Rice seems to be a staple for a lot of vegetarians and herbivores. Most of us eat brown rice since it is more nutritious than the essentially non-nutritious white rice.
But rice has limited nutrition when compared to the superfood - Quinoa. It is a whole protein and can be cooked in 15 minutes and served like rice. That makes it a staple in my kitchen.
I like to dress it up with some flavors as I cook it. I do the same with rice or potatoes, but quinoa seems to take the flavors on and wears them nicely :)
Quinoa
Tonight I cooked the quinoa with mushroom broth instead of water. In the pot before cooking I added minced garlic, chopped mushrooms, and a few very thin slices of jalapeno peeper. I added about 1/4 tsp of Provance herbs.
Asparagus & Brussels Sprouts
I served the quinoa with roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts that I had mixed in a plastic bag with olive oil, Provance herbs, sliced garlic and pepper. Mixing them in the plastic bag ensures the veggies get well coated. Brussels sprouts take about 25 minutes and the asparagus 10 in a 400 degree oven. Just put them on a cookie sheet.
I'm a happy herbivore :D
Robyne, I remember my first introduction to quinoa. The taste was awful, reminding me of something called "kasha" that my jewish grandmothers would occasionally make - much to my displeasure. I later learned that quinoa takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked in, and have come to use it regularly as a replacement when a recipe calls for rice or noodles. My favorite is to use it in soup, which makes for a very hearty meal.
ReplyDeleteHere is a present for you: one of my favorite recipes that subs quinoa flour for regular flour in sweet potato gnocci! http://www.101-quinoa-recipes.com/?p=92