July 08, 2007

Quinoa Is Good, This Post Is Incoherent


Quinoa; it’s pronounced keen-wah, but don’t feel bad if you’ve pronounced it qwin-oh-a, you’re in good company with yours truly. I’ve got it straight now though and I’m using it in more cooking ventures as a result. My current favourite way to use quinoa is in this zesty salad. There are no measurements for it because it changes every time I make it. If you don’t like one ingredient, don’t use it, if you really like another, use more of it, it’s as simple as that. I had good intentions of submitting this salad to Lisa and Kelly’s Salad Stravaganza but it just didn’t happen and since I'm ridiculously late, the round up is already posted, (go check it out for 49 other ways to make salad). I blame my poor timing on the fact that I’ve been a spacecadet lately. Today, for example, I tried to make lemon chicken with rice and somehow ended up with lemon pork and quinoa. Dinner music was provided courtesy of the smoke detector, which howled as a reminder to keep better watch of the stove so as not to burn the lemon sauce. But more on that disaster another day. Lemon chicken is one of my favourite dishes so I want to make sure to do it justice, (and that requires me to be conscious enough to remember all of the ingredients). Now where was I? Off in space again. Hey- did you know that an ostrich’s kick is powerful enough to kill a lion? True story.



Zesty Quinoa Salad


Quinoa

Edamame

Corn

Red Pepper

Feta

Parsley

Cilantro

Chives

Smoky paprika

Cumin

Garlic

Lime juice

Olive oil



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17 comments:

K and S said...

looks and sounds great especially for summer! I like lemon chicken, would be great to see what your version is like :)

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Salad looks beautiful. You should be spacecadet more often.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Some of the best cooking comes from those spaced-out moments in the kitchen! This salad looks delicious.

Sharona May said...

You have been tagged!!!

Check out the details.

http://birdfood-sharona.blogspot.com/

Jann said...

spaced out or not, this looks wonderful~great for a hot summer eve!

Veron said...

like that lemon chicken. didn't know that's how you pronounce quinoa...

Joe said...

Quinoa is certainly a favorite grain around here - I love it. Very versatile and lots of ways to use it up - the "red Inca" version I find a bit more intense, but still enjoyable.

Sara said...

mmm, looks delicious! i will have to try this sometime--i love love love quinoa and i'm always looking for different recipes that use it!

Cynthia said...

What does quinoa taste like? and can you describe the texture?

Anonymous said...

I have spaced out moments in the kitchen way too often. Your post sounds all to familar!

Brilynn said...

I haven't tried the red version yet, I'll have to get on that one...

Quinoa has a texture sort of like small beads... and if you don't eat beads, then it's not unlike small couscous. The flavour is fairly mild with a hint of nuttiness. It takes on the flavour of whatever else you're cooking it with, much like rice does.

Janet said...

Argh!! I need the measurements...oh well, it looks really good though.

Deborah said...

I have really been wanting to try quinoa, but have not had the time to search high and low for it. I love what you've done with it!

sher said...

Yum! I loves me some quinoa! It's too hot here to cook anything for long. This looks marvelous!

leslie @ definitely not martha said...

Brilynn, you are making me laugh so hard today!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry to hear about your basement flood (hopefully you've got it all figured out by now!) but you are hilarious.

Patricia Scarpin said...

I think this salad is a keeper - delicious, colorful and good for you. Perfect.

Lis said...

HAHAHAA! Boy have I had the same kinda day - often - lately. Good to know I'm in such good company =)

Salad looks SO GOOD! Late or not, I'm so trying it. =)

xoxo