delicious dish: original post 3/19/2010

here's a dish for all you people out there who like to eat. i just made it today for lunch. probably makes about 8-10 servings. can be refrigerated for later use. extremly healthy, tastes great, inexpensive AND (drum roll please), no animal products what-so-ever . the main ingredient is quinoa (http://www.quinoa.net/). if you dont know what it is, try it. you wont be disapointed.

ingredients:

1 c. quinoa
2 c. H2O
a couple carrots
some celery
half an onion or so
olive oil
garlic
salt
pepper
pine nuts (optional)

first, rinse the quinoa and drain as well as possible. while the grain drains, put a skillet on the stove over medium heat. when the skillet is hot, put the drained grain into the skillet. it will hiss at you and maybe pop a little bit. don't be alarmed. that's just what happens when water hits a hot pan. spread the grain evenly over the surface. what you are doing right now is just giving the grain a light toast. when all the residual water has evaporated and the grain is sliding around easily, you will know it is almost ready. keep it going for a couple more minutes. you should be able to smell a nutty aroma. take it off the heat and prepare it like you would rice. put the lightly toasted quinoa in a two quart pot with the two cups of water, and bring to a boil. cover tightly, lower heat and forget for 25 minutes or so.

while we are waiting for the water to come to a boil, which really shouldn't take that long, we will begin the next step for making our dish. prepare the celery, onions, and carrots as if you were making a soup

(this is called mirepoix- pronounced MEERPWA, a quick google search turned up this hit first: http://classical-french-cuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/mirepoix).

see if your grain and water is boiling yet. place the veggies into a hot skillet with olive oil (not a lot, maybe a couple tablespoons) and diced garlic. season as you see fit with salt and pepper. when it is done the onions will start to become translucent and the celery will soften. take the mirepoix off the heat, and scrape it out into a bowl. set aside. meanwhile, your quinoa and water should be happily simmering away.

now, replace the mirepoix in the skillet with your pine nuts. we are going to toast the nuts as well. crank that heat up a little bit and keep those nuts moving. shake em, stir em, then let em sit for a couple seconds. pine nuts begin to toast very rapidly, so now is not a time to divert your attention. as the nuts toast they will begin to darken. when they have all uniformly begun to turn brown (not black), they are done. go ahead, take em off the heat, and place them in the bowl with the carrots, onion and celery. toasting the nuts enhances their flavor. this is why we lightly toasted the quinoa as well.

the quinoa should be getting along splendidly. if about 25 minutes have gone by, check it. the grain should be puffed up a little and the water gone. like rice, the quinoa has soaked up the water. give the pot an easy 45 degree tilt. do you see any water? if you do, the grain still needs a little more time. replace the lid and let go for ten more minutes. that should do the trick.

when the quinoa is ready, dump it into a large mixing bowl. add the mirepoix and toasted pine nuts. lightly stir together and incorporate all the ingredients. get a fork or a spoon and try it. if you did it right, it will taste delicious. the quinoa is ready to serve. it is good all by itself, or as a side. i am going to serve mine with some zucchini and yellow squash. it would also go well with any fish, beef or pork. the possibilities are endless. the nice thing about this dish is the lack of empty calories. unlike rice and potatoes, this stuff is really quite good for you. no empty calories here!