I tried this week…that didn’t turn out so great

My very good friend (and former roommate), Anna, was in Peru this past March.  I love how she thought of me when she saw the bountiful varieties of quinoa, -she knows me well.  She brought me back two bags: red & white and a black type.  I went through the red and white quickly. I made a really good recipe with chicken, red beans and a zesty tomato sauce. It was a great introduction to quinoa recipe for my boyfriend.  Check it out at http://www.health-actually.com/recipes/spicy-red-beans-with-chicken-and-quinoa-recipe/

I had the brilliant idea to try the black quinoa for breakfast a few days ago.  I’ve made white (or what I would consider regular or standard) quinoa for breakfast (cook as per instructions, add a little maple syrup and cinnamon) and it has been really good and a great alternative to oatmeal.  I couldn’t read the instructions for the black quinoa since it was in spanish but it seemed like it was almost a 1:3 or 1:4 quinoa/water ratio (as opposed to the regular 1:2). I wasn’t sure and I didn’t have time to look it up online.  I used 1:2 but then had to add some water half way through. Now that I looked up “how to cook” I see that it is supposed to be 1:2.  Check out instructions with pictures http://cameraphonevegan.com/2011/03/01/how-to-cook-black-quinoa/

I made the mistake of forgetting to rinse the quinoa before cooking and I agree with Ty, the cameraphonevegan, that it otherwise tastes a little bitter and in my case a little squeaky (when I stirred it and ate it there had a squeaky sound).  I added some blueberries, raisins, maple syrup, cinnamon and a few pecans for crunch.  It was ok but I wouldn’t make it again.  I will try making it as Ty explains it next time.

Also, I have noticed some baked goods using the black quinoa like black quinoa corn muffins from Sarah’s blog http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/03/black-quinoa-corn-muffins.html It look really good, tasty, nutty and savory. I’ll let you know how they turn out.

Sprouts are super good for you (very high nutrients) and I want to eat more. So I thought I’d try sprouting by using the directions listed in Gillian McKeith’s “You are what you eat” book.  Everything was going well until the second day of rinsing when I saw some spurs of mold. Yuck! I threw it all out.

I found a good website for sprouting kits and supplies so I think I’ll just get a kit, http://www.sproutingpeople.org . The only thing I don’t like about their site is that there are too many options and combinations. I guess that can be a good thing but as a newbie I’m just not sure what I need or want.  I think I’m going to go for the “Best of the best sprouting kit”.  It seems like a good variety to get started.

Let me know if you have any good tips or recipes for sprouting!