Fall side dish: Quinoa with #garden tomatillos and yellow split peas #GardenCuizine #recipe #healthycooking

Tomatillo Arvejas Partidas 

Amarilla Quinoa

whole grain side dish

Serves 6
Ingredients
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion (or however much you want to add)
2 garden tomatillos skin removed, rinsed and chopped
1 T chopped sweet garden pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup dry quinoa grain
2 cups water or left over bean water (we just cooked a pound of pinto beans that yielded 2 quarts of beans with liquid and had some leftover bean liquid)
1/4 cup dried yellow split peas
1/4 tsp dehydrated garlic
1/4 tsp dehydrated ginger
pinch salt and black pepper
1 T fresh parsley or 1/2 tsp dried parsley 
1-2 Tblsp of your favorite hot salsa

Putting it all together
In a medium-sized pot with lid: heat olive oil, saute onion and tomatillos
Stir in curry powder, thyme then quinoa
Add remaining ingredients and stir
Bring to a boil, immediately reduce to a simmer
Cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed (about 15 minutes)
Stir in parsley and hot salsa
Keep covered until ready to serve

We served this nutritious side dish with Harry's (his mom's recipe) homemade crab cakes and steamed broccoli.

Buon Appetito!
Recipe and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

International Year of Quinoa 2013 #GardenCuizine @QuinoaCorp @aiq2013 @IYQ2013

• Quinoa, also spelled Quinua, gets the honor of being in the international spotlight this year. Quinoa is an ancient grain, not a newcomer by any means. Have you ever tried it? My family has been enjoying whole grain quinoa for years now. I first had quinoa that was sold by Ancient Harvest Quinoa Corporation back in the 1980's when it was being offered in my health food store. Today, quinoa products are available in common grocery stores, not just in specialty food markets.

• Quinoa cooks up quickly and has a pleasant light and fluffy texture. Like rice, it works well in soups or cooked with added flavors from veggies, fruits, nuts and herbal seasonings.  

• Quinoa provides such exceptional nutrition that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations wants us all to celebrate quinoa and quinoa farmers for providing such a nutritious functional food in the fight against malnutrition and world hunger.

• And, if you enjoy gardening, you may want to try quinoa in your garden. Quinoa grows similar to amaranth, adding rich colors and texture to yard and garden landscapes.

Read more about Quinoa 

in my Dave's Garden article
"The International Year of Quinoa"

Related Links 
International Year of Quinoa 2013 
Quinoa Recipes

Quick Quinoa #Recipe Gluten Free 100% Whole Grain #GardenCuizine

Quick Quinoa
~ Low Fat, Low Sodium, Good Fiber ~

Whole Grain Side Dish

For a quick whole grain side dish, try organic quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Quinoa cooks faster than rice and is a refreshing change. Quinoa is gluten and wheat free, and it's very nutritious and versatile, lending itself to many recipes that can be served either hot or cold. 

The ancient, golden grain of the Incas, can be jazzed up by preparing it pilaf-style and adding nuts, fruits, herbs and seasonings. It can also be served plain. Quinoa makes great summer salad dishes too. I first tried it many years ago back when I had my health food store; it was served cold with grapes and cashew nuts and tasted so good; I've been cooking it ever since. 

Quinoa plants remind me of amaranth, bright and colorful with red tones among beige and more neutral browns the color of wheat. Quinoa has been a staple in South America for thousands of years, especially in regions of the Andes - the longest continental mountain range in the world that travels through seven countries, including Boliva, Peru and coastal regions of Chile.

Quinoa boasts a terrific nutrition profile too, providing all of the essential amino acids, making quinoa a good protein and iron source for a plant food. A typical way our family enjoys quinoa is making it with added sweet curry and coriander seasonings, which give it flavor with a yellow hue. I made it tonight and served it with grilled Teriyaki Atlantic salmon and steamed broccoli. Delicious, quick and easy!

Quinoa is becoming more readily available in stores. You can find it in bulk in grocery markets like WholeFoods or in bulk 4lb bags in stores like Costco. For a dark color variation, look for red quinoa.

And mark your calendars... 

The United Nations declared 

2013 the International year of Quinoa!

Quinoa Pilaf (serves 6)
Ingredients
 
1/4 Onion, chopped
dried hot chili pepper, minced (from your garden)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 heaping tsp (2 cloves) Garlic, minced
1 tsp (2g) Sweet Curry powder 
1/2 tsp (1g) ground Coriander

1 cup (170g) organic Quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 cup (41g) raisins or other chopped dried fruit
pinch salt (no more than 1/4 tsp) and black pepper 

Putting it all together

• Saute the onion and hot pepper in oil over medium high heat. 
• Add the garlic and spices, stir
• Add the quinoa, stir
• Add the water and fruit, stir
• Bring to a boil.
• Cover and reduce heat. 
• Simmer on low until water is evaporated. Turn off heat. Let sit 5 minutes covered. Fluff with fork or serving spoon before serving. Enjoy!

Buon Appetito!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis Quinoa - calculated from USDA nutrient values:
Good Source: Dietary Fiber, Folate, and Magnesium
Low Sodium, Low Fat
Serving Size 115g (1/6 of recipe): Calories: 128, Total Fat: 2g (3%DV), Sodium 103mg (4%DV), Total Carbohydrate 24g (1.5 CHO servings), Dietary Fiber 2.4g (10%DV), Cholesterol: 0mg (0%DV), Potassium 221mg (6%DV), Protein: 4.3g (9%DV), Thiamin 0.1mg (7%DV), Niacin: 0.5mg (3%DV), Vitamin B6: 0.2mg (8%DV), Folate: 53mcg (13%DV), Iron 1.6mg (9%), Magnesium: 60mg (15%DV)
Percent Daily Values (%DV) are based on a caloric intake of 2,000 calories for adults and children age 4 or older

Related Links

Eat More Whole Grains 
National Whole Grains Council 
Healthy Grains
Photo and recipe Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved. Quinoa plants photo taken near Cachora, Apurimac, Peru - compliments of Wikipedia.