Now that I'm back from my holiday, it's time to get back into the swing of blogging on a weekly basis.
Sometimes it can be challenging to come up with a side dish since the old standbys (potatoes, pasta, rice) are so readily available and delicious. However, eating the same thing day after day can get a little tiresome, and so it's always good to have another side dish in one's repertoire.
Why not try quinoa?
Pronounced "keen-wah," quinoa is a delicious and nutritious South American seed. Easy to cook, it's become possible in recent years due to it's high protein "superfood" status. Whether or not you buy the whole superfood thing, quinoa is something that you should try. It's easy to cook, and is good both hot (as in the recipe that I'm going to share with you) or cold (in a salad).
You should cook quinoa the same way you would rice: two cups of liquid to every cup of quinoa. I like to cook mine using chicken or vegetable stock...it adds more flavour. Add both the liquid and quinoa to a pot and bring to a boil; once the liquid is boiling reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes (until you can see the germ...the little white bit curling around the seeds in the photo below).
Once the quinoa is cooked you can do any number of things with it. One especially great option is to cool is to room temperature and mix it with veggies/dressing to make a healthy and balanced salad, but I'm going to share another great option......
And, as always, enjoy!
Sometimes it can be challenging to come up with a side dish since the old standbys (potatoes, pasta, rice) are so readily available and delicious. However, eating the same thing day after day can get a little tiresome, and so it's always good to have another side dish in one's repertoire.
Why not try quinoa?
Pronounced "keen-wah," quinoa is a delicious and nutritious South American seed. Easy to cook, it's become possible in recent years due to it's high protein "superfood" status. Whether or not you buy the whole superfood thing, quinoa is something that you should try. It's easy to cook, and is good both hot (as in the recipe that I'm going to share with you) or cold (in a salad).
You should cook quinoa the same way you would rice: two cups of liquid to every cup of quinoa. I like to cook mine using chicken or vegetable stock...it adds more flavour. Add both the liquid and quinoa to a pot and bring to a boil; once the liquid is boiling reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes (until you can see the germ...the little white bit curling around the seeds in the photo below).
 |
| The other clue that your quinoa is cooked? All the liquid is gone! |
1) Cook 1.5 cups quinoa in 3 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock according to the directions above. When the quinoa is finished cooking, stir in 2-3 tbsp low fat cream cheese (I like to use the herb and garlic kind for more flavour) and stir until well mixed.
2) Saute 5 cups of veggies (any kind) in olive oil and garlic. When they are crisp tender, add them to the quinoa mixture.
 |
| Here I've chosen a combination of mushrooms, asparagus, and peas...but feel free to use whatever is either in season or in your fridge. |
No comments:
Post a Comment