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Tofu Monster
Sep 23rd, 2004, 12:15 AM
yo chaps. today i boiled some quinoa. it was okay but kind of boring.

anybody know a good way to spice it up?

but it needs to be SIMPLE please... my lack of skill and finesse in the bedroom is exceed ONLY by my appalling inadequacies in the kitchen.

i thank you. :)

assilembob
Sep 23rd, 2004, 03:41 AM
From "Garden of Vegan"
Simply Lovely Quinoa
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
6-8 mushrooms, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup Quinoa
1 28-oz (796-ml) can diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large sauce pan on medium-high heat, saute the onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms in oil until the onions are translucent. Add the quinoa and saute for an additional minute. Stir in diced tomatos (do not drain), stock, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix together, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until liquid has reduced. (Makes 4-6 servings)

I make this a lot...VERY yum.

~Mel

Roxy
Sep 23rd, 2004, 04:47 AM
I think it would be nice mixed with some corn kernals, dried cranberries, parsley and a nice vegan dressing, such as apple cider vinegar :)

harpy
Sep 23rd, 2004, 10:58 AM
Here's a recipe someone gave me donkey's years ago. It's simple and quite tasty.

The other thing I have been doing recently (after seeing it suggested on the quinoa packet :) ) is adding the washed quinoa to veg. casseroles about 20 minutes before the end of cooking. The quinoa gets a bit lost but it does add body (and presumably nutrition) to the total.

Quinoa & Potatoes with Caraway -serves 4-6

1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb. potatoes (a thin skinned variety), cut to 1/4" by 1" matchsticks
1-1/4 t caraway seeds (or substitute about 1 t cumin seed)
1-1/2 c vegetable stock (for pressure cooker. Increase to 2 c for standard
stovetop cooking)
1 c quinoa, thoroughly washed and drained
3/4 t salt (less if stock is salted)

Saute the garlic, onion, potatoes and caraway seeds in the olive oil for one
minute. (I saute a bit longer, until the onions begin to turn golden--I just
like the onions better that way.) Stir in the vegetable stock and bring it to
a boil. Stir in quinoa and salt.

To use a pressure cooker, lock the lid in place and bring to pressure over
high heat. Decrease heat enough to maintain pressure and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to stand 10 minutes while pressure comes down
naturally. (This has been plenty of time for me, but if you open the cooker
and the potatoes are not done enough for you, replace the lid and let it sit
another one to two minutes. Don't let it go too long, though, or quinoa will
turn to mush.) Stir well and serve.

To use the recipe without a pressure cooker, follow the instructions above
until the part about locking the lid on. At that point, cover, bring to a
boil, then reduce heat to simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat
and allow to stand, covered, for another 5 minutes.

This comes from Recipes From An Ecological Kitchen, by Lorna J. Sass.

gertvegan
Sep 23rd, 2004, 03:15 PM
Tofu monster, have a look at Veganfood (http://www.vegan-food.net/search.cgi?search_text=quinoa&search_type=all&sort_order=alph) and vegweb (http://vegweb.com/food/) .

Gorilla
Sep 23rd, 2004, 03:18 PM
i bought some quinoa the other day, and wasn't impressed by the recipe for it i found on the internet (not one of the sites gert mentioned though)

i will have to try other things with it as i'm sure it should taste good if done properly
so i thank you guys for the recipes too. :)

harpy
Sep 23rd, 2004, 05:31 PM
Gorilla, do make sure you rinse it properly because apparently it comes with a bitter coating which could foul up your recipes! It is fiddly to wash because it goes through the holes in my sieve but I have discovered that I can wash it in one of the trays of my seed sprouting gadget. (You can sprout the stuff too BTW although it doesn't actually grow - just unfurls a bit.)

Tofu Monster
Sep 24th, 2004, 12:03 AM
yes harpy, it did say 'wash before use' on my pack too but i didn't, firstly cos it was organic so i didn't think there'd be any nasty crap on it, and secondly cos i don't even have a sieve anyway - just got a collander and them little critters would just go straight through it and down the plughole.

but thanks for the suggestions guys, i'll give some of that lot a try next time i'm doing quinoa.

Artichoke47
Sep 24th, 2004, 12:47 AM
I made quinoa before and it tasted horrible. I rinsed it beforehand but probably not well enough.

8 winks
Sep 26th, 2004, 02:45 AM
man oh man i eat quinoa mixed with anything and everything. sauteed/steam veggies. peanutbutter,tahini,raisins,nuts, FLAX SEEDS so good

lolamako
Sep 26th, 2004, 03:04 AM
OH all that chopping and measuring!!!! Just add one vegan vegetable boullion cube to your rice cooker full of quinoa, you dont even need to stir it up.
You can also add a can of drained garbonzo/chickpeas to it and some slivered almonds from a bag. EASY.
It is soooo much better than the plain stuff. Granted all the real veggies and spices are really great but if your short on time and food, the boullion really helps.

harpy
Sep 26th, 2004, 01:42 PM
Tofu Monster, I think the nasty stuff on the quinoa is meant to be something that grows on it naturally, in which case being organic probably wouldn't help unfortunately. It may be that the producers wash it off first these days but if anyone doesn't like the taste of theirs, washing it better might be worth a try. I don't find it has a very strong taste.

