I have recently been experimenting with the South American grain, quinoa, which as far as I know is pronounced keen-wah. I have found it works really well in a chilled salad like couscous would. I have done some Google searching and found a number of ways to cook it and the one that works best also seems to be the best way to destroy a plastic strainer. Basically, quinoa wants to be boiled for about 10 minutes and then either let it sit in the water or strain it and let it sit in the strainer over an inch of steaming water for about 10 more minutes. If you use a plastic rimmed strainer and sandwich it between the pan and the lid, you will melt the strainer!
1C quinoa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2T cilantro chopped
1/4C green onions or red onion, chopped finely
Lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste
Optional…jalapeno (fresh, finely chopped with seeds removed), tomato (canned or fresh), mango or pineapple
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Meredith has been making something similar to this as well--no idea what she does about the steaming part, though! It really is good--back in the old coop days, when we still ordered in person at Sunday get-togethers, there was always someone trying to order quinoa and get others to go in on the large quantities required--"but it's a really nice light summer grain!" And yes, so it is!
ReplyDeleteA rice steamer/cooker works really well. It follows the same directions as white rice, but takes a couple of minutes less. Yum!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that you're still melting plastic kitchen tools after all these years!
ReplyDeleteBeth