Red Quinoa

Tonight the Raging Mr. and myself had dinner with Tess, her family and other close family.  The menu was as follows:
Baby Purple Artichokes braised in olive oil, white wine and garlic

Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Baby Squash

Red Quinoa with lemon and herbs

Boneless Pork Chops

The two items that everyone OOOO'd and AWE'd over were the quinoa and the stuffed squash blossoms.  Tonight we cover the Quinoa.

I know Quinoa sounds exotic.  Quite honestly I was concerned about serving it to my husband as he does not always respond well to new foods, especially "healthy" alternatives.  We tried it for the first time the other night and he said it reminded him of rice.  The beauty of Quinoa is that it is gluten free and 53 on the glycemic index.  One of the most memorable comments at dinner was that if it is not seasoned Quinoa can taste like moist sawdust (EWE!!!).

Red Quinoa

Ingredients

1 c Red Quinoa
2 c water
1 lemon
1/2 T garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Directions

1)  Put 1 c Quinoa, 2 c water, 1/2 T garlic and the juice of half the lemon into a 1 1/2 qt sauce pan.  Cover and bring to a boil.

2)  Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

3)  Adjust flavor with juice from the second half lemon, salt and pepper.

4)  Stir and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.



I hope this inspires you to try Quinoa and other alternative grains.