Quin-noah? Keen-wah?

Posted by: khrystleraine on: October 4, 2012

• In: Cooking Classes Open
• 2 Comments

Thursday.

I know what Quinoa is now. Or, rather I know what it looks like raw; little roundish grains of (in this case) red BB’s. And cooked; gotta say, I was in doubt if it was edible when I took the lid off.

Cooked Red Quinoa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Little worms. It looked like little white worms crawling all through the red grains. GROSS! (thought I.) “I am not eating this… crap.”; (not the word I used, but, we don’t need to go there, I’m sure we’ve all heard it too many times as it is…)

I must have stood staring into the pot for five minutes. “Are those worms? Nah, they wouldn’t sell a product that was full of worms, would they? NO! I’m sure they wouldn’t… semi-sure…“

I looked real close. “Okay, these almost look like sprouts. I bet THAT’S what they are.” (Still hesitant and unconvinced.)

Sticking spoon in and lifting about three grains and examining them. “Hmm, well, it IS supposed to be whole grain. Okay, I’m takin’ a chance!”

Closing my eyes, opening my big mouth, shoving those grains in… “Hmm, not bad. Nutty. Not crunchy, but NOT mush. Okay, tastes like Red River Cereal, now what? Everyone says it’s for supper?”

I will admit to following the directions and cooking an entire CUP of the stuff. (I am beginning to think you only need to cook one cup and it will continue to multiply in the fridge waiting for you to finish eating it!)

One cup makes a lot! When you are the only one in the house willing to taste it? It makes WAAAAY too much! Even the 1/4-cup dry, I made, created enough for two meals!

Now, for supper I prepared a salad and some Johnsonville Italian sausage. (Am NOT fond of Johnsonville sausages, weird, ‘eh? They have no real flavour; won’t get them again; will stick with the butcher and not the supermarket for meat from now on.) I sliced the sausage and mixed it with the Quinoa.

“Looks… dry.” I didn’t really know what to add, a creamy sauce? A zing-y sauce? Soya sauce? Perplexing, so I ate it dry. Nose wrinkles, “It’s okay. But definitely tastes like a vehicle for flavour rather than the star attraction.”

Second evening, I mixed it with cabbage salad (NOT SLAW). It was a little better as the dressing moistened it.

Third day, lunch, (I’m getting sick of this stuff now…) Tried it with some sliced veggies (peppers; carrots; celery; broccoli; onion; zucchini) and some butter for moisture. So-so. Still needs a strong flavour to blend.

Third-day supper; yeah, I’m gonna finish this stuff, before it goes rancid, if it kills me! Mixed it with carrots, celery, peppers, (forgot the cabbage, drats!) and stir-fried it in the wok with a premade Sweet Chili BBQ sauce I picked up at the market ’cause the bottle was kewl… (Yup, I did!)

YUCK! Those two flavours, combined? Not so good. Ate it anyway, I tell ya, I’m not wasting food! Not when there are billions going hungry.

Fourth day breakfast. It reminds me of Red River, so, I decide to try it that way. Re-heat a half-cup, add sugar and, CRAP! no milk!?! Okay, I’m part way into it… butter. (I’ve used ice cream in the past, but I didn’t think it would go good with the Quinoa.)

Sugar and butter wasn’t bad. Best of all the ways so far.

Fourth day lunch. Trudge to fridge; look at pot of quinoa; curse instructions to make one-cup dry… Scoop out about a half-cup (I tell ya, this stuff multiplies in the fridge!) Place in tiny-touch of oil in wok, stir in carrots; curse garlic as it scoots onto the floor where dogs eagerly taste and spit out. Use a sprinkle of dry garlic powder ’cause it’s at hand. Add a handful of frozen corn, peas, and beans and tip in two, chopped, REALLY juicy, tomatoes; stir until hot. Serve. It was okay. Getting more flavourful, I’ll bet onions and REAL garlic would have helped.

Fifth day breakfast. Scoop out 3/4 of a cup, (I’m going to finish this stuff in MY lifetime!) Warm for two-minutes in microwave. Wrinkle nose at nutty-smell coming from microwave. Take out; add one-tablespoon of sugar, a lot, but this stuff requires BIG flavour! And cover with coffee cream (18% milk-fat).

I have found the way this stuff was supposed to be enjoyed! It could do with about half the sugar, and maybe I could slip down to Creamo, (10% milk-fat) but no less; this food NEEDS the textural viscosity of thicker ‘milk’.

I spent a few minutes searching for a few recipes online, to see how others use this grain. Apparently, I’m using it correctly: whatever you want, goes!

I have, well, when I scooped it out this morning, I have about ONE SERVING left, (unless it multiplies again), I am going to try it with plain Balkan-style yoghurt for breakfast tomorrow. I usually eat my cereal with yoghurt, so I hope this works.

I noticed one of the chefs I follow, listed Quinoa on his blog recently, I might try the recipe he suggested. Just not right away. I want a few days off from this healthy grain.

One more thing: How IMPORTANT is it to rinse the grains BEFORE cooking? Every recipe said to do that, but the bag I purchased never mentions it. (I didn’t so I’m hoping I’m not killing myself with that ingredient they said is USUALLY washed away in the processing.) Maybe that’s why it has such a strong flavour? (Uhm, NOTE: If I’d READ the instructions PROPERLY? I would have noticed the: Rinse Quinoa under cold water…)

So, I’m not sure what the hype over Quinoa (Quin-noah? Keen-wah? you choose how to pronounce it!) is, but it does make a tasty breakfast. Just use 1/4-cup of quinoa to 1/3-cup of liquid per person, unless you want the stuff around for a week (or more)! LOL.

Yup, I cook and bake too…

Still love the day my son came in the house when all his friends went in for supper; first thing he says? “YES!” with fist-pumping action, “That smell is comin’ from OUR house!” (He went on to explain the kids had been commenting on the delicious odour permeating the air as they played in the cul-de-sac, each kid drooling and hoping it was their mum who was cooking.) That is the best praise ya can get!

So, maybe I’ll include some of the recipes that friends have been ooooing and aaaahhhhing over for years. But ONLY if you promise to tell me if you make them, how they taste and how you reinvent them to suit your family! (You need to sign the contract… LOL)

Have a great day! Enjoy Quinoa, red or the other colours (I don’t know what they are, sorry.) Share your favourite recipe, I’ve got a whole bag of dried, and I’m pretty much out of new ideas. 

*hugs*
luv khrys… Chef Khrys, now… LOL!!!

TOMORROW?: End of CHROME experiment. I’ll let ya know how it went. Or is going. Stay tuned…

Related articles:

• Food Fact: Quinoa (organicready.org)
• Quinoa: so you think it’s just a seed? (pudbudder.wordpress.com)
• Recipe: Quinoa (Keen-wah) Bake (amyelandry.com)
• Quinoa Salad (livegreatfoodblog.com)
• 10 Killer Quinoa Salads (eatdrinkbetter.com)
• My Very Fave Quinoa Recipe (healingjournies.wordpress.com)
• Culinary Experiment: Quinoa Pudding Topped with Mango Slices (soniapeh.wordpress.com)
• Feature Food of the Week Quinoa (thefarmersdaughterblog.com)
• Don’t be Abashed (rantingchef.com)

Tags: Cook, food, Grains, johnsonville sausages, Quinoa, Red River Cereal, South America