Before I started rinsing it in my sprouter (which does the job very well) I used to line the colander/sieve with kitchen paper first, but I have to say it wasn't wildly successful as a lot of the quinoa used to end up stuck to the paper :D

Gorilla
Sep 26th, 2004, 04:45 PM
Harpy, i did wash my quinoa very thoroughly before cooking, and it wasn't bitterness that was the problem. i found it very bland and dull, which is why i was thinking it might have just been a rubbish recipe. i'll keep trying though as it's supposed to be very good for you isn't it :)

ConsciousCuisine
Sep 26th, 2004, 05:32 PM
High in protein, iron, easy to digest and assimilate, one of the "ancient" grains...yes, good! :)

assilembob
Sep 26th, 2004, 09:30 PM
I am making some of that boxed variety right now...
Seeds of Change is the brand...today it's french herb.
My Grandmother bought me about 20 boxes of rice and quinoa stuff from them and Near East for my birthday. I love it cause you can't go wrong. Plus I am super lazy right now being sick and all...

~Mel

Tofu Monster
Sep 27th, 2004, 01:20 AM
Just add one vegan vegetable boullion cube to your rice cooker full of quinoa, you dont even need to stir it up.
You can also add a can of drained garbonzo/chickpeas to it and some slivered almonds from a bag. EASY.

Now that I do like the sound of very much. I think I shall try it tomorrow!

Inchoate
Sep 27th, 2004, 05:19 AM
Toast the quinoa in a dry saute pan over high heat until it's browned; you should smell a nutty aroma.

Then cook it pilaf-style. Cut up an onion, some garlic. Standard pilaf method. And season the damned water, salt and pepper at the very least. Dried starches such as this absorb the liquid they are cooking in, right? It makes sense to make the liquid being used taste properly seasoned, so that the quinoa is properly seasoned. This also applies to pasta. I cannot emphasize this point enough in cooking grains/starches.

Dried cherries work wonders in quinoa.

Gorilla
Sep 27th, 2004, 08:30 AM
i had a quinoa kedgeree last night, from the book Vegan by Tony Bishop and Yvonne Weston. it's a very attractive book with lots of glossy colour photos.

i guess i suck at cooking, as everyone says quinoa is really easy to cook, but so far i can't get it to go fluffy like it's supposed to. i cooked it for as long as the recipe said, but it was still quite crunchy. the flavour wasn't too bad but it had been cooked in a strong veg stock with seaweed, and the dish had loads of other stuff like smoked tofu and red pepper so those flavours soaked into it anyway.

am i doing something wrong? :o

Tofu Monster
Sep 29th, 2004, 11:21 AM
i made quinoa again last night, as suggested by lolamako, boiled up with vegan stock cubes, then added chick peas and flaked almonds. It was gorgeous and my son (who hated the plain quinoa) loved it. :D

gonna try some of the other suggestions next.

harpy
Sep 29th, 2004, 05:19 PM
Gorilla, the cooking method I'm currently using (again derived from the packet instructions :D ) involves leaving the quinoa to stand for a while to absorb the remaining cooking liquid after you've finished boiling it. If yours is too "al dente" perhaps you could try that?

Kiva Dancer
Sep 30th, 2004, 11:57 PM
I steam my quinoa. I have an electric steamer that I use for all my grains because they cook better than on the stovetop.

I like taking some washed quinoa and adding it to my steamer bucket with the right amount of water (I think I only did 1/4 cup quinoa to 1/2 cup water because I didn't want to make a lot), a bit of salt and a few strawberries put in. Set the timer for 40 minutes. Sweeten to taste and enjoy.

I put Earth Balance in my first bowl, but that made it too rich. The second bowl I just used vegan sugar and it came out nice.

VitaminB
Apr 22nd, 2005, 05:36 PM
I just found out about the background of this food in my Cultural Anthropology class. My professor has been working with the indigeneous people in the Andes since the 1960s (mainly Inca descendants). Anyways, she informed us of this food and it's background. I know a lot of vegan's eat it so I want to inform you all on the social injustice it has played in the developed world. Basically, a couple of professors from the University of Colorado visited Bolivia to conduct some studies on the culture and what not. They came across the Quinoa grain in a market place and learned about it's high protein content. Anyways, they brought it back to the U.S. and asked the World Trade Organization for a patten. The WTO gave it to them. Now these people recieve all the money if and when this product is sold. Now these indigeneous people in Bolivia recieve no money for growing it or attempting to sell it. The Bolivian people have been harvesting it for years, but recieve no benefit for doing so now. These people are being exploited and manipulated by the WTO, the professors, the globalized world, and foremost us, the consumers of the world. I recommend the boycott of the product until it remains fair trade and we can buy the product without a middle man or the BIG MAN!

Kiva Dancer
Apr 22nd, 2005, 05:39 PM
Interesting. (http://www.etext.org/Politics/NAFTA.Monitor/Volume.5/nm-05.012)

cedarblue
Apr 22nd, 2005, 09:24 PM
i know its supposed to be excellent for you in the B vits department but, quinoa porridge?? BLEUCH!!!!!!!!! :(

Kiva Dancer
Apr 22nd, 2005, 09:50 PM
Did you rinse your quinoa first, cedar?

I've found that not rinsing it gives it a horrifically bitter taste.