Quinoa--I just tried it. WOW!!

[Bob Pr.]

Quinoa (pronounced "KEEN-wah") has been getting increasing notice as being extremely healthy to eat. It's not a true grain but is grain-like and considered by many to be about the most healthy food on the planet.

Quinoa Nutrition Facts | Cooking Quinoa

Quinoa: A Sacred, Super Crop : NPR

All About Quinoa

So I decided to try some. I got about 1 cup from a bulk dispenser in the health food section of a local supermarket and decreased by half the usual amount of my breakfast Steel Cut Oats, replacing it with Quinoa. Then cooked it with my usual dried fruit (Craisins, apricots, prunes, blueberries) in the Zojirushi rice cooker.

The texture of the cooked Quinoa reminded me of tiny BB-sized grapes that quite easily burst open when chewed. Its flavor was (IMO) distinctly nut-like and blended well with the SCOs and fruit. (Not like either peanuts or walnuts--maybe closer to the nutty flavor they share in common without their individual uniqueness; possibly nearer in flavor to hazlenuts/filberts?)

I'm going to get more and continue blending it with my SCOs.

Delicious--and super healthy.

[jzgrlduff]

Sounds interesting, Bob! Thanks for the tip.

[Sams Mom]

Hi Bob,
My sister made quinoa loaf for my Dad's birthday party on Saturday (instead of meat loaf). She said it's got a complete complement of protein. She and my parents are still vegetarians. It was a good loaf. She found the recipe on line somewhere.

[Kimmers]

It's a staple in my diet!
I LOVE quinoa! One of my favourites for the past 3 years being gluten-allergic.
I have so many recipes for it!

[Bob Pr.]

Strange finding, possibly only applicable to cooking in a rice cooker (or my Zojirushi induction rice cooker?).

I mentioned Quinoa's nut-like flavor (which I like).

For several mornings, that's been lacking in my cooked cereal and I've missed it.

I add the water first and, for a few days, was putting in the Quinoa, then the SCOs, then the dried fruit. The nutty flavor has been missing.

So the past couple mornings, I've reverted to putting in the SCOs first and then the Quinoa.

This gives much more nutty flavor and I'm at a loss to understand why. But I'll keep this order to keep the flavor--whether it's induced by my imagination or something in the cooking.

[bett]

and good for you too.

[Top Of The Hill]

Curious Bob......if it's not a real grain what is it? Is it high in fiber? I just started adding whole flax seeds to my oats.

Oops, I didn't see all your links re quinoa. I'll have a look.

[Bob Pr.]

Curious Bob......if it's not a real grain what is it? Is it high in fiber?

Yes, it is high in fiber. It is very close to being the perfect food nutrition-wise.

Read the information I linked. It's main drawbacks (kind of) are that it's best grown in non-traditional farming areas (e.g., high mountainous areas) and, that with its increasing popularity among health conscious people, its cost has gone from about $2/lb. to $5/lb. and probably climbing.

Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but is the seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant. It is used as a grain and substituted for grains because of it's cooking characteristics. The name comes from the Greek words, chen (a goose) and pous (a foot). This is due to a resemblance of the leaves of the plant to the webbed foot of a goose. The leaves are lobed or toothed and often triangular in shape. The succulent like plant grows from 4 to 6 feet high and has many angular branches. The flower heads are branched and when in seed looks much like millet, with large clusters of seeds at the end of a stalk. The plant will grow in a variety of conditions but favors a cool, arid climate and higher elevations. Beets, spinach, Swiss chard, and lamb's quarters are all relatives of quinoa.