QUINOA

"It is called quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), and is a grain that comes from the Andes Mountains of South America. Quinoa's origins are truly ancient. It was one of the three staple foods, along with corn and potatoes, of the Inca civilization. Quinoa was known then, and still is known, with respect, as the mother grain. We call it the "Supergrain of the Future."


Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain; an average of 16.2 percent, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat. Some varieties of quinoa are more than 20 percent protein.

Quinoa's protein is of an unusually high quality. It is a complete protein, with an essential amino acid balance close to the ideal ... similar to milk!

Quinoa's protein is high in lysine, methionine and cystine. This makes it an excellent food to combine with, and boost the protein value of, other grains (which are low in lysine), or soy (which is low in methionine and cystine)."      info courtesy of:        http://www.quinoa.net/


I made this recipe the other night and both Matt and I loved it! We are definitely looking forward to eating more quinoa in our diet. I intend on making the last recipe next since I LOVE black beans!
QUINOA WITH PEAS AND PARMESAN
Ingredients


1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained 2 tablespoons white wine 2 tablespoons coconut oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 small onion, chopped 1 small stalk celery, finely chopped 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth 2 cups rinsed quinoa 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup evaporated milk 1 cup frozen peas, thawed salt to taste 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Adjust oven rack to its topmost position. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Toss the diced tomatoes with the wine, and spread out on baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven until the tomatoes have dried a bit, but have not begun to burn, about 15 minutes. When the tomatoes are just starting to turn brown at the edges, remove, and allow to rest at room temperature.

Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic, onion, and celery. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in vegetable broth and quinoa, and bring to a boil over high heat. I used EVOO and chicken broth.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, evaporated milk, peas, and tomatoes. Season with salt and white pepper.


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SOUTHWESTERN QUINOA
Ingredients


1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper salt and pepper to taste 1 cup frozen corn kernels 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,

Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro
 
HAPPY COOKING!

of paint and granola

We recently painted our office very similar to the grey/blue color we painted in the powder bath. I LOVE the color so much better in the bigger space. It was so nice to clean out this room and purge a lot of old nursing school notes and extra papers!

I made homemade granola bars last night! They are so delicious and healthy too! I used a Barefoot Contessa recipe, but added a bunch of other items to it.

In a nutshell, I used:

about 2 cups of oats

about 1/4 cup each of dried apricots, mixed berries, prunes, cranberries, sunflower seeds (unsalted), flax seed, walnuts, and pecans

Roast the oats and nuts at 350 for about 10ish minutes, put in a large bowl with all the fruit.

Melt 3 TBSP butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1.5 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 cup honey in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over the oat/berry mixture and mix away!

Smoosh the mixture onto a pan covered with parchment paper and bake for about 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Delicious!

stuff

Today is a good day. It started with a call at 6am from work wanting me to come in. The good part of that is that I didn't. Yay! Matt and I then went for a run, he made breakfast, and I drank coffee while catching up on blogs and Facebook.

Now I'm off to the mall to pick up some much-needed work-out pants and clothes for Matt. I haven't been shopping in FOREVER and I am really proud of myself!

Yesterday Matt fertilized the yard while I weeded and tried to keep the dog out of the way. Trouble is, that dog loves the neighbors and kept running from one house to the other. I did my job by keeping him away, but I think we ended up causing more trouble. He LOVES to steal the neighbor's cat food and then the dish! I got enough exercise just running after the dog! He then lured the neighbor dogs into the wetlands by our house....we had 3 very muddy dogs! The night ended with a much-needed bath for the dog.

No pictures today.