279917 Fri Sep 23 14:56:01 -0700 2005 20 31 Home Cooking 0 1485588 I bought maybe a cupful of quinoa from Wholefoods's dry goods section. I've heard about how healthy it is, but I don't know how to cook it, or even how it would taste when done. Should I boil it like rice, and just add it to pilafs? How long does it take to cook? Should I toast it as I would couscous before cooking? Any hints and recipes would be great. thanks. Fri Sep 23 14:56:01 -0700 2005 0 Freddy 1 1485593 I can tell you what NOT to do with it - cooking it in your rice cooker. (I have a small rice cooker that can barely handle 1 cup of brown rice.) I'm still cleaning the quinoa goo out of the crevices and vents... It smelled soooo badly (for days afterwards too) I must have done something wrong! That was my one and only experience with quinoa. Sorry I could not be helpful... Maybe I'll be inspired to try again soon. Fri Sep 23 15:26:53 -0700 2005 1485588 0 tff 2 1485611 Yikes. I'd say your rice cooker is just too small. I cooked a very small amount of quinoa in mine and it was fine. It does bubble a lot, so don't put too much in. Fri Sep 23 16:22:16 -0700 2005 1485593 0 nooodles 3 1485748 Hmmm...I always make it in my rice cooker. I use the time/proportions for brown rice. You have to rinse the grains well before cooking. But unlike rice, the quinoa does float around, making it hard to drain. I forget the name of the substance that coats the grains that is bitter. You do need to rinse it very well. Sun Sep 25 10:31:45 -0700 2005 1485611 0 cypressstylepie 4 1485865 saponin! like soap. the quinoa i buy doesn't have the bitter taste even if i don't scrub at it. if i'm toasting it i don't even wash it first. Mon Sep 26 12:44:38 -0700 2005 1485748 0 enjil 1 1485599 simmer the cupful in 2 cups of chicken (or vegetable) stock for about 15 min. check on it every 5 minutes or so after that until all the liquid has been absorbed. this is a very basic preparation. you could probably sautee some onions and garlic at the beginning then add the stock and quinoa. like couscous, you can add herbs and veggies at the end. i really love quinoa. it's filling, has lots of protein and a funky texture (in a good way). Fri Sep 23 15:38:35 -0700 2005 1485588 0 rebs 1 1485601 I've always cooked quinoa like cous cous or rice, just boil water (2 liquid to 1 grain) and throw it in, cover, steam for 15 or so minutes. I stopped making quinoa when I moved out of Santa Cruz, but it really is a versatile and neutral flavored grain. I've never toasted quinoa or cous cous, so you could go either way. In SC, we used it as a base for any meal (beans, curry (Indian or Thai), in burritos, in salads, under stir fries, etc. Epicurious has a recipe for curried mango and quinoa salad that I clipped out of a magazine a while ago but I haven't tried it yet. I'll probably try the pilaf now too. I just read this on the wholehealthmd.com web site: "Toast the grain in a dry skillet for five minutes before cooking to give it a delicious roasted flavor. To cook, use two parts liquid to one part quinoa. Combine the liquid and toasted quinoa in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the grains are translucent and the germ has spiraled out from each grain, about 15 minutes. To make a quinoa pilaf, begin by sauteing chopped onion and garlic in a little oil. Add toasted quinoa and liquid (two parts water to one part quinoa) and simmer as described above. After the pilaf is cooked, you can stir in other ingredients such as toasted nuts, dried fruit, shredded greens or fresh herbs, or cheese." Fri Sep 23 15:42:06 -0700 2005 1485588 0 Candice 1 1485602 I can't believe no one has said to rinse it thoroughly first - you'll get a bit of suds when you do. Without rinsing, quinoa tastes bitter. Here's my favorite quinoa recipe. This makes loads so you could easily cut in half. The quinoa salad is really good all by itself, too. Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Quinoa Salad 3 of each: yellow and orange peppers 2 red peppers 1 bunch leeks 1 bunch scallions 1-2 English/seedless cucumber 1-2 cups white corn 3-4 cloves garlic fresh tarragon 3 cups vegetable broth 6-8 cups chicken broth 3-4 cups quinoa Roast peppers at 425* until skin on outside begins to char (you will need to rotate them to char the skin evenly). Once roasted, place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Leave them alone to sweat. Chop leeks and garlic and cook in olive oil until translucent. Add tarragon, salt and pepper to taste. Pour in vegetable broth and simmer. Return to peppers. Peel off skin (it should come off easily after roasting and sweating). Natural oils and juice will drain out. SAVE THIS and add to the broth mixture. Dice the peeled and de-seeded peppers. Add them to the broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer peppers to a food processor or blender and puree. Gradually add the liquid. Once desired consistency is reached, return soup to pan. For quinoa salad: It is best to prepare this in advance so it can marinate. Cook quinoa in chicken broth according to directions. Cook corn and dice the cucumber(s) and scallions. Add these to the cooked quinoa and toss in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add to soup just before serving (if refrigerated, set out to room temp before adding to soup). It's work, but worth every minute. ENJOY! Fri Sep 23 15:58:22 -0700 2005 1485588 0 krissywats 1 1485607 The most recent Fine Cooking magazine has a blurb about it. Check it out or try looking it up online. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/index.asp Fri Sep 23 16:08:57 -0700 2005 1485588 0 ssssssandy 1 1485617 Hi - attaching a thread on "quinoa" from earlier this year. I cook with quinoa all the time - love the crunchy texture and the slightly nutty taste. Enjoy. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/276755#1460897 Fri Sep 23 16:41:24 -0700 2005 1485588 0 peppermint pate 1 1485660 I love quinoa, light and fluffy with an excellently weird texture - and I think it's the only grain that is a complete protein. I can't imagine doing it in a rice cooker -- doesn't it get mushy?   Anyway, it's wildly easy to cook. You boil it, cover it and turn it OFF. Wait for it to absorb the water and you are done (you'll have to look up the ratio of water to grain -- I do what Bittman says on that - 2 parts water to 1 of grain I think)  I use it as a cold grain salad with snow peas (or some other green: cooked kale or asparagus or whatever), tomato, parsley, scallions, thai baked tofu - from a package - it's got great flavor that I supplement with a soy sauce/lemon/garlic dressing. Fri Sep 23 23:24:58 -0700 2005 1485588 0 pitu 1 1485694 I made quinoa today. The only problem I encountered was difficulty in rinsing and then toasting it! Does anyone think toasting then rinsing wouldn't dispel bitterness? I used the 2:1 liquid:quinoa ratio, which worked really well. I think the most important thing was that I used good quality, organic vegetable stock. Otherwise it would be like totally unflavoured couscous. And then I chopped, fried and tossed half the fridge into it. It was quite good, once I got used to the texture. I think I will substitute it into some of my favourite orzo and couscous recipes. Thanks for the help, all. Sat Sep 24 15:47:43 -0700 2005 1485588 0 Freddy 2 1485800 Congrats! I have wondered the same about rinsing and then toasting. Perhaps rinsing it well beforehand? I dont know. I can't every figure that one out so I never toast it. Anyone have any ideas? Sun Sep 25 23:31:49 -0700 2005 1485694 0 krissywats 3 1485901 This question has plagued me. I would like to try a pilaf preparation, but can never figure out how to get rid of saponin and toast the grains. Rgh! Smokey Mon Sep 26 15:14:02 -0700 2005 1485800 0 smokey 4 1486017 I'm a little confused by this bitter coating thing . . . I've read about it, but the kind of quinoa I buy in bulk at my food coop does not appear to have this issue. I boil it with water 2:1 as soon as it boils I put on a tight lid and turn it off to let it sit for 1/2 hour and fluff up/absorb the water. Then I make cold grain salad or bake it as quinoa bars or whatever. Tue Sep 27 08:53:30 -0700 2005 1485901 0 pitu 1 1485749 I also love it as the grain base