quinoa

In my recent beginnings of Operation Uberfrau, I've also been trying to find healthier "cleaner" and more nutrition filled foods. I've read a lot of how quinoa is one of those "wonder foods". It contains a balanced set of essential amino acids and is a complete protein source for a plant food. It's higher in protein than rice and is a good source of dietary fiber,phosphorus, magnesium and iron. And it's fun to say (it's pronounced "keeenwah!!") :)
I've had quinoa for a while but never gotten around to it. I can screw up any kind of rice so I was nervous...but I finally made some up: I went to the Savvy Vegetarian and followed their instructions for quinoa and it worked perfectly: I soaked 1 cup of quinoa in hot water for 5 minutes and then drained it. I then brought it to a boil in 1 1/2 c water with a spash of olive oil and salt. I put on a lid and turned down the heat so it simmered for 15 minutes, then took it off the heat for another 5 and voila! Fluffy slightly nutty flavoured quinoa. And I must say - I love it. It's easy to cook, has a unique texture and flavour and can take the place of potatoes, rice or couscous in a lot of meals. We had it with some curried lentils and it was yummy.
I had some more last night and made up a salad with it:

1 c quinoa, cooked (ends up as about 2-3 c cooked)
1 c black beans
1 c corn
1 tomato diced
1/4 c red onion (would do with a bit less next time)
I added a dressing from 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, some cayenne, salt, basil and pepper, as well as 2 T lemon juice, 1 t lime juice and a few splashes of rice vinegar whisked together.
Stirred that all up and had it with a homemade burger. Yum. That salad could be a meal on it's own really with some more beans tossed in.

Mmm. Quinoa.