They Still Have Little Tails

Back in April, T’s buddy Leila the Great raved quietly about a quinoa dish she’d made, that her honey, Josh, wouldn’t eat, because of the little tails. T. was dismayed by this, because she disliked quinoa for the same reason, plus a few reasons more, but she hates agreeing with Josh about anything, so decided that this attitude simply would not do. She took it upon herself to buy a several small bags of quinoa and get to know it.

Well. It was a good idea, anyway. But, after maybe one stir-fry meal where we used it as a rice substitute, it sat in its sealed little container and stared at us. And we …looked up at the ceiling and whistled.

Enter better weather, months later, and a plethora of avocados, pear tomatoes, and Salad of Bounty items. Enter a serendipitous the-cupboards-are-bare supper, and voilá – a stupendously tasty Salad of Excellence ™ (not to be confused with the Bean B. Salad of Awesome ™ ). We scarfed up our dinner salad, then got up early to try and recreate it to send off for D’s lunch. Salad of Excellence ™ is never quite the same twice, but chunks of avocado, corn, tomatoes, cilantro (or coriander, if you’re Scottish), and beans (we’d prefer pintos or black, but had kidney on hand) are the main notes. Add chunks of cheese, grilled asparagus tips, tangy green olives, charred summer squash, or julienned green beans. For those in need of more “padding” to this single-dish meal, don’t forget to chop your lettuce (cabbage? greens?), sliver your carrots, and other basic salad fare to stretch the dish. Another trick is in the dressing – we use plain vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and Thai green curry paste. The flavored vinegar we chose specially from our local Asian market to add a touch of sweetness – it contains pineapple juice!

One trick that people who try quinoa might not know is that before cooking it, it’s best to let it soak for fifteen minutes, drain and rinse it, and then cook it. Quinoa has a strongly grassy/grain-y smell, which can be off-putting. Soaking it will dilute some of that smell, and reduce the soapy, bitter flavor of the saponin which is naturally present on the grain. Soaking away the saponin will help you digest quinoa, otherwise it causes lower GI irritation, and acts as a laxative… This is good information which would have helped us get along with quinoa a lot sooner!

Hot quinoa and cool veg, or cool quinoa and hot veg – either way and any way, this is a tasty salad, mixing the strange protein-laden South American grain with the best summer produce you can find. And there are plenty more quinoa recipes to try, like pancakes, muffins and crumbles! We tried it as a breakfast cereal on our chiropractor’s suggestion with a little butter and a squidge of maple syrup. It tastes surprisingly good – like waffles.

It’s a triumph for healthy heating!

…T’s just glad to go back to disagreeing with Josh.