic pepper mayo, this was a nice dish for a hot night.

These little grains are interesting in that they start out as tiny little balls, but as they cook, the outer ring breaks away a bit, and leaves this cute little pearl looking grain. The center is translucent and soft, while the tiny rim is a bit crunchy and white.

If you're interested in the recipes, please email me or post a comment and I'll send them to you. Quinoa is a fun and wholesome grain to enliven any summer dish...and hey, you can even impress your friends and family by being able to pronounce it!