for tabbouli, replacing the bulgur. It's probably how I most often eat it. It's a summer work lunch favorite. It was also in a recent issue of Food & Wine from a trek in Peru. If you have a newsstand code or subscription, you can view the link. ACTIVE TIME: 25 MIN TOTAL TIME: 35 MIN SERVES: 6 Few crops grow at Andean altitudes of 10,000 feet. One that does is quinoa, a nutty, high-protein grain that was both a pre-Incan and Incan staple. Piqueras mixes this grain with artichokes, an ingredient brought to Peru by the Spanish, to create this crunchy salad tossed with a tart dressing of wine vinegar and avocado oil. ingredients 1 1/2 cups black quinoa (9 ounces), rinsed (see Note) 1/2 lemon 3 medium artichokes 1/2 cup avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup white wine vinegar Salt and freshly ground pepper 4 canned hearts of palm (5 ounces), drained and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice 6 small Boston lettuce leaves directions In a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the quinoa over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 20 minutes. Drain in a fine sieve, then spread out on a baking sheet to cool to room temperature. Squeeze some of the juice from the lemon half into a small bowl of water; reserve the lemon half. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, snap off the outer leaves. Using a sharp knife, cut off the leaves, leaving the artichoke bottom. Cut off the stem and peel the artichoke bottom. Using a spoon, scrape out the furry choke. Rub the artichoke bottom all over with the lemon half and drop it into the lemon water. Repeat with the remaining 2 artichokes. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the artichoke bottoms over moderately high heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool, then cut into 1/2-inch dice. In a large bowl, mix the avocado oil with the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Add the quinoa, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and red and yellow peppers and toss to coat. Mound the quinoa salad on lettuce leaves and serve. NOTES Black quinoa is available by mail order from Kalustyan's (212-685-3451 or kalustyans.com). Cook It! Visit our Fast CookItNow Visit our Healthy CookItNow Link: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/invoke.cfm?label=quinoa-artichoke-and-hearts-of-palm-salad Sun Sep 25 10:38:11 -0700 2005 1485588 0 cypressstylepie 1 1485794 how does quinoa keep? I just found a jar of it in my cabinet that is maybe 4 yrs old. Sun Sep 25 22:26:37 -0700 2005 1485588 0 jen kalb 1 1485795 how does quinoa keep? I just found a jar of it in my cabinet that is maybe 4 yrs old. Sun Sep 25 22:26:44 -0700 2005 1485588 0 jen kalb 2 1485801 I honestly don't know, but I have a guess. If it's as loaded with protein as was noted in another post, then like whole wheat flour, it's going to go bad and taste bitter/rancid. I've never heard of keeping it in the fridge but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. Or maybe freeze it? Well, I found this on the site below with more quinoa recipes and info..... "Quinoa should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer if storage beyond a month is desired." Link: http://www.fatfree.com/foodweb/food/quinoa.html Sun Sep 25 23:38:46 -0700 2005 1485795 0 krissywats 3 1486016 I've kept quinoa in a glass jar for more than a year (an oversight) but it was perfectly fine when I used it. It was the blonde kind sold in bulk at the PS Food Coop. It doesn't appear to have whatever bitter coating people are refering to either. Tue Sep 27 08:47:47 -0700 2005 1485801 0 pitu 4 1486072 You're lucky. You are getting quinoa that is well rinsed prior but a lot of it isn't and I wouldn't take the chance - or alternatively the bitter doesn't bother you so you don't notice it. I'm very sensitive to bitter so I thoroughly wash mine or otherwise it's nasty. (Saponin is the bitter component - a natural covering on the 'grain' - and you can tell if it's on your quinoa by whether or not the water runs clear when/if you rinse it.) Tue Sep 27 14:16:28 -0700 2005 1486016 0 krissywats