Groxie

I am allergic to wheat, among other thinks. Lucky for me, the allergy isn’t severe—it seems instead to be cumulative. The upside of having this allergy is that I am forced to experiment with alternatives to wheat and wheat flour. Many of these experiments have turned out poorly (like those chocolate chip cookies that tasted like chickpeas!), but some have yielded valuable discoveries.

I had seen the word quinoa (keen-wa or keen-o-wa) here and there, but I had no idea what it was. One day while scanning the bulk section of Whole Foods for some new grain choices, I happened upon the quinoa. One of my food magazines had just featured a couple of quinoa salads, so I decided to give it a shot. Good decision on my part.

Previously unbeknownst to me, quinoa is a wonderfood. It has all of the essential amino acids, making it an exceptionally useful food for vegetarians. Quinoa isn’t exactly like the other grains that we consume regularly, because it isn’t a true cereal. Instead it is classified as a pseudocereal, but what’s more important is its nutritional breakdown.

This stuff is chock full of nutrients, amino acids, fiber, and vitamins. Qunioa has a rich history; the Incans considered it sacred, but our European ancestors didn’t quite catch on. This may be in part because quinoa has a good defense mechanism that makes it bitter if not correctly prepared. Quinoa has to be thoroughly washed before cooking, but much of the quinoa you see in the store has already been cleaned. I soak mine for five minutes or so and then give it a good rinse just to be safe.

I like to substitute quinoa for rice; it even cooks up lovely in the rice maker. I also like to use it in places where I would use couscous or orzo. You can cook it up with some dried fruits and nuts for breakfast, or it makes a great base for a cold salad with veggies. Here’s recipe I like to work with:

Quinoa Salad

• 2 cups uncooked quinoa
• assorted veggies:
  red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
  cucumbers
  red onion
  fresh tomatoes or rehydrated sun—dried tomatoes
  broccoli or cauliflower
  carrots
  celery
• cheese—I like to use a delicious goat feta that I found, but pick whatever suits you and your veggie selection
• vegetable stock or water
• salad oil of your choice: olive, avocado, hazlenut, etc.
• vinegar of your choice: balsamic, red wine, sherry, champage, apple cider
• other dressing ingredients of your choice:
  lemon juice
  orange juice
  soy sauce
  mustard
  herbs

I like to use homemade vegetable stock instead of water to cook the quinoa, but water is fine since you can add flavor to the salad with a light dressing. I haven’t tried using some wine, but I bet that would be good, too.

1. Put 4 cups of your preferred liquid in a pan with the quinoa, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover for about 15-20 minutes. The quinoa should be pretty translucent, and you should still feel a nice little “pop” between your teeth if you test one. Fluff quinoa, and let it come to room temperature.
2. Add veggies and cheese in whatever proportion you like. I like to have lots of veggies, so for 2 cups of uncooked quinoa I’ll usually add about 4 cups of chopped veggies depending on what’s lurking in the fridge. I like to put about 1/2 cup or so of cheese, but I have been known to add more as I dole out a bowl for myself.
3. Dress the salad. This will depend again on what veggies you decide to use. Sometimes I just do olive oil, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar in a 5:1:1 ratio and adjust it to taste. You can be as creative as you like. You can find tons of great easy salad dressing recipes online, or you use your favorite store—bought dressing.

If you enjoy the quinoa, consider trying out some other unusual grains. I really enjoy winter wheat berries, and I’m going to be trying my hand at barley one of these days.